Retirement Plan Consultant
The MandMarblestone Group, llc
in PA

Expeditor
My Benefits, LLC & First Party Administrator, LLC
in FL, GA

Distribution Specialist
My Benefits, LLC & First Party Administrator, LLC
in FL, GA

Junior Plan Administrator
My Benefits, LLC & First Party Administrator, LLC
in FL, GA

401(k) Plan Administrator
Alliance Pension Consultants, LLC
in IL

Assistant Employee Benefits Administrator
The National Bank & Trust Company
in IL

Benefits & Retirement Plans Administrator
CPEhr
in CA

Pension Field Service Rep
Nationwide
in FL

Peer Reviewer
Acuff & Associates, Inc.
in ANY STATE, TN

Accounting Supervisor
Zenith American Solutions
in MN

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Revolving Door: Rehired Employees
RECORDED
(ASPPA [American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries])

fi360 Fiduciary Talk: Robo Advice and the Fiduciary Duty of Due Care
RECORDED
(fi360)

Cadillac Tax Part I: Fight the Future (2018)
December 3, 2015 WEBCAST
(ABD Insurance & Financial Services)

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[Official Guidance]

Text of OPM Final Regs for the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Enrollment Options Following the Termination of a Plan or Plan Option
"The final rule provides belated enrollment opportunities for annuitants who, for reasons beyond their control, were unable to make an enrollment election during the allowed time following the termination of a plan or plan option.... Section 890.301(n) has been updated in the final rule to allow OPM, at its sole discretion, to designate an alternate plan for automatic enrollments.... OPM has updated Section 890.306(l)(4)(iv) to clarify that annuitants who wish to change their enrollment following an involuntary enrollment due to a plan or plan option termination may do so prospectively, rather than retroactively, within 90-days after OPM advises the annuitant of the new enrollment." (U.S. Office of Personnel Management [OPM])  

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Set Yourself Apart From Your Peers With the CEBS Designation

Co-sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, the CEBS designation gives you the knowledge and confidence to succeed in today's business environment. Learn More!

[Guidance Overview]

CMS Presentation: Quality Rating System Overview and Summary of Requirements for 2016
35 presentation slides, dated Oct. 8, 2015. Topics include: [1] 2016 QRS implementation timeline; [2] QRS technical guidance and measure specifications; [3] 2016 QRS requirements; [4] 2016 QRS participation criteria for QHP issuers; [5] The 2016 QRS measure set; [6] QRS methodology for calculating QHP scores and ratings; [7] 2016 preview process for quality rating information; [8] 2016 public display of QHP quality rating information; [9] 2016 marketing guidelines for QHP quality rating information; and [10] Next steps and deadlines for QHP issuers. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[Guidance Overview]

What If the Cadillac Tax Isn't Repealed? (PDF)
"High plan costs often reflect geographic realities rather than overly generous benefits. Plan sponsors should analyze their potential tax exposure and develop options for lowering plan costs and long-term cost trend rates.... Although the best solution will differ for each plan sponsor, it may well be based on a combination of the following options: Plan redesign ... Contract with lower cost provider networks ... Comprehensive medical-management tactics ... Reference-based pricing strategies ... Aggressive vendor contracting." (benefits Magazine, published by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans [IFEBP])  

Second Circuit Finds Associational Standing for Provider Association to Sue Claims Administrator for Violations of the Mental Health Parity Act
"The Second Circuit's decision could lead to an increase in litigation between mental health care providers and plan administrators, and increased enforcement of the Parity Act because it opens the door to provider associations seeking to enforce the Act against plan administrators. However.... the ruling does not answer the questions of whether provider associations can pursue fiduciary breach claims when those claims are not tied to individual members' claims for benefits or whether a class would be appropriate." [N.Y. State Psychiatric Ass'n v. UnitedHealth Grp., No. 14-20-cv (2d Cir. Aug. 20, 2015)] (Proskauer Rose LLP)  

Budget Legislation Would Repeal ACA Auto-Enrollment Requirement For Large Employers
"Only one provision of the Bipartisan Budget Act is directly relevant to the Affordable Care Act. That provision repeals section 1511 of the ACA, which requires employers that offer health insurance and that employ more than 200 employees to automatically enroll new employees in a health plan, subject to any legal waiting periods. Section 1511 further requires employers to give employees notice that they can opt out of the plans in which they are auto-enrolled in at any time.... Implementing the provision, which has been generally opposed by business interests, has been a very low priority for the administration, and its repeal will not seriously affect the general scheme of the ACA." (Timothy Jost, in Health Affairs)  

[Advert.]

Telehealth & Remote Patient Monitoring Summit – Jan 27-28, 2016 – Atlanta

Incorporating Telehealth and Remote Patient Monitoring practices has been shown to increase access to care, improve outcomes, and decrease health delivery costs. Take $200 off registration -- promo code BLINK2 (not valid on Webcast or Government Rate).

Large ACA Fees Are Back
"The transitional reinsurance fee made its grand entrance in 2014 with a bill of $63 per member imposed on employer-sponsored healthcare programs.... [T]he fee is somewhat reduced to $44 per member in 2015. Still, employers with a couple thousand employees can find themselves owing hundreds of thousands of dollars -- depending on the number of dependents on their plans, and the manner in which membership is counted." (Frenkel Benefits)  

Open Enrollment for Small Businesses Eases Path to Covering Workers
"Between November 15 and December 15, small businesses (which most states define as those with up to 50 workers) can sign up to offer coverage to their workers for next year -- without having to meet requirements that insurance companies can otherwise impose on how many workers must enroll or how much the employer must contribute." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)  

The U.S. Is the Third Lowest Health Spender of 13 Developed Countries
"[W]hen we subtract U.S. health spending from our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), we still had $44,049 per capita to spend on everything else we value. Only two countries, Norway and Switzerland, beat the U.S. on this measure. In the United Kingdom for example, GDP per capita after health spending was only $34,863 in 2013. So, even though American health care is significantly more expensive than British health care, the average American enjoyed $9,185 more GDP after health spending than his British peer, and just under $6,000 more than his Canadian neighbor." (National Center for Policy Analysis Health Policy Blog)  

Out-of-Pocket Calculator Included on Healthcare.gov for 2016
"The new out-of-pocket cost estimator that will be available on HealthCare.gov when it opens Nov. 1 will enable shoppers to estimate their total annual health-care costs, including premiums and out-of-pocket costs such as deductibles, based on whether they are low, medium or high users of services[.]" (Bloomberg BNA)  

2016 Marketplace Affordability Snapshot
"[N]early 8 in 10 returning Marketplace consumers will be able to buy a plan with premiums less than $100 month after tax credits.... The average rate increase for a benchmark plan across 30 of the largest markets, representing 60 percent of Marketplace enrollees, is 6.3 percent.... For 2016, over two thirds of counties will have three or more issuers." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

Analysis of 2016 Premium Changes in the Health Insurance Marketplaces
"Among these major cities, the percent change from last year in the benchmark premium ranges from -10.6% in Seattle, Washington to 40.9% in Albuquerque New Mexico. The simple average of these rate changes is 10.4% before accounting for the premium tax credit.... 2016 benchmark silver rates for a 40 year old will range from $198 per month in Chicago, Illinois to $719 per month in Anchorage, Alaska before accounting for the tax credit." (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)  

ACA Benchmark Health Premiums Climb 7.5% on Average
"Premiums for the second-lowest-cost silver plans are going up by an average of 7.5 percent next year in the 37 states that use [the federally-facilitated marketplace] ... Last year, those plans got 2 percent more expensive on average in 35 states.... Premiums climbed 35.7 percent in Oklahoma, and declined 12.6 percent in Indiana ... Weighted by enrollment, rates will increase by about 12 percent to 13 percent nationally, on average." (Bloomberg)  

Strategies for Changing the Health Insurance Business Model
"Insurers must move away from broadly offering initiatives to their entire range of providers and instead focus on those that are most likely to be successful. This requires targeting providers based on their ability to implement cost and quality improvement effectively." (FierceHealthPayer)  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Issues Proposed Regs to Accommodate Obergefell
"Similar to the IRS's previous guidance, the proposed regulations provide that registered domestic partnerships, civil unions and other similar relationships are not considered marriages for federal tax purposes. Also, marriages performed in a foreign jurisdiction will be recognized for federal tax purposes only if the marriage would be recognized by at least one state, possession or territory of the United States." (Proskauer's ERISA Practice Center)  

[Guidance Overview]

Beware: Discounted Stock Options Are Subject to 409A
"Many small, closely held companies, especially start-up companies, like to issue stock options to key executives and employees as both an incentive to help grow the company and as a substitute for cash compensation when they need the cash to invest in the business. At times, the owners are unaware of the requirements under [Code section 409A] as it applies to stock options and stock appreciation rights (collectively 'options' or 'stock options) and fail to appropriately determine the exercise price. At other times, they simply don't want to pay for a valuation of the business to establish the exercise price. In both instances, the tax consequences for executives and employees can be disastrous." (EisnerAmper)  

Now Available: The Retirement Income Reference Book 2015
LIMRA

ICMA-RC to Open Retirement Service Center for Washington, D.C. Employees
ICMA-RC

Benefitfocus Publishes Guide to Understanding “The Cadillac Tax”
Benefitfocus

Dentons Adds Daniel B. Lange to Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice
Dentons

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