Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

December 9, 2015

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Webcasts and Conferences

IRA Required Minimum Distributions
RECORDED
(Ascensus)

Introduction to Qualified Retirement Plans
December 10, 2015 WEBCAST
(Ascensus)

Trusts as Beneficiaries of IRAs
January 19, 2016 WEBCAST
(American Bar Association [ABA])

2016 Enrolled Actuaries Meeting
April 10, 2016 in DC
(Conference of Consulting Actuaries)

2016 CCA Health Reform Meeting
April 13, 2016 in DC
(Conference of Consulting Actuaries)

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Notice 2015-86: Application of Obergefell to Qualified Retirement Plans and Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)
"This notice provides guidance on the application of the decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to retirement plans qualified under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) and to health and welfare plans, including cafeteria plans under section 125 of the Code. This guidance relates solely to the application of federal tax law with respect to same-sex spouses." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  


[Advert.]

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Instructions for 2015 Form 8853: Archer MSAs and Long-Term Care Insurance Contract (PDF)
"Use Form 8853 to: [1] Report Archer MSA contributions (including employer contributions), [2] Figure your Archer MSA deduction, [3] Report distributions from Archer MSAs or Medicare Advantage MSAs, [4] Report taxable payments from long-term care (LTC) insurance contracts, or [5] Report taxable accelerated death benefits from a life insurance policy." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

IRS Posts Answer Keys for ACA Insurance Testing System (AATS), Updates ReadMe Files
"2015 November Character by Character AATS 1094/95B and 1094/95C Answer Keys have been posted to: AATS Scenarios ... 2015 January AATS 1094/1095B and 1094/95C Answer Keys are now available on: AATS Scenarios ... 2015 AATS Phase 1 (November 2015 through mid-January 2016) and ATTS Phase 2 (effective mid-January 2016) ReadMe Files for the 1094/95B and 1094/95C Forms have been updated." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

[Guidance Overview]

Six Things Insurers Need to Know About the DOL's Proposed Procedural Protections for Disability Claimants
"If adopted, the proposed regulations will subject most group disability plans to many of the same requirements currently imposed on group health plans under the [ACA]. The proposed regulations affect six main aspects of the disability claim process.... [1] Conflicts of interest ... [2] Adverse benefit determinations ... [3] Right to review and respond to new information ... [4] Deemed exhaustion of administrative remedies ... [5] Rescission -- expanded definition of 'adverse benefit determination' ... [6] Linguistically appropriate notice requirements." (Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP)  

Employee Tells Co-Worker That He Plans to Misuse FMLA Leave; Court Says It's OK to Demote Him
"Based on the information it received from the subordinate, Costco surely had the right to suspect that Keith might be abusing leave.... [C]ourts typically will support an employer's 'honest belief' defense only after they have conducted a complete and exhaustive investigation into the facts. The court reviewing this case didn't fault Costco for failing to conduct an investigation, but the risk is that a different court easily could have, which would have required the Company to head to trial on Keith's FMLA claims when they otherwise never should have seen the light of day." (FMLA Insights)  

Five Reasons Your Health Plan Needs an ACA Compliance Check
"[1] The rules about ACA Information Reporting keep changing.... [2] The need to correctly provide all notices that are required.... [3] Ensuring that your plan complies with changes in cost-sharing.... [4] Complying with the latest proposed changes to wellness rules.... [5] Confronting the growing confusion over who exactly is an employee." (Corporate Synergies)  

Companies Navigate the Heath Coverage Mandate
68 presentation slides. "More than four in five (82%) employers offer at least one healthcare plan ... Currently, nearly two in three employers (62%) say they buy a health plan and provide it directly to employees, but one in ten (10%) report they anticipate that they will subsidize employees buying health coverage on private exchanges in the future (compared to 6% currently subsidizing plans) ... [E]mployers are more likely to think employees are satisfied with the company's health plan (95% vs. 77%) and other benefits (93% vs. 78%) than employees actually report." (Transamerica Center for Health Studies)  

Improving Health and Health Care: An Agenda for Reform
"The plan [presented by the authors] is not confined to replacing the ACA. [They] propose major reforms to the tax treatment of employer-sponsored health care, Medicaid, Medicare, Health Savings Accounts, and other areas of existing policy. The cumulative effect of this comprehensive plan would be to decisively reorient health care policy away from bureaucratic regulation and toward the preferences of patients and consumers." (Health Affairs)  

Cumulative and Updated List of Introduced or Enacted Bills to Repeal, Defund, Delay or Amend the ACA (PDF)
23 pages. "This report summarizes legislative actions taken to repeal, defund, delay, or otherwise amend the ACA since it was enacted.... Table 1 summarizes the ACA changes that have been signed into law. Table 2 lists all the House-passed ACA bills. Table 3 summarizes and compares the ACA provisions in the House- and Senate-passed reconciliation bills." [Report No. R43289, dated Dec. 7, 2015.] (Congressional Research Service [CRS])  

U.S. Recoups $200 Million from States that Faltered on Health Exchanges
"The agency has denied states' requests for more federal funds 69 times this year, and [acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt] said no new money to fix technology problems will be given.... States running their own exchanges have reduced their uninsured rate to less than 10% and all state-run exchanges are functional, he noted." (The Wall Street Journal; subscription may be required)  

[Opinion]

Predicting the Top 10 Healthcare Headlines in 2016
"[H]ealthcare headlines in 2016 will highlight major changes that will reshape the future for the next decade and beyond. Here's the top 10 you can expect to read next year: ... [1] Insurance mega-deals approved, Blues align more tightly to compete ... [2] Scope and scale forcing C-suites to re-focus ... [3] Health systems launch alternative insurance program ... [4] Drug costs spark action ... [5] Obamacare opponents lose SCOTUS challenge ... [6] FDA calls smartphones medical devices ... [7] Employers intensify pressure to reduce costs ... [8] DOJ, FTC issue new guidelines about market consolidation ... [9] Medical necessity gets heightened scrutiny ... [10] Healthcare wedge issue in election results." (Paul Keckley)  

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Instructions for Form 2848: Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative (PDF)
Revised Dec. 2015. "What's New: ... Updated the description and representation requirements for unenrolled return preparers (designation h). Removed registered tax return preparer (designation i). The unenrolled return preparer designation includes individuals who passed the IRS registered tax return preparer competency test that was offered between November 2011 and January 2013." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])  

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