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Understanding the Universal Availability Rules in a 403(b) Retirement Plan
RECORDED
IRS [Internal Revenue Service]

If You Can Dream It You Can Do It: The Art of Getting Stuff Done
October 19, 2016 WEBCAST
TPA Resources, LLC

Clarifying the Universal Availability and Other 403(b) Retirement Plan Requirements
October 27, 2016 WEBCAST
IRS [Internal Revenue Service]

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[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Publication 5164: Test Package for Electronic Filers of ACA Information Returns (AIR), Processing Year 2017 (PDF)
28 pages, dated Sept. 2016. "[Publication 5164] contains general and program specific testing information for use with ACA Assurance Testing System (AATS).... [I]nformation returns that can be electronically filed for Tax Year 2016 [are]: [1] Form 1094-B, Transmittal of Health Coverage Information Returns; [2] Form 1095-B, Health Coverage; [3] Form 1094-C, Transmittal of Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage Information Returns; [4] Form 1095-C, Employer-Provided Health Insurance Offer and Coverage. Most scenarios consist of a single Form 1094 and one or more Forms 1095.... Each transmission must contain one or more complete test submissions. A single transmission cannot contain test submissions that include both Forms 1094/1095-B and Forms 1094/1095-C. Correction scenarios cannot be submitted until Original scenarios have passed testing."
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

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[Official Guidance]

Text of DOL Q&As on Final Rule to Implement Executive Order 13706: Paid Sick Leave for Employees on Federal Contracts
69 Questions and Answers. Topics: [1] General (2 Q&As); [2] Contract coverage (8 Q&As); [3] Employee coverage (7 Q&As); [4] Accrual of paid sick leave (14 Q&As); [5] Use of paid sick leave (24 Q&As); [6] Interaction with other laws and paid time off (6 Q&As); [7] Protections for employees (1 Q&A); [8] Obligations of contracting agencies, DOL, and contractors (5 Q&As); [9] Enforcement (1 Q&A); [10] Impacts (1 Q&A).
Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

[Guidance Overview]

Text of DOL Fact Sheet: Final Rule to Implement Executive Order 13706, Establishing Paid Sick Leave for Federal Contractors
"The Department estimates that the Final Rule will provide paid sick leave to about 1.15 million workers employed by Federal contractors. The Final Rule specifies the contracts and employees covered by the [executive order], as well as rules for how sick leave will accrue, when it can be used, and how the Department will ensure that covered employers comply with these new requirements."
Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

[Guidance Overview]

Section 4980H Penalties Are Looming, But What if the Employer is Unable to Pay Them?
"Whenever the penalties are assessed, the government will be presented, perhaps for the first time in history, with an interesting conundrum ... how the government should handle the scenario of an employer who owes a section 4980H penalty, but is unable to pay the total penalty while staying in business.... A number of employers ... [have] done nothing as far as ACA compliance.... Many of these employers incorrectly believe there is a chance they can play the 'audit lottery' and avoid all ACA related penalties. The problem with this strategy is the government has the necessary information to tell who owes a section 4980H penalty."
Health Care Attorneys P.C.

[Guidance Overview]

EEOC Final Rules on Employer Wellness Programs Become Effective January 1, 2017 (PDF)
"The Final Rules become effective in January 2017 and apply to all workplace wellness programs.... This article summarizes the Final Rules in the context of the ACA and HIPAA, and provides advice for employers seeking to implement or maintain corporate wellness programs."
Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP

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Now is a great time to join Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)

WEB members represent more than 25 professions and 30 areas of expertise within the pension and benefits industry-including administrators, consultants, attorneys, accountants, investment managers, communications experts and benefits managers. Join today.

[Guidance Overview]

What Covered Health Care Entities Need to Do to Prepare for Looming ACA Section 1557 Deadlines
"In addition to posting the notices of a nondiscrimination policy and taglines informing individuals of language assistance services, covered entities should be taking the steps to make these mandatory services and policies a reality. If they have not done so, covered entities urgently should begin revising policies and procedures as necessary, including providing a compliant grievance procedure, training staff, designating a Section 1557 civil rights compliance officer, hiring appropriate interpreters, and coordinating auxiliary aids and services."
Epstein Becker Green

[Guidance Overview]

Deadline Looms for Healthcare Providers to Comply with New ACA Non-Discrimination Requirements
"Section 1557 of the ACA requires health programs or activities to make special provisions for persons with limited English proficiency, language disabilities and equal access on the basis of sex. It applies to healthcare providers and insurers regardless of their number of employees."
Troutman Sanders

State Law May Prohibit Discretionary Clauses in ERISA-Covered Plans
"[T]he court ruled that state laws such as the California law, whether applied to self-funded plans or not, do not govern a central matter of plan administration or interfere with nationally uniform plan administration.; therefore, they do not have an 'impermissible connection' to ERISA plans. Accordingly, the court concluded that the California law was not preempted and that it will review the plan administrator's claims decision under the stricter de novo standard." [Thomas v. Aetna Life Ins. Co., No. 15-1112 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 15, 2016)]
The Wagner Law Group

DOL Issues Paid Sick Leave Rule for Federal Contractors
"The DOL final rule creates an option for federal contractors to provide an employee with at least 56 hours of paid sick leave at the beginning of each accrual year rather than allowing the employee to accrue leave based on hours worked. Under the accrual method, employees accrue one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked on a federal contract."
Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM]

GAO Response to Congressional Inquiry About HHS Payments Under Transitional Reinsurance Program (PDF)
13 pages. "[GAO concludes] that HHS lacks authority to ignore the statute's directive to deposit amounts from collections under the transitional reinsurance program in the Treasury and instead make deposits to the Treasury only if its collections reach the amounts for reinsurance payments specified in section 1341. This prioritization of collections for payments to issuers over payments to the Treasury is not authorized. The agency must give effect to the extent possible to all of section 1341, and, therefore, is required to collect and deposit amounts for the Treasury, regardless of whether its collections fall short of the amounts specified in statute for reinsurance payments."
U.S. Government Accountability Office [GAO], via Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. House of Representatives

[Opinion]

Will Making Good on Billions of Dollars Due the Health Plans Solve Obamacare's Exchange Problems?
"[T]he administration apparently thinks it can use an obscure and bottomless 'Judgement Fund' that is used to fund any legal liabilities the federal government incurs because of law suits -- a number of insurers who didn't get paid have sued.... But the risk corridor reinsurance program will end at the end of this year by statute. There can't be such relief in 2017 and years beyond without the Congress and President agreeing to extend the reinsurance program."
Bob Laszewski's Health Care Policy and Marketplace Review

[Official Guidance]

Text of IRS Disaster Relief Notice FL-2016-19 for Victims of Hurricane Hermine in Florida
"Individuals who reside or have a business in Citrus, Dixie, Hernando, Hillsborough, Leon, Levy, Pasco and Pinellas may qualify for tax relief.... [T]he IRS gives affected taxpayers until January 17, 2017 to file most tax returns ... that have either an original or extended due date occurring on or after August 31, 2016 and on or before January 17, 2017.... This relief also includes the filing of Form 5500 series return[.]"
Internal Revenue Service [IRS]

HERO Selects Jody Ensman as Recipient of the Heart Of Hero Award
Health Enhancement Research Organization

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