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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter May 8, 2018 |
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Jobs |
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Webcasts, Conferences Mandated Sick Pay: Everything You Need to Know
EBIA Employee Benefits Seminar
Paid Sick Leave: Complying with the Growing Number of State and Local Requirements
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Discussions |
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This Newsletter:
BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter:
Message Boards Digest:
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Loan & Withdrawal Specialist|
[Guidance Overview]
Safe and Sick Time Law: New York City Publishes Revised Notice of Employee Rights "What New York City employers should do now: [1] Replace the prior Notice of Employee Rights document under ESTA with the revised notice under ESSTA, and provide this revised notice to: all new employees going forward, and all current employees by June 4, 2018. [2] Update handbook policies pertaining to sick time to: indicate that time may be taken for 'safe time' reasons, and include the broader definition of 'family member.' "
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[Advert.]
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Compliance Obligations Under the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA
May 30 webinar. Complex employer health care offerings can make it difficult to determine HSA eligibility. This webinar will help health plan administrators navigate this sometimes treacherous terrain. Discount for BenefitsLink readers. |
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[Guidance Overview]
Massachusetts Issues Updated Employer Healthcare Penalty Appeal Guidance "Completing the EMAC Employee Information Form does not alter the due date for EMAC Supplement payments. If the Department concludes that an employee was not eligible for subsidized healthcare coverage, the employer will receive a credit in the following quarter with respect to each ineligible employee."
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"On March 30, 2018, the EEOC reported that it had not decided whether to promulgate new regulations.... [Employers have] options for designing wellness programs for 2019 ... [If] you don't already have a wellness program, but were considering adopting one, you might want to postpone it until the 2020 plan year."
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2019 Requests for Premium Hikes in Maryland Exceed 91% "According to preliminary filings ... some of [Maryland's] largest ACA insurers are asking to nearly double their premiums. CareFirst is requesting a 91.4% premium increase for their individual PPO Plans, while Kaiser is asking for a more modest 37.4% increase."
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Anthem's Entry Signals Further Stop Loss Market Growth "The demand for reinsurance has almost tripled in only six years, pushing the market from a $6-billion industry pre-ACA to a now $17-billion one.... Beginning in July of this year, Anthem will begin to offer 'unbundled' reinsurance, intended to compete with traditional stalwarts like Sun Life, Voya, Symetra and Tokio Marine."
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The Problem with Prescription Drug Prices "In 2015, two small children of Rockford employees were treated with Acthar, a drug that's been on the market since 1952.... In 2001, Acthar sold for about $40 a vial. Today: more than $40,000. An increase of 100,000 percent.... To keep the price high, the FTC found that [the drug's owner] ... bought another drug that was Acthar's main competitor, a drug called Synacthen ... Synacthen cost $33 in Canada.... Many of the doctors who prescribed a lot of Acthar also were getting money from the company that makes Acthar, for speaking, for consulting, for running research studies for the company, adding up to huge sums.... Express Scripts, the company [Rockford] hired to keep prices down, also had a contract to be the exclusive distributor of Acthar."
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The Role of PBMs in the Rx Drug Supply Chain, and Why It Matters to Employers "Many PBMs promote the aggressive discounts and Rx drug rebates achieved by their formularies that may look good on paper, but often provide no transparency of true costs. This can result in employers paying much more than they should. When PBMs sell their discounts and rebates to employers, but allow more drugs to flow through the health plan to achieve their desired profit margins, employers end up with higher net costs."
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How the Farm Bill Could Affect the ACA "Tucked deep in the House version of the massive bill -- amid crop subsidies and food assistance programs -- is a provision that supporters say could help provide farmers with cheaper, but likely less comprehensive, health insurance than plans offered through the [ACA]. It calls for $65 million in loans and grants administered by the Department of Agriculture to help organizations establish agricultural-related 'association' type health plans."
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[Opinion]
Merging Insurers with the Health Care Delivery System "The potential merger between Partners HealthCare and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is not just another routine merger and acquisition activity, but it is one occurring at the heart of the U.S. health care system -- Massachusetts General Hospital being one of the oldest and most prestigious hospitals in the nation. It is distressing to see multiple hospitals and physicians merge to gain market advantage, but it is even more disturbing when an integrated health care delivery system is merging with one of the state's largest insurers."
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Benefits in General |
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[Official Guidance]
Text of IRS Disaster Relief Notice IN-2018-01, for Victims of Severe Storms and Flooding in Indiana "Individuals who reside or have a business in Carroll, Clark, Elkhart, Floyd, Harrison, Jefferson, Lake, Marshall, and St. Joseph counties may qualify for tax relief.... [T]he IRS gives affected taxpayers until June 29, 2018, to file most tax returns ... that have either an original or extended due date occurring on or after Feb. 14, 2018 and before June 29, 2018."
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Benefits and Beyond: How Employers Think About Financial Wellness (PDF) "[A] significant majority of employers (83%) offer financial wellness programs, and another 14% plan to offer them in the next one or two years.... Twenty-six percent only offer programs to their full-time employees, 27% also include part-time employees, and 30% also include contractors."
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Executive Compensation |
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Initial Readings of the CEO Pay Ratio "Companies with large numbers of part-time or seasonal employees are reporting the highest CEO pay ratios, especially if those workers are located in developing countries.... Among sectors, there appears to be a strong relationship between lower median employee pay and a higher CEO pay ratio."
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Selected Discussions |
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IRS Audits of Cafeteria Plans? Anybody have experience with an IRS audit of a cafeteria plan for compliance with |
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Press Releases |
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EBRI Names This Year's Winner of the Lillywhite Lifetime Achievement in Employee Benefits Award
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DOL Reaches Agreement with Defunct Springfield, Ohio, Company to Restore Losses to Retirement Plan
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Court Requires Fiduciaries to Pay $2,450,000 to Vermont ESOP And Civil Penalties Following U.S. Department of Labor Investigation and Litigation
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Connect
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BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
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Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager
BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9595. Copyright 2018 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of those materials. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notices from copies of the content.
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