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Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

January 3, 2022

3 New Job Opportunities 3 New Job Opportunities

 

[Guidance Overview]

Health Plan Transparency Reporting in 2022: Do You Know Where Your Health Care Dollars Go?

"All group and individual health plans are subject to this interim final rule. The required information is extensive and detailed. Plans may enlist other entities to submit the required data on their behalf pursuant to a written agreement. The ultimate deadline for compliance is Dec. 27, 2022, which must include the submission for reference years 2020 and 2021. The deadline for reference year 2022 will be due June 1, 2023."  MORE >>

Society for Human Resource Management [SHRM]; membership may be required to view article

[Guidance Overview]

DOL Addresses Enforcement of CAA-21 Compensation Disclosure Rules for Brokers and Consultants Under ERISA Section 408(b)(2)

"These disclosure requirements apply to persons who: [1] Provide brokerage services or consulting to ERISA group health plans. [2] Reasonably expect to receive $1,000 or more in direct or indirect compensation in connection with providing those services."  MORE >>

Thomson Reuters Practical Law

[Guidance Overview]

Proposed 2023 Payment Rule, Part 3: Risk Adjustment Program

"The proposed risk adjustment user fee for 2023 is $0.22 per member per month, down slightly from the user fee of $0.25 per member per month from 2022. HHS estimates that it will cost about $60 million in benefit year 2023 to operate the risk adjustment program, the same as for 2022.... [T]he coefficients for 2023 will be based on a blend of separately solved coefficients from [2017, 2018 and 2019]. HHS solicits comment on whether 2020 enrollee-level EDGE data should be included in recalibration for future years or not, given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic."  MORE >>

Health Affairs

[Guidance Overview]

CMS Reinstates Vaccine Mandate Rule for Healthcare Workers in 25 States

"CMS will begin enforcement in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin along with the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. In its December 28 guidance, CMS further indicated that covered employers in those states where the CMS mandate is stayed are not required to comply, pending future developments in the litigation."  MORE >>

McDonald Hopkins

[Guidance Overview]

Alert for Oklahomans with an HDHP Paired with an HSA

"The Oklahoma Legislature recently enacted HB 2678, which requires health insurers to 'include any amount paid by an enrollee or on behalf of an enrollee by another person when calculating the enrollee's total contribution to an out-of-pocket maximum, deductible, copayment, coinsurance or other cost-sharing requirement.' When the enrollee of a high deductible health plan ('HDHP') and associated health savings account ('HSA') receives credit from third-party payments and/or financial assistance before meeting their annual deductible, the individual becomes ineligible to contribute to their HSA."  MORE >>

Oklahoma Insurance Department

Ninth Circuit Interprets California Insurance Code to Require Payment of Interest on Life Insurance Benefits Only After a Claim Is Submitted

"The Ninth Circuit ... explained that the interest does not accrue until the benefit becomes payable and a benefit only becomes payable after the submission of a claim in line with the terms of the life insurance policy.... [T]he court rejected Workman's argument that Dearborn breached its fiduciary duties under ERISA by retaining a profit on interest from the insured's policy benefit. The guaranteed benefit policy amount is the asset [of] the ERISA plan. Thus, an insurer's fiduciary duties extend only to the disposition of the guaranteed benefit." [Workman v. Dearborn National Life Insurance Company, No. 20-55182 (9th Cir. Dec. 29, 2021)]  MORE >>

Roberts Disability Law

Pre-Tax Flexible Benefits: The Pros and Cons of Cafeteria Plans

"While more choice is always welcome, there are some drawbacks to cafeteria plans. Here's what you should know if you're considering offering this benefit."  MORE >>

Employee Benefits Report

Maryland Proposal Would Help Small Businesses Provide Employee Health Care

"To encourage more small businesses to provide health care to their employees, we will propose that the state commit $45 million of federal funds received by the State to help small businesses pay for health insurance for workers through Maryland Health Connection.... These funds will subsidize premium costs, making it far more affordable for employers to provide the benefit."  MORE >>

Katie Fry Hester, Robbyn Lewis and Brooke Lierman, via The Baltimore Sun

Benefits in General

Workforce Trends to Watch in 2022

"[1] Showcasing the importance of public sector roles ... [2] Tracking burnout ... [3] Supporting sustainable retirement benefits ... [4] Thinking beyond traditional benefits ... [5] Prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals ... [6] Focusing on the drivers of the Great Resignation."  MORE >>

MissionSquare

No Single Benefit Interests Every Age Group

"[E]mployees across all generations view workplace insurance benefits as more valuable today than before the COVID-19 pandemic. Those most interested in benefits were millennials (47 percent), followed by Gen X (33 percent), Gen Z (29 percent) and baby boomers (24 percent). So what do they each want in benefits? ... [T]he main consideration is where each age group is in their careers."  MORE >>

Employee Benefits Report

Employee Benefits Jobs

View job as Client Service Manager for Non-Qualified Plans
for Newport Client Service Manager for Non-Qualified Plans

Newport

Remote / AZ / CA / CO / FL / GA / IA / IL / KS / MA / MD / MI / MN / MO / NC / NJ / NY / OH / SC / TX / VA / WI

View job as Compliance Analyst
for The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA, Inc.) Compliance Analyst

The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA, Inc.)

Remote

View job as Actuarial Analyst
for The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA, Inc.) Actuarial Analyst

The Retirement Advantage, Inc. (TRA, Inc.)

Remote

Press Releases

Lindquist LLP Joins its Practice with Withum

Lindquist

The Cerrado Group Announces Dunbar, Bender and Zapf as Newest Member Firm

The Cerrado Group

Webcasts and Conferences
(Health & Welfare Plans)

Legal Ethics in Employee Benefits: The Fiduciary Exception and Other Practice Dilemmas

January 25, 2022 WEBCAST

ALI CLE [American Law Institute Continuing Legal Education]

Next Level Leave Administration: FMLA Guidance for 2022 and Beyond

February 10, 2022 WEBCAST

Disability Management Employer Coalition [DMEC]

Last Issue's Most Popular Items

Text of DOL Field Assistance Bulletin No. 2021-03: Temporary Enforcement Policy Regarding Group Health Plan Service Provider Disclosures Under ERISA Section 408(b)(2)(B)

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

DOL Announces Enforcement Policy on Disclosure Requirements for Group Health Plan Service Providers

Employee Benefits Security Administration [EBSA], U.S. Department of Labor [DOL]

What to Keep on Your Radar, and a Wish List for 2022

Cohen & Buckmann, P.C.

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BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, ISSN no. 1536-9587.

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