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Interested Parties Start to Read Health Reform Act, Find Surprises

Excerpt: Most of the language in PPACA and H.R. 4872 'has been sitting out there since Dec. 24,' Schiffbauer said today in an interview. But no one knew until the end whether any health bill would really pass, or whether the final result would look more like the House bill or the Senate bill, Schiffbauer said. Because of the uncertainty about passage of the legislation, because much of the legislation was [developed] behind closed doors, and because much of the debate about the legislation focused on topics such as whether President Obama was born in Kenya and the reality that some people who visit members of Congress have terrible problems with their health insurance, 'nobody started figuring [PPACA] out until it passed,' Schiffbauer said.

Carriers to Offer Health Facility Cost Information

Excerpt: A group of 5 Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies will be posting facility-specific medical procedure rates on the Web. The participating companies are WellPoint Inc., Indianapolis; Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Detroit; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, Eagan, Minn; Highmark Inc., Pittsburgh; and Premera Blue Cross, Mountlake Terrace, Wash.

Bill Would Put LTC on Cafeteria Menu

Excerpt: Lawmakers have launched a new effort to help consumers pay for long term care insurance through cafeteria plans and flexible spending arrangements. In addition to permitting workers to pay for LTC insurance through cafeteria plans and FSAs, the new Senate bill, S. 702, the Long-Term Care Affordability and Security Act of 2009, would add consumer protection standards drawn from a model law approved by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Kansas City, Mo.

Lawmakers Consider Dramatic COBRA Expansion

Excerpt: The House Ways and Means Committee [January 22, 2009] marked up a bill that could subsidize the cost of continuing group health coverage for laid-off workers and cut workers' share of the premiums to 35%. Ways and Means members voted 24-13 to approve the bill, H.R. 598, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Title III of the bill is the Health Insurance Assistance for the Unemployed Act of 2009. House leaders will combine H.R. 598 with other bills to create H.R. 1, a new American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and bring the bill up for a vote on the floor next week, committee leaders say.

IRS Establishes Church Plan Procedures

The IRS believes participants in a church plan seeking confirmation of nonelecting status should get advance notice, because of the fact that a nonelecting church plan is not subject to ERISA or ERISA plan tax code requirements.

Federal Appeals Court Backs NFL Retirement Board

A three-member panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed 3-0 to uphold a lower court ruling in favor of The Retirement Board of the Bert Bell/Peter Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, a retirement system for ex-players governed by [ERISA] ?- and against attorney Kurt R. Ward, Atlanta, GA.

Big Firms Want Mandatory Retirement Plans, According to Study

Excerpt: Plan sponsors also endorsed the idea of automatic increases in contributions each year until workers were setting aside more than 10% percent of their salaries toward requirement, according to the study by Northern Trust, Chicago.

DOL Proposal Cuts Light Duty Work From FMLA Leave Total

Excerpt: Bush administration officials have come out on the side of labor groups on 2 points in a draft of a Family and Medical Leave Act update. The U.S. Department of Labor, has decided that employers should not be able to count time spent on light duty when determining whether employees have used up their 12-week allotment of unpaid FMLA medical leave.