Benefits Project Manager
Northrop Grumman Corporation
in CA, VA

Benefits Analyst 4 (Pension Administration)
Northrop Grumman Corporation
in CA, VA

Client Service Manager
CBIZ
in OH

Vice President of Retirement Planning Services
USI Consulting Group
in IL

Financial Services Sales Manager
Retirement Plan Consultants LLC
in CO, IA, KS, MN, NE, SD

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ACA Information Reporting of Minimum Essential Coverage under IRC Section 6055
September 9, 2014 WEBCAST
(IRS [Internal Revenue Service])

19th Annual Conference
November 10, 2014 in DC
(National Business Coalition on Health)

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Text of IRS Fact Sheet: ACA Provision 9010, Health Insurance Providers Fee
Updated September 3, 2014. "Section 9010 of the [ACA] imposes a fee on each covered entity engaged in the business of providing health insurance for United States health risks. The first filings are due from covered entities by April 15, 2014 and the first fees are due September 30, 2014. A covered entity is generally any entity with net premiums written for health insurance for United States health risks during the fee year that is [1] a health insurance issuer ... [2] a health maintenance organization ... [3] an insurance company ... [4] an insurer that provides health insurance under Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, or Medicaid; or [5] a non-fully insured multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA)." (Internal Revenue Service [IRS])

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IRS Releases Draft ACA Reporting Form Instructions
"Employers must file a Form 1095-C (or a substitute form) for each employee who was a full-time employee of the employer for any month of the calendar year. An employer that provides health coverage through an employer-sponsored self-insured health plan must also complete Form 1095-C, Part III, for any individual ... who enrolled in the self-insured health plan. If an employer is providing health coverage in another manner, such as through an insured health plan or a multiemployer health plan, the issuer of the insurance or the sponsor of the plan providing the coverage will provide the information about their health coverage to any enrolled employees, and the employer will not complete Form 1095-C, Part III, for such employees." (Littler)

Third-Party Staffing Arrangements and 'Offers of Coverage by Unrelated Employers'
"With two seemingly simple and straightforward definitions in the final regulations implementing the [ACA's] pay-or-play rules -- i.e., definitions of 'employer' and 'employee' -- the Treasury Department and IRS have raised a host of concerns for third party staffing arrangements.... Both definitions adopt the 'common law' standard. In so doing, there is no evidence that the regulators intended to change prior law. But unwittingly or otherwise, the preamble to the final regulations provides ample evidence that the industry's view of these terms is at odds with that of the regulators." (Mintz Levin)

Application of the ACA to HRAs and FSAs
"[ IRS Notice 2013-54 ] limits the ability of employers to set up HRAs, health FSAs, and other stand-alone employer payment plans for employees to use to purchase coverage on the individual market.... Since this new guidance clarifies that these arrangements cannot be integrated with coverage purchased on the individual market, any stand-alone HRA, health FSA not limited to excepted benefits, or other employer payment plan described in the Notice will fail to comply with the annual dollar limit prohibition and the preventative services requirement of the ACA market reforms." (Thompson Coburn)

Text of D.C. Court of Appeals Grant of Petition for En Banc Rehearing of Challenge to ACA Subsidies (PDF)
"Upon consideration of appellees' petition for rehearing en banc, the response thereto, and the vote in favor of the petition by a majority of the judges eligible to participate, it is ordered that the petition be granted. Case No. 14-5018 will be reheard by the court sitting en banc. It is further ordered that the judgment filed July 22, 2014, be vacated. It is further ordered that the oral argument before the en banc court be heard at 9 :30 a.m. on Wednesday, December 17, 2014." [Halbig v. Burwell, No. 14-5018 (D.C. Cir. Sept. 4, 2014)] (U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit)

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ACI's 8th National Forum on ERISA Litigation

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Obamacare Tax Rule to Get Rehearing by Full Appeals Court
"A rehearing sets up the possibility that the full court will reverse the ruling of a three-judge panel that blocked subsidies for consumers on federal-run health exchanges, a key element to the 2010 overhaul of healthcare in America. Another U.S. appeals court, in Richmond, Virginia upheld the provision's application to federal exchanges. Eliminating the split would reduce, though not eliminate, the chances of the Supreme Court taking the case." (Bloomberg)

Midsize Employers Still Required to Do Section 6056 Reporting in 2015
"Midsize employers will not be subject to any shared responsibility payments under the ACA until 2016. However, these employers are still required to file and furnish [information] under Sec. 6056 ... On the Sec. 6056 transmittal form in 2015, midsize employers will be required to certify they that met the eligibility requirements for this transition relief -- meaning that they did not reduce their workforce or the health coverage provided to employees after the transition relief was announced." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Driving Innovation in the Health Care Marketplace: A CEO Report (PDF)
108 pages. "This report highlights the innovations we have made and the public policy changes we believe would permit the private and public markets to better leverage their collective purchasing power to create a more consumer-centric health care system focused on driving value by promoting health and improving outcomes. The report also provides information on current efforts by leading BRT companies to make health care costs more transparent and improve data on quality of care, which together will lead to a more value-driven health care system.... Our report presents a vision for what the public and private sectors can do over the next decade to remove existing barriers to innovation and create a framework for public policy that supports innovations to get better care for less money." (Business Roundtable [BRT])

Six Burning Questions Health Care Leaders Have About ACOs
"[Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)] are captivating because they contain elements of care delivery that most experts agree should improve health care: financial risk sharing, electronic health records, quality benchmarks, patient engagement, and care coordination,... [1] What do ACOs look like today? ... [2] What factors will lead to ACO success? ... [3] Are current financial incentives strong enough to change provider behavior? ... [4] Will ACOs integrate with other types of caregivers? ... [5] Will ACOs successfully engage their patients? ... [6] What metrics will effectively measure quality?" (Altarum Institute)

Are 'Minimum Essential Coverage' Health Plans the Game Changers for Employers in ACA Countdown?
"While [Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC)] plans can eliminate the $2,000 penalty, employers should be aware that these plans do not protect them from the ACA's $3,000 penalty per each employee who goes to a public exchange and qualifies for a federal subsidy. Also, because MEC plans offer only the most basic level of benefits required under ERISA, employees might view them unfavorably unless combined with other benefits policies." (Healthcare Reform Magazine)

How People Feel About Their Employer-Sponsored Health Plans
"For people earning between 138 percent and 400 percent of the federal poverty limit, or between $33,000 to $95,000 -- the income range of people who are most likely to buy insurance on the public marketplaces -- more than 23 percent of workers with employer coverage reported having problems paying their medical bills in the last year. For workers even lower on the income spectrum -- who are now eligible for Medicaid coverage in the states that have expanded their programs -- more than 32 percent with employer coverage had struggled to pay their medical bills. But about 9 percent of higher earners also had trouble with health care costs." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)

Why You Should Conduct an RFP to Choose an Exchange Provider
"Myth 1: You don't need to look outside your consulting firms for an RFP process because you plan to use their internal insurance exchange offerings.... Myth 2: Your existing exchange provider is 'good enough', so it's not worth looking at other options.... Myth 3: RFPs are time-consuming and will not yield a high return-on-investment." (The Institute for HealthCare Consumerism [IHCC])

Five States to Get Early Access to Small Business Health Insurance Marketplace
"Businesses with fewer than 50 full-time workers in the five states will be able to access the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP, in late October, ahead of the start of open enrollment on Nov. 15.... CMS said [on September 3] that allowing employers to view the online exchange early would allow the government to gather feedback on the website." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Are Health Insurance Premiums Skyrocketing in 2015?
"With preliminary or final individual premiums available for 31 states and the District of Columbia, the average rate increase is 8 percent .... But 29 states have released only the rates that the insurers have requested, not final rates.... Some states are using regulatory mojo to roll back outrageous requests." (Consumer Reports)

Little Evidence So Far That ACA Is Increasing Part-Time Work
"[The authors] find no evidence that the ACA had already started increasing part-time work before 2014. [They do] find a small increase in part-time work in 2014 beyond what would be expected at this point in the economic recovery based on prior experience since 2000. This increase in part-time work is fully attributable to an increase in involuntary part-time work. The increase in involuntary part-time work, however, is not specific to the category of part-time work defined by the ACA[.]" (Urban Institute)

National Health Expenditure Projections, 2013-23: Faster Growth Expected with Expanded Coverage and Improving Economy (PDF)
"In 2013 health spending growth is expected to have remained slow, at 3.6 percent ... The combined effects of the [ACA's] coverage expansions, faster economic growth, and population aging are expected to fuel health spending growth this year and thereafter (5.6 percent in 2014 and 6.0 percent per year for 2015-23). However, the average rate of increase through 2023 is projected to be slower than the 7.2 percent average growth experienced during 1990-2008.... [T]he health share of the gross domestic product is expected to rise from 17.2 percent in 2012 to 19.3 percent in 2023." (Health Affairs)

Text of Comments by American Academy of Actuaries to GASB: Exposure Drafts on Accounting and Financial Reporting for Other Postemployment Benefits (PDF)
12 pages. "We believe OPEBs constitute a liability. There may be associated questions of legal liability and the measurement of the liability, but when a government is providing, or intends to provide, OPEBs, particularly retiree health benefits, to its retirees, the financial effects of doing so should be quantified and transparent to stakeholders. We support the GASB in its prior steps to do so and in the current effort to improve accountability of financial reporting and the usefulness of decision relevant information regarding OPEBs." (Joint Committee on Retiree Health, American Academy of Actuaries)

Limit on Compensation Deduction for Health Insurers Saved Taxpayers Over $72 Million in 2013
"The $72 million in savings from the deduction limitation imposed on compensation paid to the 57 executives is equivalent to the cost of dental insurance for 262,000 Americans or enough to cover the cost of the average deductible under the ACA's 'silver' plan for 28,000 people. The 10 companies paid their top executives nearly $300 million in taxable compensation in 2013. Without the ACA, as much as 96 percent of that amount, or $289 million, could have been claimed as deductible performance-based pay, compared with the 27 percent that actually was." (Bloomberg BNA)

Sibson Consulting Expands Retirement Practice Sibson Consulting

United Benefit Advisors Welcomes New Partner Firm Avery Hall Benefit Solutions United Benefit Advisors

Prudential Group Insurance names Bob Love Vice President of Middle Market Segment Prudential Financial, Inc.

John Hancock Retirement Plan Services Launches Online Tool To Help Advisors with Plan Management John Hancock Retirement Plan Services

Target Date Solutions Announces New Target Date Fund Index Offering Target Date Solutions

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