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American Pension Advisors, Ltd.
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Trending Innovations in Employee Benefits - Best Practices Revealed - How Do Your Plans Compare?
February 1, 2018 in MD
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Baltimore Chapter

Employment Issues Affecting Texas Employers and Strategies for Minimizing Exposure
February 14, 2018 in TX
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Houston Chapter

Annual Legislative and Regulatory Update
February 27, 2018 in CT
Worldwide Employee Benefits Network [WEB] - Hartford Chapter

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DOL Proposed Regs Would Allow Association Health Plans
"The proposed rule ... would require that the group or association have a formal organizational structure with a governing body ... and that the functions and activities of the group or association, including the establishment and maintenance of the group health plan, are controlled by its employer members. These requirements are intended to ensure that the organizations are bona fide organizations with the organizational structure necessary to act 'in the interests' of participating employers with respect to employee benefit plans as ERISA requires."
Wolters Kluwer Law & Business

Complying With W-2 Rules for Reporting Health Care Benefits and HSA Reporting Rules

Jan. 17 webinar. Learn how to properly complete applicable tax forms and how to communicate relevant tax-reporting information to employees, as well as the due dates for each form. BenefitsLink discount .

Assessing the New Maryland Paid Sick Leave Law
"Employers with 15 or more employees will be required to provide employees with paid leave ... and employers with fewer than 15 employees will be required to provide unpaid leave ... for the following reasons: [1] Care or treatment of the employee's or a family member's mental or physical illness, injury, or conditions; [2] Preventive medical care for the employee or family member; [3] Maternity or paternity leave; and [4] Absences that are necessary due to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or the employee's family member."
Smith & Downey, P.A.

Maryland Senate Overrides Governor's Veto of Paid Sick Leave Law
"Employees who have accrued, unused sick and safe leave at the end of each year must be permitted to carry over that leave to the following year, though employers may impose a 40-hour carry over cap.... employers will not be required to allow employees to: [1] Carry over more than 40 hours of accrued, unused sick and safe leave from year to year; [2] Use more than 64 hours of sick and safe leave in a year; [3] Accrue more than 64 hours at any time; or [4] Use sick and safe leave during the first 106 calendar days that the employee works for the employer."
Proskauer

Designing a Compliant Wellness Program (PDF)
63 pages. "There are four common types of employer-sponsored wellness programs: [1] General educational or participatory and not health plan-related [2] Participatory and health plan-related [3] Activity-only and health plan-related [4] Outcome-based & health plan-related.... [This article reviews] the rules as they apply to these common types of wellness programs [and] includes a questionnaire that may help you to determine which type of wellness program you have in place (or are considering implementing)."
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Costs No Longer Biggest Factor in Choice of Benefits Administration Platform
"[Respondents in this year's survey who indicated that costs were their top driver when choosing a benefits administration platform] plummeted to just 23.9% of respondents this year from as many as 64.4% last year.... Leading the charge were administrative ease at 61.4%, which was up from 38% in 2016, and empowering employees to make informed benefits decisions at 51.5%, which was up from 24.4% in 2016."
Employee Benefit News

Employer Health Care Cost & Quality Congress | Washington DC

4/29-5/2/2018 in Washington DC. This event brings together Employers, Brokers, and TPAs. Qualified HR & Benefits Professionals may attend as our guest ? See website for details/restrictions & to apply.

Oscar Enters Pact with Multinational Insurer AXA
"The two companies will enter into a multiyear quota-share reinsurance transaction -- which typically means an insurer cedes a portion of its risks and premiums, up to a set dollar limit, to a reinsurer. Oscar hopes the new arrangement will accelerate its expansion efforts and 'enable long-term, capital-efficient growth,' according to an announcement."
FierceHealthcare

Consumers Sue Centene Over Network Adequacy, Transparency
"The lawsuit alleges that Centene misrepresents the breadth of its provider networks and, when consumers enroll in the Ambetter plans, they're unable to find a doctor who will take their insurance or have to travel long distances to find a doctor who will see them. The plaintiffs argue that these practices violate the ACA and state law, are a breach of Centene's insurance contract with its consumers, and lead to higher out-of-pocket costs for enrollees through unpaid claims, denied claims, and balance billing."
Health Affairs

Unitedhealth Raises 2018 Profit Outlook, to Take Benefit from Tax Law
"The biggest lift to its bottom line this year is a $1.7 billion benefit in earnings and cash flow from the $1.5 trillion tax bill that Trump signed into law last month. That is after a $400 million to $500 million reduction in premium revenue to comply with former President Barack Obama's healthcare law -- less than half of which is to comply with a minimum ratio for profits versus premiums collected."
Reuters

ECFC Comment Letter to IRS on about Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangements (PDF)
"We believe that Congress did not intend that coverage of excepted benefits would be considered group health coverage causing an employer to be unable to offer a QSEHRA to its employees.... [ IRS Notice 2017-67 provides] that an employer would not be eligible to offer a QSEHRA if it provides current employees with continued access to amounts which accumulated in an HRA in previous year or carryover amounts in an FSA ... This is counterproductive to the policy behind consumer-directed health accounts[.]"
Employers Council on Flexible Compensation [ECFC]

With the Federal Individual Mandate Gone, States Might Step Up: Lessons from Massachusetts
"State-administered mandates or alternative policies to encourage broad coverage across a state's population can be a tool to foster premium stability and healthy issuer participation, but [Massachusetts has] found that mandates can also introduce extra advantages such as the promotion of consistent benefit floors and enabling effective outreach to the uninsured."
Health Affairs

DOL Increases Civil Penalty Amounts for 2018 (PDF)
"The DOL's final rule implements the 2018 annual adjustments for civil penalties assessed or enforced by the DOL, including penalties under the FLSA, FMLA, OSH Act and ERISA. The increased penalty amounts became effective on Jan. 2, 2018, and may apply for any violations occurring after Nov. 2, 2015. The updated maximum penalty amounts are shown in [a table]."
Cowden Associates, Inc.

Updates for the New Year in Benefits and Executive Comp
16 topics are addressed. "[E]mployers should verify that all claims based on determining a disabled status will be handled in compliance with the new rules beginning on April 1, 2018, regardless of the type of ERISA plan involved.... A provision permitting qualified disaster withdrawals [from 401(k) plans] for '2016 disasters' was enacted.... Because some retirement plans had historically excluded [moving expense] reimbursements from compensation for plan purposes, employers will need to verify now that such amounts are included ... [An] employer may not receive a deduction for any qualified transportation fringe benefit under Code section 132(f) provided to an employee, unless the transportation is provided for the safety of the employee."
Winstead PC

Are ISOs Back?
"Generally, ISOs do not result in a tax deduction for the company, but they do provide favorable tax consequences for the employee recipients. As long as the company will not be able to deduct the gain on equity awards anyway, why not provide better tax treatment to the executives?"
Winston & Strawn LLP

Exceptions to Child's Right to Health Coverage Until Age 26, Under a Retiree Health Plan?
A recent retiree from a large US-based corporation was told that her 25-year-old son was not eligible for coverage under the retiree health plan because it only offers coverage until age 25 rather than age 26 as in the active employee plan. I thought the ACA required all plans to offer coverage until the child's 26th birthday, with no excepions. Is that right?
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Press Releases

Fiduciary Expert Blaine Aikin Takes Expanded CEFEX Role as Executive Chairman as Company Enhances its Investment Advisor Certification to Verify Conformity to DOL Fiduciary Rule Provisions Centre for Fiduciary Excellence [CEFEX]

WEX Health Selects dailyVest to Further Customize HSA Investment Capabilities, Enhance Consumer Engagement dailyVest Inc.

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