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Health and Welfare Hot Spots - How Should an Employer Comply with Uncertainty and Change in 2018?
August 21, 2018 WEBCAST
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

The Alliance Annual Meeting: Keeping The Lid on Specialty Rx Costs
September 11, 2018 in WI
The Alliance

Prescription Drug Program Trends and Litigation
October 18, 2018 WEBCAST
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits [JCEB]

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Group Health Plan PCORI Fees Due July 31

"In determining the number of covered lives, you must count anyone covered under your self-insured medical programs, including former employees (and their dependents) who participate under COBRA or other post-employment coverage. You can treat all self-insured benefits as a single plan.... [E]mployers can treat health FSAs and HRAs as providing self-only coverage." Warner Norcross & Judd LLP

31st ECFC Annual Symposium

The 31st Annual ECFC Symposium combines networking and professional development to provide those involved in healthcare consumerism with practical advice, education and updates on the regulatory front.

New York to Expand Paid Family Leave

"New York becomes the first state in the nation to mandate a form of bereavement leave, which many employers already voluntarily provide. If signed by the Governor, New York employees can begin taking Paid Family Leave for bereavement purposes beginning on January 1, 2020.... [If] signed by the Governor, the [second bill] will allow employees to take paid family leave to 'care' for family members who donate organs. The law will become effective immediately upon the Governor's signature." Fox Rothschild LLP

DOL Issues Association Health Plan Final Rules (PDF)

"The AHP must have an organizational structure and be controlled by its employer members.... [W]ill the association need a member vote to change insurance carriers, add a new benefit option or establish a wellness program incentive? What level of change may be considered 'material' when modifying plan deductibles, copayments and out-of-pocket limits, and will this include ... changes to these parameters that are annually set by the IRS to determine if a plan is a Qualified High Deductible Plan that allows Health Savings Account contributions?" Cherry Bekaert Benefits Consulting, LLC

Addressing Mental Health Care at Work

"Many organizations have found that simply by working with employees to recognize depression, build empathy, and find resources, increased EAP utilization while claim dollars did the opposite. In most cases there was no formal program involved -- leadership simply began talking about the issue[.]" United Benefit Advisors

When It's Hard to Unplug, Employee Mental Health Suffers

"[1] Remove the stigma.... [2] Provide and promote stress-relief activities.... [3] Develop a financial health & wellness program.... [4] Highlight your Employee Assistance Program (EAP)." Corporate Synergies

Develop a Strong Parental Leave Policy

July 25 webinar will address the changes taking place in parental leave policies and how to develop a policy which is legally compliant, and which is best suited to help employers recruit and retain employees. Discount for BenefitsLink readers .

Physician Groups Sue Anthem Over 'Dangerous' ER Coverage Policy

"A long-running disagreement over Anthem's policy of denying payment for emergency department visits that are later deemed non-emergent escalated ... Two groups, the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG), sued Anthem's Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia, alleging that the ER policy violates the 'prudent layperson' standard in the [ACA] -- which, the plaintiffs say, requires Anthem and other insurers to cover emergency care based on a patient's symptoms rather than their final diagnosis." HealthLeaders Media

Number of Million-Dollar Medical Claims Increased by 87% from 2014 to 2017

"Cancer made up $798.7 million in reimbursements to self-funded employers from 2014 to 2017, followed by metabolic disorder and hemophilia disorder ... [H]igh-cost conditions totaled $6.9 billion in paid charges over the four-year period. The number of patients with million dollar claims rose 87%, to 194 in 2017 from 104 in 2014, with most charges ranging from $1 million to $1.5 million, and totaling over $935 million in charges." Employee Benefit News

Hidden from View: The Astonishingly High Administrative Costs of U.S. Health Care

"At just over 25 percent of total spending on hospital care (or 1.4 percent of total United States economic output), American hospital administrative costs exceed those of all the other places.... Physician practices also devote a large proportion of revenue to administration. By one estimate, for every 10 physicians providing care, almost seven additional people are engaged in billing-related activities." The New York Times; subscription may be required

House Subcommittee Examines State Efforts to Increase Transparency in Midst of Skyrocketing Health Care Costs

"The Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations ... held a hearing [on July 17] to examine recently adopted state laws and policies that improve transparency of health care costs for consumers, making information more readily available." Energy and Commerce Committee, U.S. House of Representatives

Health Insurers Are Vacuuming Up Details About You

"Without any public scrutiny, insurers and data brokers are predicting your health costs based on data about things like race, marital status, how much TV you watch, whether you pay your bills on time or even buy plus-size clothing.... Insurers contend they use the information to spot health issues in their clients -- and flag them so they get services they need.... [P]atient advocates and privacy scholars say the insurance industry's data gathering runs counter to its touted, and federally required, allegiance to patients' medical privacy." ProPublica

Curing the 'Friday and Monday Leave Act' Blues: Addressing Increased Summertime Absenteeism and FMLA Intermittent Leave

"The FMLA's regulations impose obligations on employees to try and minimize the disruptions intermittent FMLA leave causes on an employer's operations.... Each time the employee requests intermittent leave, the employer may ask questions to determine if the absence is FMLA qualifying.... Employers may also request that employees recertify their need for leave.... Employers should watch an employee's unforeseeable absences to determine if there is a pattern.... Employers should designate the intermittent leave promptly to help the employer exhaust the employee's 12 weeks of leave as soon as possible." Bradley

New Colorado Data Privacy Requirements Apply to Organizations That Employ Workers in Colorado

"The key provisions in the new law are its requirements that covered entities: [1] maintain reasonable security procedures and practices; [2] establish and follow a written policy for the destruction of personal information when it is no longer needed; [3] ensure that third-party service providers handling their personal information have implemented and maintained reasonable security procedures and practices; and [4] follow the law's notification procedures when it becomes aware that a security breach 'may have' occurred." Holland & Hart LLP

Privately Held Companies and the SEC: New Legislation Doubles Rule 701 Soft Cap Limit

"Under the new law the $5 million 'soft cap limit' for Rule 701 exemption from additional disclosures required by Rule 5 has been increased. In fact, the limit has doubled.... This change should make it easier -- particularly for larger privately held companies -- to offer share-based compensation to their employees without bumping up against the enhanced Rule 701 cap limits." Holifield Janich Rachal Ferrera, PLLC

Medical FSA -- Unsubstantiated Debit Card Claim in Prior Plan Year for Terminated Employee

IRS Chief Counsel Memorandum 201413006 somewhat speaks to this, but it doesn't seem to address an employee who terminated employment in the prior year. Debit card was charged in plan year 2017 for $159.26. Participant terminated employment 7/14/17 and received her 2017 W-2 at the beginning of 2018. Third party FSA admin just notified us at the end of the claim period and has stated that they have sent notices and contacted the individual 3 times and suspended the debit card as required by the Memo above. But it looks like there were no other claims to offset and there are no future wages in 2018 to offset. So the $159.26 would become income in 2018, right? And the employer would just have to eat the both sides (employee and employer) of the (albeit small) FICA/FUTA amounts? And the former employee would receive a W-2 from the employer for 2018?
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Press Releases

Seyfarth's Peter Varney Appointed Chair of the State Bar of Georgia's Employee Benefits Law Section Seyfarth Shaw LLP

SageView Sponsors Women in Pensions Network (WiPN) SageView Advisory Group

Alliance Benefit Group Expands its Footprint in the Sunshine State Alliance Benefit Group

National Business Group on Health Launches Major Initiative to Enhance Employee Engagement with Health and Well-being Programs National Business Group on Health [NBGH]

Russell Investments Expands Distribution of Adaptive Retirement Accounts OneAmerica

Pension Inspector Launches ERISA Plus Dashboard, a New SaaS Integrating Prior and Present Form 5500 Filings National Retirement Programs, Inc.

Introducing Appley Health, A Next-Generation Technology Platform Slicing Real Cost From Healthcare Appley Health

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