"Given the current House and Senate 'repeal and replace' ACA legislation, many employers are wondering if they need to take the time to revise their SBCs to comply with the new template and requirements. The short answer is use of the new SBC templates is still required. Both the House-passed legislation and the current legislation [...]

"After eliminating employee premiums for all coverage tiers, HSA-eligible health plan enrollment increased from 4 percent to 25 percent among individuals with employee-only coverage and from 2 percent to 31 percent among individuals with family coverage.... Offering coverage with no payroll deduction attracted individual enrollees who were marginally healthier than those who would have enrolled [...]

"Just a few miles from where President Trump addressed his blue-collar base last Tuesday night, exactly the kind of middle-class factory jobs he has vowed to bring back from overseas are going begging. It's not that local workers lack the skills for these positions, many of which do not even require a high school diploma [...]

Use Wrap-Tight® online to produce ERISA wrap welfare benefit plans and SPDs. Watch our 2 minute introduction.

"HHS has announced two major settlements it has reached with covered entities to resolve alleged violations of the HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules.  The terms of each settlement agreement require the covered entity to pay a multimillion dollar penalty to HHS and implement a corrective action plan."  Read the details: [The Wagner Law Group]

In litigation involving a health plan reimbursement claim, the Fifth Circuit ruled that a plan's summary plan description (SPD) could serve as the plan's "written instrument" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) (that is, the plan document) in the absence of a separate written instrument. The court concluded that the plan [...]

"The stories of an employer and a long-term disability insurer and claims fiduciary for an ERISA plan, defendants in two recent cases, ring so true. In the first case the insurer was designated as claims fiduciary for an employer's long-term disability plan, and ended up in litigation with the least friendly standard of review - [...]

"If the initial qualifying event that triggers an individual's COBRA rights is terminating employment or reducing hours of employment, subsequent qualifying events may result in an extension of the maximum COBRA coverage period for certain qualified beneficiaries.... Note that a covered employee is not a qualified beneficiary with respect to any 36-month qualifying event. Therefore, [...]

"Many incentive or bonus plans make payments or deliver stock within 2-1/2 months after the end of the year the participant became vested in order comply with the short-term deferral exception of Code Section 409A. However, some incentive plans provide for accumulations, multi-year periods, and mandatory deferrals. These plans may unwittingly become subject to ERISA's [...]

"A string of cases in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals is putting ERISA claims administrators on notice that falling short of strict compliance with the DOL's claims and appeal regulations may cost administrators a deferential standard of review.... Under the DOL's final regulations governing disability benefit claims, if a plan fails to strictly comply [...]