On February 22, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) released final regulations on health insurance market reforms (“Final Regulations”) as provided for under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (the “ACA”). The Final Regulations apply to the health insurance markets for individuals and small groups for policy and plan […]
Author: Trucker Huss
On March 11, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) published final regulations on the transitional reinsurance fee program (“Final Rules”)established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”), which is a temporary reinsurance program for the individual market that will be in operation for years 2014 through 2016. As we reported […]
ANGEL L. GARRETT and R. BRADFORD HUSS, March 2013 — On March 21, 2013, the Ninth Circuit issued its opinion in Tibble v. Edison International, affirming the district court’s decision in a case where participants alleged that 401(k) plan fiduciaries breached their duties of loyalty and prudence by including certain investment options in the plan, […]
The Department of Labor’s national enforcement initiative for employee stock ownership plans (“ESOPs”) is intended to identify and correct what the Department deems to be violations of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”). As part of the initiative, the Department has been challenging the enforceability of industry-standard indemnification agreements between ESOP plan sponsors and […]
On January 25, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued a major overhaul of the HIPAA rules that will require covered entities, including health plans and their business associates, to make significant changes to their policies and procedures, Notice of Privacy Practices and business associate agreements, as applicable. With a September 23, […]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) requires non-grandfathered insured health plans sold in the individual and small group markets, and plans that will be sold through the Health Insurance Exchanges (“Exchanges”), to provide “Essential Health Benefits” (“EHB”), beginning January 1, 2014. On February 20, 2013, the Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) […]
The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the so—called “Fiscal Cliff Bill”), passed on January 1, 2013, extends the existing limited in—plan Roth conversion option under Internal Revenue Code (“Code”) section 402A to all vested amounts in a participant’s account, including amounts not yet eligible for a distribution. The new rules apply to in—plan Roth […]
On December 31, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) rang in the New Year by issuing an updated version of its Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System (“EPCRS”), in Rev. Proc. 2013—12. This new version of EPCRS replaces Rev. Proc. 2008—50. Although the new procedure takes effect on April 1, 2013, it may be relied upon […]
On January 29, 2013, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a notice announcing various changes to the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program (DFVC Program), along with a Fact Sheet and Frequently Asked Questions. Although the DFVC Program has been periodically updated by the DOL over the last few years, the last comprehensive update was in […]
In keeping with the tradition of making a new year’s resolution, we suggest the following five resolutions that plan sponsors and fiduciaries can make in 2013 to encourage effective plan governance in the new year, and thereafter. One: Identify the plan fiduciaries. The best practices recommended in this article are only helpful if they are […]
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act added Section 18B to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which requires employers to provide all new hires and current employees with a notice explaining the existence of Exchanges, as well as the potential consequences if an employee purchases a qualified health plan through an Exchange instead of electing […]
On December 5, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) issued final regulations implementing the annual fee imposed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”) to fund the Patient—Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund (the “PCORI” fee). In our September 2012 issue, we discussed the proposed regulations on this topic, explained which plans […]
The Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) recently released Notice 2012–76, which contains the 2012 Cumulative List of Changes in Plan Qualification Requirements (the “2012 Cumulative List”) described in Section 4 of Revenue Procedure 2007–44. The 2012 Cumulative List is to be used by plan sponsors and practitioners submitting determination letter applications for plans during the […]
Last month, Trucker Huss reported on the transitional reinsurance program established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”). This is a temporary reinsurance program for the individual market that will be in operation for years 2014 through 2016. The goal of the transitional reinsurance program is to help stabilize premium coverage in the […]
On November 20, 2012, the Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services, released proposed regulations on incentives for nondiscriminatory wellness programs in group health plans as provided for under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (“PPACA”). These proposed regulations would apply to both grandfathered and non-grandfathered group health plans for […]
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