Benefits in the News

Winston & Strawn LLP

"Inquiring minds want to know: 'Mike, how is Winston figuring out how to test for a "business or personal" relationship between the Firm and any director or executive officer of the client?' The answer is that law firm (and most other professional service firms) tend to have a good idea of all of their connections and relationships within a client."

AISHealth.com

"Proposed prices for Bronze-level individual coverage [in Oregon] ranged from $169 to $422, prompting at least one carrier to seek permission to go back to the drawing board ... [C]arriers will be allowed to resubmit bids as long as they can demonstrate a change is justified. Any additional information provided by the carrier won't supersede or replace information contained in the filing, and the division will not accept revised filing exhibits, such as rate tables or actuarial memoranda ... Carriers that propose low rates have likely made a strategic decision to grab market share early in the game, and might opt to adjust prices upward in the second year[.]"

IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics

"[T]otal dollars spent on medications in the U.S. reached $325.8 billion last year, or real per capita spending of $898, down $33 from 2011. Underlying drivers for the overall decline in healthcare service use included fewer patient visits to office-based physicians, fewer non-emergency admissions to hospitals and outpatient facilities, and a less severe flu season in the early part of 2012. Patent expiries in 2012 contributed $28.9 billion to the reduction in medicine spending. This was their largest-ever impact as millions of patients accessed lower-cost generic versions of additional medicines."

McGuireWoods LLP

"The [Seventh Circuit recently held] that a bright-line 'categorical' rule applies when a property owner in common control with a withdrawing employer leases property to that employer: the leasing activity is categorically a trade or business within the meaning of Section 4001(b)(1). The court justified its categorical rule because it is unlikely that leasing to a commonly-controlled withdrawing employer would ever be a truly passive investment. It is more likely that the goal is to split up the withdrawing employer's assets. Categorically labeling this activity a trade or business prevents businesses from shirking ERISA obligations by fractionalizing operations into separate entities."

The Wall Street Journal

"[W]hile many Americans rely on their savings or 401(k) plans to see them through their golden years, high-end folks are falling in love with another option -- something called the self-directed individual retirement account. The idea is simple enough: Invest in anything you want, but put the investment into a special IRA, so it isn't taxed until retirement ... [But] some experts are expressing serious reservations about the skyrocketing growth of self-directed IRAs ... because many parts of this business aren't regulated."

The Washington Post

"The report estimates that, at the median, Americans born between 1966 and 1975 -- so-called Gen-Xers -- will be able to replace just half their pre-retirement income once they stop working, well below the minimum 70 percent replacement rates recommended by most financial planners. Late baby boomers -- which the report defines as those born between 1956 and 1965 -- will be able to replace 60 percent of their working incomes in retirement, the report estimates. Both replacement rates are below what financial experts say is necessary for a secure retirement."

Bloomberg

"The U.S. health-care law's projected tax bite on businesses with more generous health benefits is dropping as medical spending slows and employers look to rein in the cost of coverage. The [ACA's] so-called Cadillac tax on high-premium health plans was initially projected [by the CBO] to bring in $137 billion over the next decade. That estimate has now been trimmed to about $80 billion, a $57 billion decrease[.]"

Bloomberg

"Morgan Stanley [has been] sued ... over claims the bank received improper payments from ING Life Insurance and Annuity Co. in exchange for referral of retirement-investment business. [The suit alleges that the] bank placed retirement plans with so-called alliance partners, including ING, and received additional compensation from them based on the assets invested[.]" [Skin Pathology Associates Inc. v. Morgan Stanley & Co., No. 13-cv-3299, (S.D.N.Y.)]

John Goodman, via Forbes

"[E]mployers are already reacting to ObamaCare. In fact, there was a huge shift to part-time employment in the fast-food industry beginning in January. The reason: ... in deciding whether a worker is full-time or part-time next January (when the mandate becomes effective) the government will look at the average weekly hours worked in the previous year. One fast-food restaurant owner ... (owning 100 franchises) [reported] that the average workweek for their employees has been reduced to 25 hours this year -- compared with 38 last year."

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

"[Pennsylvania's] two pension systems -- for state government workers (SERS) and public school employees (PSERS) -- are, together, more than $47 billion in debt. It's a shortfall that taxpayers must cover, amounting to an average $1,000 increase in contributions per household by 2017. In the Pittsburgh region alone, property taxes are expected to rise between $190 and $440 a year as a result."

Bloomberg

"Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the country's second-largest public pension manager, posted a return of 10 percent in the fiscal year after it boosted exposure to international markets.... The fund, which manages retirement savings for 18 million people in every province except Quebec, continues to look outside the country for growth, it said in a statement"

Healthcare Reform Magazine

"The simple truth of the matter is that healthier employees cost less. Employees with chronic health conditions often cost the bulk of healthcare costs. In reality, companies that have effectively developed a wellness culture also realize cost savings in reference to retention, recruitment, reputation, and employee engagement."

Pew Center on the States

"This report explores how the Great Recession affected the wealth and retirement security of baby boomers relative to younger and older age groups.... Early boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) were approaching retirement in better financial shape than the age groups that came before them.... The picture of wealth accumulation and savings for Americans born after 1955 was more mixed.... Both cohorts of baby boomers and the Gen-Xers have significantly lower asset-to-debt ratios than do the older groups.... All groups experienced wealth losses in the Great Recession, but Gen-Xers took the hardest hit.... Replacement rate analysis shows that the youngest cohorts will not have enough assets for a secure retirement."

On Wall Street

"[SEC Chairman Mary Jo] White testified that the SEC should be able to avoid employee furloughs under the sequester budget, but that key priorities at the agency will be unmet if the current level of funding holds. White acknowledged that the SEC's budget request comes in response both to the new mandates of recent legislation and an understanding that the agency has been unable to fulfill longstanding obligations, citing the oversight of investment advisors as exhibit A."

Spectrem Group

"There are few retirement readiness issues on which men and women feel equally secure.... When asked about future prospects, men are more likely than women to say they expect to be better off financially one year from now. They also express greater concern with their level of household debt. Women are more concerned about not saving enough for retirement, health issues and the financial situation of their children."

Ron Rhoades, via Scholarly Financial Planner

The author presents a list of questions and accompanying discussion, including: "Are you a fiduciary under the law, and will you continue to be my fiduciary at all times during the advisor-client relationship we will enter into? ... Can 'financial planning' advice be separated out from your 'investment advisory' services? ... What conflicts of interest do you, your firms, or any affiliated firms possess with respect to the advice you may provide to me? Do you or your firm receive any material third-party compensation when I choose your investment advisory services or invest in investment or insurance products recommended by you?"

Internal Revenue Service

"In accordance with this order, tax return preparers covered by this program are not required to complete competency testing or secure continuing education. The ruling does not affect the regulatory practice requirements for CPAs, attorneys, enrolled agents, enrolled retirement plan agents or enrolled actuaries.... Fee amounts collected for scheduled registered tax return preparer test appointments canceled due to the court ordered injunction are being refunded. Additionally, fees collected from return preparers who tested on or after January 18, 2013, the date the test was enjoined, are also being refunded."

Towers Watson

"A number of factors have contributed to enhanced shareholder support in 2013, including improved performance at some companies and reduced incentive payouts at companies where performance has lagged, driving better pay-for-performance alignment. Additionally, improved say-on-pay results have occurred due to the results of companies engaging shareholders and responding to concerns raised when voting on previous say-on-pay resolutions."

American Benefits Council

"Our comments relate solely to the proposal that Part D sponsors should require their network retail and mail pharmacies to obtain patient consent to deliver new or refill prescriptions prior to each delivery.... An alternative approach that strengthens protections for both Medicare beneficiaries and the Part D program would be to develop balanced, workable guidelines that require affirmative written or electronic consent when patients opt in to an automatic refill program and the opportunity for beneficiaries to opt out of an automatic refill program entirely or for any particular medication."

Buck Consultants

"The IRS has released its final report on the tax-exempt colleges and universities study, which began in 2008. Examination of employment returns for roughly one-third of the schools resulted in wage adjustments of about $36 million and over $7 million in taxes and penalties. Problems with retirement plan reporting resulted in additional wage increases, taxes, and penalties. These findings underscore the need for schools -- and other tax-exempt organizations -- to establish a process to set and provide appropriate executive compensation on an ongoing basis."

Families USA

"Ninety-eight percent of businesses with 200 or more workers and 94 percent of businesses with 50 to 199 workers offered insurance to their employees in 2012. Employers have overwhelmingly said that they are unlikely to change their policy of offering coverage for their employees under the [ACA]. A recent study found that 82 percent of employers with 100 to 199 workers and 95 percent of employers with 1,000 to 2,499 workers do not anticipate dropping health insurance in the next one to three years."

Healthcare Reform Digest

"The parties will address whether the Anti-Injunction Act applies to the employer mandate (after the Supreme Court's decision that it did not apply to the dispute involving the individual mandate), whether the employer mandate exceeds Congress' powers under the Commerce, Necessary and Proper, and Taxing and Spending clauses of the Constitution, and the impact of the Equal Protection, Free Exercise of Religion, and Establishment Clauses on the employer mandate and other insurance mandates, such as the requirement to cover preventative care, including contraceptive drugs. Importantly, Liberty University's claims regarding Congress' power to enact the employer mandate under the Commerce, Necessary and Proper and/or Taxing and Spending clauses of the Constitution apply to all employers -- both secular and religious."

John Goodman's Health Policy Blog

"The folks at Harvard really, really hate cost sharing (i.e., deductibles, coinsurance and co-pays) in health care. They are much less concerned about high premiums or taxes.... The authors are remarkably unconcerned about what it would have cost these unsubsidized families to avoid such burdens. But they include a table that provides a hint -- if you compare the difference in annual premium to the annual deductible ... Gold plans have zero deductibles."

The Washington Post

"President Obama on Thursday appointed senior budget adviser Daniel Werfel as the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service... Werfel has served for most of the Obama administration as controller of the Office of Management and Budget, overseeing federal procurement, financial disclosure and working to fight waste. A lawyer by training who also worked as a budget official in the George W. Bush administration, Werfel has helped reduce the administration's level of improper payments to contractors and has been working to manage the mandatory budget cuts known as the sequester."

Detroit News

"Detroit's pension assets are a big, inviting honey pot. And a lot of folks lately have put their hands in the honey jar. It may be time to put someone else in charge of these assets. Detroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr noted in his first report on the state of the city that the city's pension funds ... may have overestimated the value of their assets. The report cites a difference of hundreds of millions of dollars[.]"

Brookings

"Designing the best exchange for the District has been challenging because DC's health insurance market is small and highly concentrated. There are only four carriers one of which one controls more than three quarters of the individual and small group markets.... In a small market with a dominant insurer, it is essential that the exchange risk pool be as inclusive as possible, both to stabilize the exchange -- which is the only source of federal subsidies for District residents with modest incomes -- and to maximize transparency and competition."

Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.

Articles include: Summary of Description of Material Modifications for Calendar Year Plans; PBGC Issues Proposed Regulations on Reportable Events and Other Notification Requirements; IRS Provides Relief from the Anti-Cutback Requirements for Certain ESOP Amendments; FAQs on SBC Requirements and Updated SBC Template for 2014; IRS Proposes Regulations on Determining Minimum Value; Supreme Court Issues Decision in US Airways, Inc. v. McCutchen.

Cheiron

"Plan accounting is now separated from funding, which has resulted in a vacuum for guidance on funding policies which a number of organizations have taken steps to address. This article provides an overview of funding policies, the considerations and components of establishing a policy, and recently issued and pending guidance."

Bass, Berry & Sims

Includes overview of the rules, followed by numerous Q&As. Excerpt: "Will the new rules prohibit a board designee of a significant stockholder from serving on the compensation committee of a listed company? ... Does a compensation consultant or other adviser need to be engaged by the compensation committee for the rules to be applicable? ... How does a company determine whether an adviser is providing services to the compensation committee? ... Do the new rules require that compensation consultants, outside legal counsel and other advisers providing advice to the compensation committee be independent?"

AFSCME

"During the next five years, with the implementation of health care reform, more than 3 million Californians will require language assistance in health care. By state and federal law, these Californians must have access to translating services. And yet, the state does not yet have a clear plan for how a rapidly growing number of patients will access the care to which they are entitled and need."

Vedder Price

"[T]he model Marketplace Notice describes affordability in terms of whether the cost of coverage exceeds 9.5% of the employee's wages from the employer, not the statutory threshold of 9.5% of the employee's household income. The model notice contains certain optional provisions on its last page that are intended to help ensure that employees understand their coverage options, but will require the notice to be customized for different groups of employees ... [T]hese optional provisions may not be practical at larger employers."

Mintz Levin

"Recently issued proposed regulations provide important clarifications on how employers determine minimum value, and how those determinations impact their compliance with the Act. The proposed rule also clarifies the relationships among minimum value and affordability, on the one hand, and wellness programs, Health Reimbursement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts, on the other.... [A] table summarizes the rules governing wellness programs, HSAs and HRAs[.]"

Lane Powell PC

"'[A] plan administrator is not required to obtain vocational evidence where the medical evidence contained in the record provides substantial support for a finding that the claimant is not totally and permanently disabled.' ... [T]he file reviewers 'made no credibility determinations about [the claimant] and did not second-guess [the claimant's] treating physicians.' For those reasons, the [Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit] held that 'MetLife did not act arbitrarily or capriciously in conducting a file review.'"

International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

"[T]he vast majority of employers (90 percent) have moved beyond a 'wait and see mode' and are actively developing tactics and taking steps to deal with new rules and regulations stemming from the new health care reform law.... 69 percent of employers stated they will definitely continue to provide employer-sponsored health care when health exchanges come online in 2014 -- a 23 point increase from 2012 (46 percent). Another quarter of respondents (25 percent) stated they are very likely to continue their employer-sponsored health care offering."

Morningstar Advisor

"Individuals are different in the way they process information, vary in the way they behave when faced with a financial decision, and have different risk preferences, so it is essential that advisors interact with each client effectively. This often means that you must change the way you speak to different types of clients even though your advice may be similar across your client base."

Leonard, Street and Deinard

"A recent tax court opinion highlights the importance of meeting all legal requirements with these arrangements.... The business owed money to the seller of the assets used in the business and the individual IRA owners had personally guaranteed that debt. The individuals later converted their IRAs from traditional IRAs to Roth IRAs. The business was sold a few years later and the individuals assumed that the gain on the sale would be tax free when received by the Roth IRAs and tax free when distributed to the individuals who owned the Roth IRAs.... The IRS [claimed] that the personal guarantees by the IRA owners of the note to the seller constituted an indirect loan to the IRA itself.... The tax court noted that the owners did not discuss the personal guarantees with the advisor and in any case the advisor was the promoter of the arrangement so was not an independent advisor upon whose advice the owners could rely to avoid penalties." [Peek v. IRS and Fleck v. IRS, Nos. 5951-11, 6481-11 (U.S.T.C. May 9, 2013)]

Cypen & Cypen

Articles include: [1] NASRA issue brief treats state and local government spending on public employee retirement systems; [2] Has DC plan design come full circle? [3] What to know before selling pension/settlement income streams; [4] Pension funds with the highest equity allocations; [5] Pension funds with the largest hedge fund portfolios; and [6] Thirty-fourth annual police officers' and firefighters' pension trustees' school.

Sarah Kliff, in The Washington Post

"It's easy to write off these votes as pure political spectacle with no substantial [meaning]. Members of Congress can tell their constituents that they voted to repeal Obamacare and move on to other issues. But there's actually a compelling case on the other side, that these actions do really matter in a substantive way. This slew of three dozen repeal votes have changed both how the Affordable Care Act works and how the public perceives it."

The Health Care Blog

"Back in 2007, Princeton University's Uwe Reinhardt suggested to NPR that Wal-Mart could be 'taking aim at the entire health care system' by expanding its new discount drug program.... And in subsequent years, Wal-Mart did grow its health care footprint, from launching retail clinics based within its stores to advocating for national health reform. Considering its history -- as recently as 2005, Wal-Mart had little involvement in the health care market and was being pilloried for skimping on its own employees' benefits -- it's been a significant turnaround for the firm, and has positioned Wal-Mart as one of the leading disruptive innovators in health care."

ING

"[This study examines] how workers feel about their own retirement and financial situations, what they look for with respect to support and guidance, and how they would respond to employers who offer them additional Retirement Readiness support." [Includes links to summary, detailed findings, and infographics.]

Hay Group

"After seeing CEO pay jump a significant 11 percent in 2010, 2012 marked the second consecutive year that total compensation showed only modest increases. Base salaries grew 1.3 percent to $1.15 million in 2012, while annual incentive payments were flat at $2.1 million. For the third year in a row, however, long-term incentives (LTI) increased, growing 3.8 percent to $7 million. In sum, total direct compensation increased a modest 3.6 percent to $10.1 million in 2012."

Investment News

"It will help you gather and organize data you should have.... It will validate your understanding of your own business.... It will force you to answer questions that are important to consider.... It may entice you to look at things you have ignored but shouldn't.... It replicates information and questions that are needed for due diligence."

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

"This second round of Health Care Innovation Awards will fund applicants that have a high likelihood of driving health care system transformation and delivering better outcomes.... Made possible by the Affordable Care Act, the Health Care Innovation Awards provides another opportunity to improve the quality of health care and bring down costs for taxpayers and patients."

Pension Pulse

"Every pension fund should have an allocation to real estate. This is arguably the best asset class in terms of risk-adjusted returns over the last 20 years. But ... pension plans with liquidity concerns have to gauge their liquidity risk and adjust their weightings accordingly."

PricewaterhouseCoopers

"[A]bsent some needed guidance about nondiscrimination rules, it is difficult for [employers] to move forward, and options for replacing employer-sponsored coverage and paying penalties are still too immature for most employers to seriously consider for their active employee population.... Most roundtable participants had not yet considered potentially leveraging public exchanges and paying a penalty to enable employees more affordable options, but were intrigued with the idea."

The Wall Street Journal

"To monitor compliance with these rules, the IRS and HHS are now building the largest personal information database the government has ever attempted.... Good luck in advance to anyone who gets caught in this system's gears, assuming it even works. Centralizing so much personal information in one place is another invitation for the IRS wigglers in some regional office -- or maybe higher up -- to make political decisions about enforcement."

FierceHealthPayer

"Utah is set to become the only state in the country with a dual-model health insurance exchange, which will be split into two parts that will be run separately by Utah and federal officials.... The two exchanges will operate completely independently of each other, including providing their own navigators and certifying health plans for each online marketplace."

Employee Benefit News

"For only the second time since [2002], Fidelity Investments reported ... that the average projected cost of health care expenses for retirees has gone down. A 65-year-old couple exiting the workforce in 2013 is estimated to need $220,000 to cover health care costs throughout their retirement, an 8% decrease from last year's $240,000.... Fidelity Benefits Consulting ... does not include nursing home costs in its projections, which apply to retirees with traditional Medicare insurance coverage."

Bloomberg BNA

"Until the Section 409A regulations are finalized, the proposed rules can be used to correct unvested amounts deferred under a plan in the year of failure before the amounts vest without disclosure ... Alternatively, employers that want greater certainty and are willing to follow expanded reporting requirements could subject their deferred pay programs to the IRS correction program[.]"

HealthyCal

"When the final phase of the new federal health care law starts in January of next year, more California residents than ever before will be able to seek help for problems ranging from depression, anxiety, and addiction to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. But mental health providers in the state's Central Valley are unprepared for an influx of thousands of patients. State and county officials remain in the planning phases, even though new patients will be able to access these services in less than nine months."

The Heritage Foundation

"Obamacare's heavy reliance on the IRS seems somehow fitting, as the entire law relies on a scheme of government controls and regulations to work its will on the health care system. The law imposes price controls on insurance companies and extends a system of price controls for pharmaceutical companies. Obamacare also places a board of unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats at the center of its plans to control health care costs."

Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company

"[T]he Indirect Employer Group Waiver (EGWP) with Wrap arrangement, using a Standard Medicare Part D plan design and a second plan that wraps around the EGWP [can produce] annual savings [of] as much as $600 per person greater than under the Retiree Drug Subsidy. However, effective communication with participating retirees is essential for its success."

hr360; registration required

"The 2013 edition of the Group Health Plan Notices Calendar features a number of important updates as a result of new requirements under Health Care Reform, including the new Model Exchange Notices required to be distributed by all employers no later than October 1, 2013."

Harvard Business Review; free registration required

"After costs, actively managed mutual funds trail the market. Yet while passively managed, much-lower-cost index funds have been available since 1976 ... most investors still put most of their money in the hands of active managers. Why they do this a long-running puzzle."

Steven Hall & Partners

"So far 1,175 companies have held Say on Pay votes in 2013. 13 companies have failed with an average 61% 'Against' vote.... 73% of companies have received a greater than 90% 'For' vote." [Article includes chart with breakdown by company size and industry.]

Thompson SmartHR Manager

"Target-date funds' popularity over the last 10 years has soared, among both plan sponsors and participants, so odds are your plan offers these as an investment option.... 55 percent of all participants and 80 percent of new entrants will be invested in such a professionally managed option by 2017."

Vanguard

"[Reenrollment] can be a powerful method to address a plan's asset allocation problems and the inertia of plan participants. Reenrollment resets participant investments, directing current and, typically, future holdings into a qualified default investment alternative (QDIA) such as a balanced fund, managed account, or life-cycle or target-date fund."

Towers Watson

"Lump sums can be a useful tool to reduce the size of pension obligations, but they must fit within the context of an organization's overall financial and HR strategies. If the plan sponsor's objective is to reduce its pension risk, the first question is: 'Are we better off settling our liabilities, either through lump sum payments or other risk transfer mechanisms such as an annuity purchase, or are we better off trying to manage these risks ourselves?'"

Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation

"This Disaster Relief Announcement provides relief relating to PBGC deadlines [to] any person responsible for meeting a PBGC deadline (e.g., a plan administrator or contributing sponsor) that is located in the disaster area for which the [Internal Revenue Service] has provided relief ... [On] May 14, 2013, IRS provided relief in connection with filing extensions for Form 5500 series returns as a result of the disaster for taxpayers who reside or have a business in the disaster area. The relief generally extends from April 16, 2013 through July 1, 2013. The disaster area consists of Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will counties."

PricewaterhouseCoopers

"According to the DOL, the assumed 3% annual increase in the rate of future contributions is based on an expectation that wages, particularly for younger workers, will increase at an even higher rate.... However, for those individuals already contributing the maximum elective deferral amount to a 401(k) plan, this assumption may be too high when inflation is lower than 3%. Similarly, a 7% rate of return may not be achievable for employees near retirement age who invest more conservatively and may create an unreasonably high projected retirement annuity."

Retirement Town Hall

"[W]ith a variable annuity structure, both single and multiemployers as well as their employees share many of the advantages of both traditional [DB] and [DC] plans. [A] chart highlights both important advantages and disadvantages of [DC] and traditional [DB] plans, as well as the advantages shared by variable annuity plans."

National Center for Employee Ownership

By NCEO Executive Director Loren Rodgers. Articles discuss loan-funded share plans in Australia; whether fiduciary rules for appraisers are on indefinite hold; and the Seventh Circuit's affirmance of the presumption of prudence by plan fiduciaries in a 401(k) case.

John Goodman's Health Policy Blog

"[B]ased on statistically insignificant effects of coverage from the Oregon Experiment: (1) The effects that are closest to statistical significance are that coverage would increase the rate of smoking and damage the cardiovascular prognosis of sick people; (2) the best estimated net effect on total population cardiovascular health is extraordinarily tiny; (3) this effect would be achieved by making the sick sicker, while very slightly improving the health of already healthy people; and (4) this effect is almost certainly unattractive on a risk-adjusted basis."

The Washington Post

"At the very least, one can point to 10,000 pages of tiny regulatory type regarding the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Frankly, this is to be expected in any large and complex governmental undertaking. Depending on your perspective, the visual of a seven-foot-high pile of documents may be meaningful -- or not."

National Review

"[In the District of Columbia,] henceforth insurers shall be forbidden by law to charge smokers higher rates than non-smokers. Smoking, as it turns out, 'is a preexisting medical condition,' according to Dr. Mohammad Akhter, the chairman of the D.C. Health Exchange Board. Two liberal states, California and Connecticut, have decided likewise, while Colorado and Alaska have rejected the idea. As expected, the definition of 'preexisting condition' is proving infinitely malleable, with behaviors born again as conditions."

The New York Times

"Fierce disagreements over health policy had made confirmation difficult for any nominee for the Medicare job. Ms. Tavenner, a nurse who worked for more than two decades at the Hospital Corporation of America, will be the first Senate-confirmed administrator since Dr. Mark B. McClellan stepped down in October 2006."

Lane Powell PC

"Some employers may not actually be government entities, and public private partnership may inject ERISA back into the framework. This new case gives you the tests to apply to determine whether a government entity exists, which then means ERISA does not apply.... Some entities that look like government entities may not meet the tests stated." [Smith v. Regional Transit Authority, No. 12-3059 (E.D. La. May 10, 2013)]

Kaiser Family Foundation

"This tool illustrates health insurance premiums and subsidies for people purchasing insurance on their own in new health insurance exchanges ... created by the [ACA]. Beginning in October 2013, middle-income people under age 65, who are not eligible for coverage through their employer, Medicaid, or Medicare, can apply for tax credit subsidies available through state-based exchanges."

Internal Revenue Service

Topics include: Changes made in Rev. Proc. 2013-12 that impact 403(b) Plans; What failures can be corrected under Rev. Proc. 2013-12; Correction Issues with 403(b) Plans; Correction under Rev. Proc. 2008-50; and Correction under Rev. Proc. 2013-12.

The New York Times

"By insisting that they are making advances, not loans, these firms elude state supervision, including usury laws, licensing regulations and the federal Truth in Lending Act, which requires lenders to disclose borrowing costs. These and other subterfuges have enabled the companies to ambush pensioners with 'advance' loans that carry interest charges ranging ... from 27 percent to 106 percent. This is clearly illegal in New York[.]"

Health Affairs

"[C]ancer patients were 2.65 times more likely to go bankrupt than people without cancer. Younger cancer patients had 2-5 times higher rates of bankruptcy than cancer patients age sixty-five or older ... Medicare and Social Security may mitigate bankruptcy risk for the older group.... [E]mployers and governments may have a policy role to play in creating programs and incentives that could help people cover expenses in the first year following a cancer diagnosis."