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The proposed Tax Cut and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) has generated big news stories with big numbers, such as $1.0 trillion to lower some individual tax rates and $1.5 trillion to lower corporate tax rates. But, also lurking in the 430-page draft, are many important “smaller” provisions that will affect compensation and benefits programs. Overall, TCJA reduces federal revenue from individual...

October was a busy month in the battle over the future of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This blog post will discuss one aspect of this busy month - the presidential executive order (“EO”) issued by President Trump to facilitate use of alternative health coverages outside of the ACA rules. The EO directs the Departments of Treasury, Labor and Health...

A little over a year ago a series of lawsuits were filed against major universities. The lawsuits alleged that these schools violated their fiduciary obligations under ERISA by failing to properly manage plan costs and investment performance. In effect, these lawsuits were the higher ed/tax sheltered annuity version of the 401(k) litigation that has been going on for over a...

As the political battles over the possible repeal, replacement or repair of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) drag on, employers must come to grips with an unpleasant reality: they are likely to get the worst of all worlds for the foreseeable future. Here is what I mean by considering the ongoing health care limbo as the worst of all possible...

The Department of Labor recently filed a lawsuit against Macy’s department store (Acosta v. Macy’s, Inc., S.D. Ohio, No. 1:17-cv-00541, complaint filed 8/16/17). The lawsuit has received some attention among benefits professionals; but this attention has focused on one aspect of the DOL complaint - claims that the tobacco surcharge imposed under the Macy’s health plan did not meet the...

A recent blog post on this site (Don’t Confuse Cost Shifting with Cost Savings) noted opportunities for policymakers to actually reduce (rather than merely shift) health care costs. In addition to the opportunities noted in that post (such as bundled payments for certain episodes of care and value-based payments for prescription drugs), there is a larger trend that also promises...

A recent article in The Economist magazine discussed various theories and principles of “human capital”. As stated in the article, “human capital refers to the abilities and qualities of people that make them productive” and that while knowledge is the most important form of human capital, it is not the only form of human capital. The article went on to...

As Republicans in Congress continue their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, they keep on looking for new ways to separate portions of the insurance markets' risk pools into different segments. For example, proposals from both the House of Representatives and the Senate would have made it easier for insurance companies to sell barebones plans that would...

More Americans are working past 65 and continue to have employer-sponsored health insurance. However, the intersection of Medicare and employer coverage has a number of traps for the unwary and some of these traps come with real financial consequences. This makes it more important than ever that you (and your employer) understand the complex rules for starting coverage under Medicare....

Senate Republican leaders have released a revised version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA II), their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. BCRA II is identical to the original BCRA, with a handful of key differences: •   BRCA II retains several of the new taxes levied under ACA (most notably the additional 0.9% Medicare tax on joint...