Tide of ERISA Litigation to Continue
Higher Ed Fiduciary Lawsuits: A Scorecard and Some Observations
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 […]
Healthcare Wars: Employers Caught in the Middle
As the political battles – and stalemate – over the Affordable Care Act continues, employers may find themselves with the worst of all worlds. The portions of the ACA that create the greatest burdens on employers, such as the mandates, taxes and administrative obligations under the ACA stay in place. At the same time, uncertainty in the individual markets creates blowback that hurts employers in a number of ways.
Do What You Say You Are Going to Do
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 […]
The Downstreaming of Health Care
An increasing number of healthcare services in the U.S. are being delivered in less resource-intensive settings: from hospitals to freestanding surgery and imaging centers, from long term care facilities to patients’ homes, and from physicians’ offices to computer screens. However, this trend also threatens bricks-and-mortar facilities built to meet the traditional, resource-intensive approach. What is behind this trend and what will it mean?
Human Capital: Enabling Employees to Build Their Resources
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. […]
Large Numbers, Risk Pooling and Congress
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 […]
Medicare and Your Employer Health Coverage: Too Much of a Good Thing?
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 […]
Senate Revises Health Care Bill
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 […]