Overview of H.R. 2988 and Potential Implications for ERISA Fiduciaries
A Sheep in Black Wolf’s Clothing: A Cautionary Tale
The U.S. Department of Labor has taken a series of legal actions against a multiple employer welfare association (MEWA) plan operated by Black Wolf Consulting. The actions taken by the DOL against this plan (the AEU Holdings LLC Employee Benefits Plan) include freezing bank accounts, replacing the plan fiduciaries, and issuing an order to dozens […]
Internal Revenue Service Prepares to Levy 2015 ACA Penalties
The Affordable Care Act (“ACA”) remains on the books, despite all of the rhetoric about potential legislative and/or administrative changes. And, in a significant new development, the IRS is poised to begin levying penalties on employers, under the ACA’s employer mandate, for 2015. This is important for a number of reasons: • Regardless of what happens […]
The (Ongoing) Saga of ACA: New Proposed Regulations
On October 27, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) issued new proposed regulations regarding the operation of health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”). Much of this 365-page document consists of more routine updates to rules governing the operation of exchanges under ACA. In addition to these routine provisions, however, the […]
Tax Cut and Jobs Act: A Benefits Perspective
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 […]
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?