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The ERISA Industry Committee
Washington Update:
January 9, 2012
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Participation Procedure
• Procedure for audience participation
• Audience will be in a “listen-only” mode
• If you wish to ask a question or make a comment, press *6 on your telephone to “un-mute” your telephone
• After speaking, please press *6 again to re-enter “listen-only” mode
Check out the new ERIC website!
• www.ERIC.org
• All new content: amusing photos of ERIC staff, funny jokes, delicious recipes, insider gossip, and penetrating insights into today’s top benefit stories*
*Under construction
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Washington Update Agenda
• Welcoming Remarks
• Outlook for health policy in 2012– Scott Raab, Policy Advisor to Senate Minority
Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• Health Update
• Retirement Update
• Concluding Remarks/Questions
SCOTUS and the ACA
• SCOTUS will consider ACA constitutionality– Briefs coming in now – Oral arguments this spring
• 3/26: does the AIA preclude a ruling on the case at this point?
• 3/27: is the individual mandate constitutional?• 3/28: 1) what other provisions can be upheld if
the mandate is unconstitutional; and 2) is the expansion of Medicaid constitutional?
– Decision probable late June
Wyden-Ryan Medicare proposal
• Plan introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)– Medicare recipients would get premium support
to buy health insurance on federally regulated exchange
• Could choose private plan or traditional Medicare• Would start in 2022; no impact on those 55 or over
– Premium support level determined by second-lowest cost plan and traditional Medicare
Wyden-Ryan Medicare proposal, cont.
• New Medicare plans– Must offer benefits at least as comprehensive as those
offered by traditional Medicare– No discriminatory premiums
• Must accept all, regardless of age, gender, health
– Feds would contribute more money to plans covering sickest seniors
• Low-income seniors would receive financial help with OOP costs
• New help for catastrophic costs
Wyden-Ryan Medicare proposal, cont.
• Wyden “free choice” redux– Small (<101 employees) employers may give
employees option of taking cash instead of health coverage
• Employees may keep unspent balance, but taxed
• Overall cap on Medicare spending: economic growth plus 1%, starting in 2023
Essential health benefits under the ACA
• Two roles for EHBs under ACA– Must be offered in Exchange plans– Plans may limit dollar value of non-EHBs
• HHS permits states to set benchmarks from:– One of the three largest small group plans in the state; – One of the three largest state employee health plans; – One of the three largest federal employee health plan
options; or– The largest HMO plan offered in the state’s
commercial market
EHBs, cont.
• What is a workable definition of EHBs that plans may use to limit benefits that are not EHBs? – Examples: bariatric surgery, in-vitro fertilization– Would a benchmark be useful?– Can we come up with a list of EHBs?
• Do we need a definition?– Are dollar limits on non-EHBs something we can live
with as long as other limits are available?• Subject of ERIC FocusOn call this Wednesday
(1/11)
Reporting cost of health coverage on Form W-2
• New IRS Notice 2012-9 augments, tweaks, and clarifies earlier guidance
• New points addressed include:– EAP, wellness programs, on-site clinics– Separate dental and vision plans – Related employers with common paymaster– Excess reimbursements under 105(h)
• Future guidance will be prospective
Medicare claims data
• CMS [finally] publishes regulation to permit use of Medicare claims data to analyze provider quality and performance– Specified entities may access standardized
extracts of Medicare claims data under Parts A, B, and D to measure provider performance
ERRP – the well is dry!
• Employers may not submit ERRP claims with incurred date on or after 1/1/12
• CMS has sent survey to plan sponsors who have received ERRP reimbursements – Survey intends to document use of ERRP funds– Contact Gretchen Young if you have not
received one and would like to complete it
• ERIC call with CMS on 12/16
Striking news from California
• Premiums for employer health insurance plans in CA have risen 153.5% since 2002– 5 times rate of inflation
• Proportion of state employers offering coverage to workers fell to 63% from 73% over last two years
Retirement – Legislative Update
• 2012 CongressConference to begin next week on extension of payroll
tax holiday beyond 2 month extension passed in late December: to include
– Extension of Payroll Tax Holiday
– Extension of Unemployment Benefits
– “Doc Fix”
Retirement – Legislative Update, cont.
Immediate Concerns/Opportunities for
ERIC Members’ Issues
• Inclusion of all/parts of Administration’s proposal on PBGC Premiums
• Opportunity to include funding relief in “tax legislation”
Retirement – Legislative Update, cont.
“Active Issues for Congress”• Defined Contribution Plans & Tax Reform• Tax Reform (“Sense of Congress” Resolution)• Hybrid Plan Lobby Campaign Update• House Education & Workforce Committee
hearing on “Costs to Sponsor Defined Benefit Plans” tentatively scheduled for early February 2012
Retirement – Regulatory Update, Department of Labor
– Service provider final disclosure regulations (under 408(b)(2)) still at OMB (at OMB for Paperwork Reduction Act review) - possibility of extension of April compliance deadline
– Definition of Fiduciary Regulations to undergo additional economic analysis – unclear when re-proposed regulation will be out (DOL consistently stated early 2012 for anticipated release) (96-1 likely to be amended)
Retirement – Regulatory Update, cont.
• Lifetime Income Disclosure & Benefits Statement Project • ERIC/PSCA held joint conference call on
11/15/11• ERIC/PSCA met with DOL on 12/8/11
(update)• Proposed regulation expected by mid-2012
Retirement – Regulatory Update IRS & Treasury
- IRS/Treasury lifetime income guidance– Treasury guidance to be first out of gate “soon”
to be followed by DOL & Treasury joint guidance
-ERIC & PSCA to schedule meeting with Treasury & IRS on this issue
PBGC
• PBGC released “statement” on reconsideration of policy on recharacterization of contributions: now will reject amended filings based on recharacterized contributions
• We expect Administration to include premium proposal in budget (to be released in February)
ERIC FocusOn calls • Completed:
– SF HCSO (12/7)– HRAs under the ACA (12/8)– Reporting health care costs on the W-2 (12/13)– ERRP call with CMS (12/16)– Health care reform task force (1/5/12)
• Upcoming:– Essential health benefits (1/11/12)– Industry Funding Relief Proposal (1/19/12)– Health care reform task force (2/2/12)– Impact of same-sex marriages (TBD) – SCOTUS oral arguments under the ACA (late March)
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Upcoming ERIC calls and meetings
• Next Washington Update call: 2/22/12
• ERIC Membership and Health Policy/Retirement Security Committee meetings: March 14 and 15, 2012
• Try-outs for “ERISA: The Musical” (TBD)
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To receive ERIC updates
• If you would like to receive your own copy of our emails and notifications of future updates, please let us know by writing to Adreanne Cooper at ERIC ([email protected].) In this email, please include your contact information or signature block, and please indicate whether you wish to receive information on retirement issues, health issues, or both.
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For further information
• Kathryn Ricard, Senior Vice President, Retirement Security – [email protected]
• Gretchen Young, Senior Vice President, Health Policy– [email protected]
• ERIC: 202/789-1400
