Benefits Forward » Articles, White Papers and Other Information

New York State Mini-COBRA Extended to 36 Months; Other State Mini-COBRA Laws

cshulman — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 21:29:58 +0000

New York State passed a law in June 2009 that extends its mini-COBRA continuation health coverage to 36 months (termination under COBRA would trigger only 18 months coverage). Thus, insured health plans that are subject to New York insurance law will have to offer continuation coverage for a total of 36 months, even though under the Federal COBRA law or prior NYS mini-COBRA, continuation coverage on termination of employment would only be required for 18 months. A November amendment made this change effective on earlier of 11/1/09 or renewal of policy on or after 7/1/09. There is currently a special enrollment period within 60 days of notice of new rule to elect to restart continuation coverage if continuation coverage terminated on or after July 1, 2009. The NYS mini-COBRA extension and all state mini-COBRA laws only apply to insured plans. For self-insured plans, state laws would be preempted by ERISA (even, according to most courts, where there is stop-loss insurance). The COBRA stimulus act 15 month 65% subsidy is applicable to state mini-COBRA rules. See memo at http://www.ebeclaw.com/ebeclaw/memos/EBEC_Law_Update_-_New_York_Mini-COBRA_Extended_to_36_Months.pdf for further details.

Charlie
Charles C Shulman, Esq, LLC
Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Law
632 Norfolk Street, Teaneck, NJ 07666
345 7th Ave., 21 Fl., NY, NY 10001
Tel - 201-357-0577
cshulman@ebeclaw.com

Article by Benefits Attorney Charles Shulman on COBRA Extension

administrator — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:47:05 +0000

Benefits attorney Charles C. Shulman discusses the recent extension of the special COBRA provisions under the ARRA including the extension of the eligibility period as well as the maximum period.

Document Excerpt

Legislation enacted December 19, 2009 extends the duration of the stimulus act 65% COBRA premium subsidy for employees involuntarily terminated from 9 months to 15 months, and extends the eligibility period to terminations occurring on or prior to February 28, 2010.

Link http://www.ebeclaw.com/ebeclaw/memos/EBEC_Law_Update_-_Extension_of_Federal_COBRA_Subsidy.pdf

Bill Introduced In Congress would Prohibit Cross Testing

administrator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:24:32 +0000

A bill, HR 4126, has been introduced in the House of Representatives which, among other things, would prohibit cross testing. The bil would require that defined contribution plans be tested solely on the basis of contributions and would further amend Section 401(a)(4) to require that discrimination be tested by comparing the contributions and benefits of highly compensated employees to only the vested contributions and benefits of nonhighly compensated participants. Acrrued benefits under a cash balance plan would be required to be treated as contributions, rather than benefits.

Link: A copy of the bill can be retrieved by inserting HR 4126 in the search at www.thomas.gov

CBO’s Analysis of Senate Health Bill on Premiums

administrator — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:02:59 +0000

In response to a request from Senator Evan Bayh the Congressional Budget Office has provided an analysis as to how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act might impact future premium costs.

Document Excerpt

Summary of Findings The effects of the proposal on premiums would differ across insurance markets (see Table 1). The largest effects would be seen in the nongroup market, which would grow in size under the proposal but would still account for only 17 percent of the overall insurance market in 2016. The effects on premiums would be much smaller in the small group and large group markets, which would make up 13 percent and 70 percent of the total insurance market, respectively. Nongroup Policies CBO and JCT estimate that the average premium per person covered (including dependents) for new nongroup policies would be about 10 percent to 13 percent higher in 2016 than the average premium for nongroup coverage in that same year under current law. About half of those enrollees would receive government subsidies that would reduce their costs well below the premiums that would be charged for such policies under current law.

Link http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/107xx/doc10781/11-30-Premiums.pdf

Withdrawal of Investment Advice Regulations; Other Pending DOL Regulations

administrator — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:07:27 +0000

By Charles C. Shulman, Esq.

The Department of Labor in today’s Federal Register, 74 F.R. 60156 (Nov. 20, 2009) [double-click for hyper-link], has withdrawn the investment advice regulations and class exemption that it published in January of this year.

Link http://www.ebeclaw.com/memos/EBEC_Law_Update_-_Withdrawal_of_Investment_Advice_Regulations.pdf

PPA & WRERA QUALIFIED PLAN GUIDANCE – ACTION ITEMS FOR 2009

administrator — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 20:51:08 +0000

Benefits attorney Charles Shulman discusses things plans will need to do in 2009 to comply with PPA and WRERA.

Document ExcerptAction Items Required in 2009

The IRS has issued a number of rulings, notices and regulations interpreting qualified plan provisions of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), as well as the 2009 required minimum distribution waiver by the Worker, Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008 (WRERA). PPA changes generally require amendment of the plan document by the end of the 2009 plan year and certain notices 30 days prior to the end of the 2009 plan year, and the WRERA waiver requires operational compliance by November 30, 2009.

Link http://www.ebeclaw.com/memos/EBEC_Law_Update_-_Recent_IRS_Qualified_Plan_Guidance_2009.pdf

CBO’s Preliminary Assessment of New House Health Reform Proposal

administrator — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:04:28 +0000

The Congressional Budget Office releases its preliminary analysis of the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

Document Excerpt

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) have completed a preliminary analysis of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act, as introduced on October 29, 2009. For several reasons described later, this analysis does not constitute a final and comprehensive cost estimate for the bill.

Link http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/106xx/doc10688/hr3962Rangel.pdf

GAO Study on Worker Uncertainty When Underfunded Plans Terminate

administrator — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:17:30 +0000

The GAO has issued a study on worker uncertainty in the face of the termination of an underfunded defined benefit plan.

Document Excerpt

Most participants must wait about 3 years for PBGC to complete the benefit determination process and provide their finalized benefit amounts, but the vast majority are not affected by overpayments or the recoupment process (see figure). Nevertheless, long delays and uncertainty over final benefit amounts make it difficult for workers to plan for retirement, and for retirees who may have come to depend on a certain level of monthly income

Link http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10181t.pdf

Insurance Industry Report On Impact of Senate Finance Bill on Health Insurance Cost

administrator — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:00:53 +0000

The following report was prepared by PriceWaterhouse for an insurance industry group with respect to four aspects of the Senate Finance Committee’s proposed health reform on the cost of private health insurance.

Link http://www.americanhealthsolution.org/assets/Reform-Resources/AHIP-Reform-Resources/PWC-Report-on-Costs-Final.pdf

Proposed Changes to Enrolled Actuary Status Rules

administrator — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:55:00 +0000

The Joint Board has issued proposed changes to the rules governing Enrolled Actuary status.

Document Excerpt

SUMMARY: This document contains proposed amendments to 20 CFR part 901 relating to the enrollment of actuaries under section 3042 of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The proposed amendments would update the eligibility requirements for performing actuarial services for ERISA-covered employee pension benefit plans, including the continuing education requirements, and the standards for performing such actuarial services. The proposed amendments would affect employee pension benefit plans and the actuaries providing actuarial services to those plans.

Link http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2009_register&docid=fr21se09-16