As 2015 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 of the series...more
As 2015 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. Like last year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of...more
11/23/2015
/ Affordable Care Act ,
Benefit Plan Sponsors ,
Cadillac Tax ,
Cafeteria Plans ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Large Employer ,
PCORI ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
Section 6055 ,
Section 6056 ,
Self-Insured Health Plans ,
Shared Responsibility Rule ,
Summary of Benefits and Coverage ,
W-2 ,
Wellness Programs ,
Year-End Planning
In our July 2, 2015 blog, Obergefell v. Hodges – Same-Sex Marriage Now Legal in All 50 States, we indicated that employers may need to offer same-sex spouse health and welfare benefits and rethink domestic partner benefits in...more
In an earlier blog post this year, I discussed the King v. Burwell case and the possible ramifications if the United States Supreme Court did not uphold the Internal Revenue Service position that residents in states with...more
Recent studies indicate that wellness programs significantly improve the health of workers. If only it were so easy to implement a wellness program . . .
As explained in our July 17, 2013 Benefits Update – Final...more
I have blogged more on the topic of how the Health Care Reform Act applies to employers that reimburse employers for individual health insurance policies than any other topic in the last year....more
2015 is a significant year for health care reform because the large employer shared responsibility penalties under Internal Revenue Code Section 4980H take effect for most large employers. ...more
As 2014 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 of the series...more
As 2014 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year, we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate SW Benefits Updates. Part 1 of the series...more
As we move into 2015, employers continue to grapple with numerous Health Care Reform concepts. Employers should be cautious regarding arrangements promoted to avoid health care penalties because the agencies are cracking...more
As 2014 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part 1 of the...more
Section 125 Plans, which are commonly referred to as either cafeteria plans or flexible benefit plans, are much loved, and needed, if you want to allow employees to pay health insurance and other premiums on a pre-tax basis....more
The Health Care Reform Act made many changes to health plans, but one thing it did not do was expressly eliminate or change the COBRA rules. Although health care reform does not expressly change COBRA, it does, in many ways,...more
7/22/2014
/ Affordable Care Act ,
COBRA ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Mandates ,
Health Insurance ,
Health Insurance Exchanges ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Look-Back Measurement Period ,
Plan Administrators ,
Popular ,
Severance Agreements
Welcome to the SW Benefits Update, formerly the Employee Benefits Update.
Historically, employers have had complete discretion in deciding whether to offer group health plan coverage to their employees. If they offered...more
As 2013 comes to an end, we are pleased to present you with our traditional End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists. This year we are presenting our “To Do” Lists in three separate Employee Benefits Updates. Part one of the...more
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court, in United States v. Windsor, held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is...more
9/9/2013
/ Department of Labor (DOL) ,
DOMA ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare ,
IRS ,
Qualified Retirement Plans ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS ,
US v Windsor
The Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury (collectively, the “Departments”) during the first half of the year issued guidance in the form of Frequently Asked Questions (the “FAQs”) on certain...more
7/10/2013
/ Clinical Trials ,
Deductibles ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Discrimination ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Employer Mandates ,
Healthcare Reform ,
Non-Grandfathered Health Plans ,
Out-of-Pocket Expenses ,
Preventive Health Care ,
U.S. Treasury
On July 2, 2013, the Treasury Department informally announced that large employers will have an additional year to comply with the employer shared responsibility penalty provisions in Section 4980H of the Internal Revenue...more
As reported in our January 31, 2013 Navigating Health Care Reform Alert, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the “Affordable Care Act”)...more
As reported in prior Snell & Wilmer publications (See September 2011 Workplace Word, October 2011 Workplace Word and January 9, 2013 Legal Alert), there are numerous reasons why employers need to ensure that they do not treat...more
Historically, employers have had complete discretion in deciding whether to offer group health plan coverage to their employees. If they offered coverage, they had to comply with the requirements of the Employee Retirement...more
3/21/2013
In our 2012 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists, we indicated that there was a strong possibility that the Supreme Court would grant certiorari this term in a series of cases challenging Section 3 of the Defense of...more
2/20/2013
/ COBRA ,
DOMA ,
Domestic Partner Benefits ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) ,
Employer Group Health Plans ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Proposition 8 ,
QDRO ,
Same-Sex Marriage ,
SCOTUS
As reported in our November 12, 2012 End of Year Plan Sponsor “To Do” Lists, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the “Affordable Care...more
Contents:
Part I: A Brief Factual Look at Arizona:
- Population and Job Growth
- Personal Income
- Exports
- Leading Industries
- Location
- Business Costs
- Labor Force
- Education
-...more