June 2012  |  Volume 3, Number 6

Enlighten
Tagline
Contracts, Compliance and Research Updates 

  

Federal Health Care Reform Hangs on the Constitution's Commerce Clause

According to Bloomberg, "In the last 75 years, the commerce clause has become one of the Constitution's most potent provisions, underlying federal laws that affect every American business and consumer, from the 1938 minimum-wage statute to the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulations. This month the 16-word clause will play a starring role again as the focus of the fight over President Barack Obama's health-care law."

 

Click here to read the full article.

 

 

Is Your HR Function Ready for Health Care Reform?

Towers Watson states, "To understand the potential impact on employers and the HR function, it's important to grasp the three major changes set to occur in 2014: the individual health insurance mandate, state-run health insurance Exchanges and the employer 'play or pay' requirement. The effects on health plan administration will be dramatic, as employers begin to deal with new players in the health insurance arena: state insurance Exchanges. How will these affect your HR function---- and how should HR prepare?"

 

To download the full article, click here.

 

 

Requirement to Post New Employee Rights Notice Put on Hold

Employers can hold off on making room for a new poster informing employees of their rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

 

A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. temporarily blocked the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) rule requiring most private employers to post the new 11-by-17 inch notice, which was scheduled to take effect on April 30, 2012. The court's decision to block the rule was prompted by two recent lower court decisions that reached conflicting conclusions about whether the NLRB had the authority to issue the notice-posting rule.

 

 

For further information about the new requirement, including a detailed discussion of which employers are covered, please see the NLRB's Frequently Asked Questions.

To learn about other federal notices required to be displayed in the workplace, please visit the HR360 section on Federal Poster Requirements.

 

Additional NLRB information:

 

eflexgroup Compliance Alert

The eflexgroup is excited to present the IRS Notice 2012-40 with guidance for the $2,500 FSA limit. Among other things, this notice answers the question: "What defines a tax year in applying the Health FSA $2,500 limit?" It also specifically states the cafeteria plan year is the "tax year," and determines that an "off calendar year" can fall into 2013 and still have an unlimited Health FSA amount.

 

Click here to continue reading.

 

 

HHS Outlines Approach for Making Transitional Reinsurance Payments to Issuers Under Affordable Care Act; Seeks Comments

According to the International Foundation Extra, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a bulletin on Friday, June 1, 2012, outlining how it will identify, calculate, and disburse reinsurance payments under the Transitional Reinsurance Program established by the Affordable Care Act.

 

Click here for more information.

Wellness 

 

FREE Webinar: Making the Case for Worksite Health, Leadership and Culture

Monday, June 18 --- 1:00 - 2:00 p.m. EDT 

Featured Speaker: William B. Baun

The CDC National Healthy Worksite Program (NHWP) will provide employers and interested organizations nationwide access to worksite health training and resources beginning in summer 2012. These webinars focus on practical, skill-building training for employers to implement comprehensive worksite health programs.

 

This first series of five training sessions provided by the CDC will discuss the key components of a worksite health program; the relationship between individual employee health and organizational performance; and how to create leadership support and build a strong infrastructure and culture for worksite health. Attendees will also have the opportunity to hear the latest information about the recently implemented National Healthy Worksite Program.

 

Click here for more information.

To register for the CDC's webinar, click here.

Upcoming BSG Events  

 

2012 Las Vegas Mid-Sized Retirement Healthcare Plan Management Conference

September 9-12, 2012 ---- The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas

BSG is a proud sponsor of the University Conference Services (UCS), LLC Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference series. The Las Vegas event showcases industry experts' thoughts on the PPACA Supreme Court ruling, high health care costs, retirement plan fees, the "tax expense" issue, and much more.

BSG representatives will present and speak to the following:

 

Anticipate, Understand and Leverage the Quickly Emerging Health Care Market (Monday, September 10, 10:30 - 11:30 a.m.) presented by Peter Garner

 

Keynote Address: How Employers Can Deal with Transformation in the Health Care Delivery System  (Tuesday, September 11, 8:30 - 9:30 a.m.) presented by Gerald ("Jerry") W. Frye

 

Creating a Business Plan for a Results-Oriented Wellness Program (Tuesday, September 11, 2:15 - 3:15 p.m.) presented by Michelle Spehr

 

For more information, view the conference brochure or visit the UCS website.

In This Issue
Contracts, Compliance and Research Updates
Wellness
BSG Events

 HR360

More information regarding Health Care Reform and other benefit resources is available on the HR360 website, available to BSG clients under the "Resources" menu of their HR Express website. HR360 includes new features such as step-by-step interactive guides which make the processes of hiring, termination, COBRA and FMLA so much easier. In addition, there are new online tools such as a job description builder and salary benchmarking tool.

BSG subscribes to this service for your benefit. If you would like more information regarding this resource please contact your account management team at BSG.
Enlighten is published by The Benefit Services Group, Inc., (BSG�) and is provided free of charge to select BSG client representatives and associates.

By providing links to other sites, BSG does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to BSG.

The preceding is not intended to be and is not offered as legal advice. We are prohibited from the practice of law. Compliance is the responsibility of the employer or Plan sponsor and affected employees who should seek their own legal counsel regarding questions about information presented in this newsletter.

Copyright2012 The Benefit Services Group, Inc. BSG� is a registered trademark of The Benefit Services Group, Inc.

 

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