Preparing for Health Care Reform in 2013 - Webinar by TrainHR

Overview : This webinar will begin with a brief recap of the Supreme Court decision on health care reform that upheld the constitutionality of the so-called individual mandate, while making the expansion of Medicaid optional for each state.

That will be followed by a brief discussion of the potential consequences of the November elections on the future of health care reform. The webinar will then discuss some of the regulations and other guidance that is still needed by employers from the Administration in order to implement health care reform properly, including the nondiscrimination rules for fully insured plans, the rules for employers regarding the penalties for failing to offer affordable health benefits to all full-time employees, rules defining full-time employees, rules defining the minimum value test plans must meet, rules about automatic enrollment for employers with more than 200 employees and reporting rules for employers. This will be followed by a recap of the provisions that you should already have in place, followed by a description of the new provisions that will be effective in 2013, 2014 and beyond.

The webinar will then focus on the choice employers will have beginning in 2014 of whether to continue offering medical benefits or just paying the penalty and having employees purchase individual health insurance policies from an agent or through one of the new exchanges. The webinar will then turn its focus to the specifics of some of the most important new provisions you need to deal with soon. If your insurance company did not meet the new standards for medical loss ratios (85% for larger employers and 80% for small employers) then your company will receive a rebate by August 1. You will need to decide how to share this with your employees, which employees will get it and how much each employee is entitled to receive. For open enrollment periods and plan years beginning September 23 and later, employers will need to distribute a new Summary of Benefits and Coverage. This is in addition to the Summary Plan Description, Summary Annual Report, Summary of Material Modifications and Summary of Material Reductions that you are already required to distribute. For plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2013, salary reductions into flexible spending accounts for unreimbursed health care must be limited to $2,500; however, there are some complicated issues associated with this limit, which will be addressed. By the end of January, 2013 you will need to distribute W-2s for 2012 and those W-2s will need to include new information about the cost of health benefits.

This webinar will address the new comparative effectiveness research fee. If you have any self-funded plans (including health flexible spending accounts or health reimbursement arrangements) you will need to be prepared to pay this new fee during 2013. The webinar will close with an opportunity to ask questions.

Areas Covered in the Session:
Supreme Court Decision
November Elections
Regulations and Guidance Still Needed
Provisions You Should Already Have in Place
Provisions that Will be Effective in 2013
Provisions that Will be Effective in 2014 and Beyond
Medical Loss Ratio Rebates
Summary of Benefits and Coverage
Flexible Spending Accounts
W-2s
Comparative Effectiveness Research Fee

Who Will Benefit:
Vice Presidents of Human Resources
Human Resource Managers
Directors of Compensation and Benefits
Benefit Managers
Benefit Specialists
Employee Benefits Consultants
Group Insurance Brokers
Employees of Insurance Companies and Third-Party Administrators

John Garner is the founding Principal of Garner Consulting, an employee benefit consulting firm in Pasadena. Under Garner’s leadership, this nationally recognized consultancy has built a broad base of services including benefits consulting, claim audits and compliance for insurance companies, employers, health care organizations and providers, and managed care companies. Garner Consulting recently merged its insurance brokerage division with two other brokerage firms to create Valence Benefits, where Garner also serves as a Principal.

• Conferences & Trade Shows Today