Compliance Corner: Podcasts

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon discuss different delivery methods available to employers when distributing health plan notices and disclosures to employees. The two address hand delivery, delivery by mail, email and intranet delivery, and building the notices into online enrollment systems. Chase outlines which notices are best suited for electronic delivery, and how electronic delivery requires special accommodations for some populations of employees—those who may not have phone or email access as a big part of their job. Suzanne and Chase then discuss a recent White House executive order that could impact the DOL as it formulates electronic disclosure rules, as well as industry groups that may be opposed to an all-electronic disclosure regime. They close with an overview of what it all means for employers.

In this episode, Chase Cannon and Suzanne Spradley hit refresh on the single payer health care discussion in the US. Suzanne breaks down the different terms that are used in the discussion, including ‘single payer system,’ ‘Medicare for all,' ‘universal health coverage,' ‘national health plans’ and ‘socialized medicine.’ Chase and Suzanne describe the importance of understanding those terms and the marketing behind them during this election season as the debate marches towards November. Suzanne describes and compares legislation at the state level in California and New York, and how similar legislation has fared in other states such as Colorado and Vermont. Suzanne and Chase outline the primary barriers to single payer systems in all their forms, including increased taxes, resistance from insurance carriers and health care providers, and a Republican-led federal government. The two close discussing what it all means for employers, and how the employer-provided health insurance might have a place in a single payer system.

In this podcast, Beth Allen and K.C. Barner discuss some of the current events on the retirement side of employee benefits. They’ll talk about the recent IRS private letter ruling that may allow employees to receive 401(k) matching contributions that coincide with their student loan payments. They’ll also review Pres. Trump’s recent executive order on retirement plans and comment on the retirement legislation that’s currently making its way through Congress.

In this episode, Podcast originals Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon discuss wellness and other employer programs that advertise big employment and income tax savings to employers and employees. Suzanne and Chase discuss the various names and iterations of these types of programs – including the Classic 105, Freedom Plan, Section 105 Reimbursement Plans and Premier 105 – and how they vary in plan design. Chase outlines the basic iteration: an employer takes some amount as pre-tax deduction from the employee for a type of basic wellness program, the employee participates in the wellness program (completes a health screening, sits in on educational webinars and so on), and the employer provides a tax-free wellness program “reward” that happens to be very close to the pre-tax deduction amount. Chase and Suzanne discuss the federal income and employment tax ramifications and why these types of programs don’t meet the standard tax exclusion requirements of IRC 105. The two then close with a discussion of IRS guidance that prohibits these types of tax-free wellness program rewards and a shocking federal indictment of the promoters of the Classic 105 program.

In this episode, Mark Rieder, NFP’s SVP of HR Technologies and Benefit Administration Services, makes his Benefits Compliance podcast debut. He joins Suzanne Spradley to discuss various hot tech ideas and applications in the HR and benefits administration space. Mark describes NFP’s Innovation Lab and then discusses recent technology applications, including mobile apps, that are available to employers for benefits and benefits administration. Applications and other tech tools relating to group health plan data, senior care treatment, overall care and quality of care management, student loan and other financial wellness, mental wellness and more have become big for employee well-being. Mark and Suzanne also discuss employee engagement, data collection and employer strategy in the tech space for benefits administration, as well as innovation and its impact on small and large employers. They close with a discussion of tech tools for benefits compliance issues.

Join Jill Brooking and Suzanne Spradley as they discuss the new joint venture among Amazon.com Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and JP Morgan Chase & Co. — a company that was formed to develop ways to improve health care for their employees and to make those innovations available to other employers.

In this episode, Beth Allen and K.C. Barner discuss the different changes to the ACA imposed by the Trump administration, Congress and the courts. They’ll highlight the major policy shifts, like the upcoming repeal of the individual mandate and the issuance of new regulations on association health plans (AHPs). They’ll also talk about possible changes to come. By the end of the podcast, listeners should have a good understanding of where the various provisions of the ACA stand

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and Chase Cannon work through benefits compliance issues that arise as a result of common ownership and controlled groups. Suzanne grills Chase on the different types of controlled groups under Internal Revenue Code Section 414 — and how those rules impact employers’ obligations under the ACA's employer mandate, nondiscrimination testing, Form 5500, FMLA and other federal requirements. The two also discuss mergers and acquisitions, and how the change in ownership might impact COBRA and nondiscrimination obligations. The discussion closes on common ownership and MEWAs – some employers may inadvertently create a MEWA – and how employer compliance obligations might be affected by federal and state law.

In this episode, Suzanne Spradley and K.C. Barner discuss the newly released final rule related to the creation and maintenance of association health plans (AHPs) under ERISA. The DOL’s final rule is a long-awaited response to the Oct. 12, 2017, executive order from Pres. Trump directing the DOL and other agencies to (among other things) expand the availability of AHPs. Suzanne breaks down the DOL’s final rule, which loosens restrictions on AHPs to allow more groups of employers to qualify as associations for the purpose of sponsoring group health plan benefits. The two discuss the impact on sole proprietors and other self-employed individuals, and how state and federal (including ACA) regulation of an AHP would work.