American Benefits Council amicus brief supporting petitioners request for a writ of certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in University of Pennsylvania v. Sweda. This amicus brief was filed on January 17, 2020 with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
At the request of several member companies, the American Benefits Council formed the Stable Pension Funding Coalition in the fall of 2019. The coalition seeks the enactment of legislation that would provide a multi-year deferral of the widening of the stabilized interest rate corridor and enhancements to that corridor. We are also advocating a longer amortization period for significant legacy pension liabilities (based on an appropriate metric, such as liabilities exceeding a percentage of payroll for covered employees).
H.R. 1865 includes a version of the Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (H.R. 1994), which was previously approved in a 417-3 House vote on May 21. The measure includes several critical bipartisan, bicameral provisions long endorsed by the Council.
Summary Chart of The Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act and Other Key Retirement and Savings Provision in Year-End Spending Bills
The American Benefits Council will hold a webinar on Thursday, December 19, at 2 p.m. Eastern Time to review the newly proposed rules requiring group health plans and health insurance insurers to disclose (1) cost-sharing information to consumers in advance of the care being provided and (2) the negotiated rates for in-network providers and allowed amounts for out-of-network providers.
WASHINGTON, DC – "Today's decision sending the case back to the district court means the future of the system under which most Americans get health coverage remains uncertain. It will likely be decided by the U.S. Supreme Court many months or even years down the road," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said today in response to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Texas v. United States
WASHINGTON, DC – "The bipartisan deal struck by congressional leaders is a victory for millions of Americans who receive health and financial security through employer-sponsored benefit plans," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said today in response to the unveiling of a year-end continuing resolution.
As we first announced in a December 16 Memo to Members, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865) – a measure to fund government operations through the 2020 fiscal year – includes a number of provisions that have been key priorities for the American Benefits Council for many years. It also contains a number of smaller elements that are notable for health and retirement plan sponsors.
On December 13 we sent you an Action Alert regarding four legislative priorities we have been advocating for inclusion in the year-end "Continuing Resolution" government funding bill. As we mentioned, we were working through the weekend as Congressional leaders continued their discussions. We are extremely pleased to report that two of the four priorities are included in the final agreed-upon package. Early this morning we received a call directly from the office of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) letting us know that permanent repeal of the Affordable Care Act "Cadillac Tax" is included. Separately we received confirmation from our champions on Capitol Hill that the Setting Every Community up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act (H.R. 1994) is also included.
After months of bipartisan, bicameral deliberation, the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee has proposed potential modifications to the Lower Health Care Costs Act (S. 1895), which was approved by the committee on June 26.
On November 15, 2019, the Administration issued two regulations addressing price transparency in health coverage: (1) the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services ("HHS"), Labor, and the Treasury (collectively, "the departments") issued a proposed rule on the disclosure of cost-sharing information ("proposed regulations"); and HHS issued a final rule on hospital price transparency ("final regulation"). This Blueprint provides an overview and analysis of both regulations, with an emphasis on the proposed regulations, as the Council will be preparing comments on those regulations.
In a December 3 letter to U.S. regulatory officials, the American Benefits Council again requested that health plans and issuers be permitted to disregard the value of drug manufacturers' coupons when administering the annual limitation on cost-sharing, regardless of the availability of a generic equivalent.
