WASHINGTON, DC – "Many Council members engage in efforts to provide financial education and support programs for their employees," Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council senior vice president, global retirement and compensation policy, told the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions today. "It is not just improved savings that results from helping employees achieve greater personal financial security, but such efforts also contribute to better health, less stress in and outside of the workplace and greater productivity."
On behalf of the undersigned employer groups, unions, health plans, and insurers, we urge you to oppose efforts to shift additional costs for End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) from Medicare to private health plans as a means to "pay for" future legislation.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "A clear, simple safe harbor is a necessary first step to increase the interest of plan sponsors in adding lifetime income options to their plans," said Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council senior vice president, global retirement and compensation policy, told the ERISA Advisory Council on August 15.
The Trump Administration released final regulations on August 1 extending the maximum period during which short-term, limited-duration insurance (STLDI) can be offered.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "Just as employers are constantly innovating and working to improve health care accessibility and affordability for more than 178 million Americans nationwide, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives are making strides by considering a package of useful health reforms this week," Council president James A. Klein said today.
In a July 17 amicus ("friend of the court") brief filed with the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Council argued that stable value funds are important investment vehicles for retirement plans and financial institutions should not be penalized under ERISA for providing them as part of an investment menu.
Employer mandate relief, 'Cadillac Tax' repeal, HSA reforms a good start
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "Today's markup is an opportunity for lawmakers to expand and strengthen employer-provided health coverage and we urge them to make the most of it," Council president James A. Klein said today, with the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee poised to consider a slate of health policy measures.
The Council outlined its requirements for a national paid leave policy in a submission to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on July 11, coinciding with a hearing by the Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy, Examining the Importance of Paid Family Leave for American Working Families.
Employers, whose health plans cover more than 178 million people nationwide, are on the front lines of the battle against opioid addiction. The American Benefits Council applauds Congressional efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and hopes to provide some additional perspective on the efforts of American employers to combat addiction and improve treatment.
On June 21, the House overwhelmingly passed the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act (H.R. 6), a bill that imposes tighter control on opioid prescription and treatment under the Medicare and Medicaid programs while also clarifying FDA regulation of non-addictive pain and addiction therapies and allowing for more flexibility with respect to medication-assisted treatment.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- "American companies and the federal government share the goal of connecting benefit plan participants with the money they are owed," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said today. "We believe a public-private partnership can help solve the challenge of finding missing participants," he added.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce's Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) today, the American Benefits Council voiced support for a bill that would provide for a common-sense update to the cash-out limit, as well as other measures that would modernize how employees receive required disclosures and expand usage of open multiple employer plans (MEPs).
The Council provided comments with respect to Louisiana's application to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") and to the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Departments), for a waiver of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as authorized by Section 1332 of that Act. Louisiana's 1332 waiver application seeks approval to waive Section 1312(c)(1) of the ACA for the purpose of establishing a state-based and state-administered reinsurance program.
