"The use of this seal is not an endorsement by the HR Certification Institute of the quality of the program. It means that this program has met the HR Certification Institute's criteria to be pre-approved for recertification credit."

"This program, has been approved for 1 (General ) recertification credit hours toward PHR, SPHR and GPHR recertification through the HR Certification Institute. Please be sure to note the program ID number on your recertification application form. For more information about certification or recertification, please visit the HR Certification Institute website at www.hrci.org."

Overview: This webinar will provide an update on health care reform, describing where we are now, including the latest court challenges, what needs to be done right away (if it has not already been done), what needs to be done in the near future and strategies for 2015 and beyond. The Supreme Court has accepted two challenges to the contraceptive mandate under health care reform and will render a decision on that by the end of its term in June.

The Supreme Court has also refused to hear challenges to the individual mandate and the employer mandate. Another, more significant, challenge to the subsidies available in federally facilitated exchanges is working its way through the courts. This webinar will review the status of these cases and possible implications. Employer-sponsored plans will need to comply with a number of new requirements for plan years starting in 2014. This plan will review those requirements, which include limits on deductibles for small group plans and maximum out-of-pocket limits for plans of all sizes.

Furthermore, the out-of-pocket limits need to be coordinated between separate medical insurers or third party administrators and pharmacy benefit managers, although there is a transition rule for 2014. This webinar will describe the new rules and the transition rule. New waiting period restrictions also apply and are further complicated by some state laws. Plans also need to cover some services that are rendered as part of clinical trials. This webinar will describe all these new requirements. Health care reform also has a major impact on health reimbursement arrangements and flexible spending accounts for unreimbursed health care expenses.

Because of changes brought about by health care reform, the Internal Revenue Service has also changed the rules regarding health flexible spending accounts and now allows limited carryovers, subject to certain restrictions. This webinar will describe these changes in detail. Health care reform also imposes a number of new fees and taxes. Most of them cannot be avoided; however, plans can avoid what amounts to a new federal premium tax by self-funding. Some states are making efforts to make self-funding less attractive. This webinar will describe the new fees and taxes, talk about the advantages and disadvantages of self-funding and review some of the latest state laws affecting self-funding.

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued proposed regulations that would change the open enrollment period in 2014 for 2015, increase the maximum out-of-pocket limit and make other changes. This webinar will review these proposals. Individual mandate penalties will apply in 2014 and this webinar will describe those penalties. Employer mandate penalties will apply in 2015 and this webinar will describe those penalties, how they interact with the subsidies available in the new exchanges (also known as marketplaces) and various strategies for avoiding or minimizing the penalties. These strategies involve plan design, employee contributions, size of the workforce, hours worked and more. More regulations on the employer mandate are expected soon and if they are published before the webinar, the webinar will cover those new regulations.

Why should you attend: Health care reform is very complex and affects employer-sponsored health plans in many ways. Keeping up with all the regulations and other guidance is almost a full-time job. Benefit professionals need to stay on top of developments in order to avoid penalties. Starting in 2015 there will be penalties for employers with 50 or more employees that fail to offer all full-time employees affordable coverage that meets a minimum value test.

There are already penalties that apply to failure to provide certain notices or to comply with other requirements of the law. There continue to be judicial challenges to various aspects of health care reform and people dealing with benefits need to stay aware of the latest developments. The biggest changes from health care reform start in 2014 and how employers and individuals react to these changes will drive even more structural changes to the health insurance marketplace.

New cost-sharing limits will drive the need for integration between pharmacy benefit managers and traditional health insurance companies and third-party administrators. New waiting period rules will require some employers to cover new hires sooner than in the past. New rules on clinical trials will also expand the services that must be covered by many plans. In addition to avoiding penalties, employers want to avoid excessive costs. There are ways to avoid some, but not all, of the new taxes and fees imposed by health care reform. There are also ways to restructure plan design and employee contributions to hold down employer costs.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Overview of health care reform's requirements for employer-sponsored group health plans
• Describe the pending court challenges to health care reform
• Review strategies to avoid penalties
• Discuss impact of new fees and taxes
• Describe alternative plan designs and employee contribution approaches to hold down costs
• Identify the latest guidance and appropriate action steps

Who Will Benefit:

• Vice President of Human Resources
• Director of Compensation & Benefits
• Benefit Manager
• Benefit Specialist
• Insurance Agent
• Insurance Broker
• Employee Benefits Consultant
• Group Insurance Representative