WHA Financial Solutions' Compliance Corner newsletter
contains valuable information on timely compliance and regulatory
issues. Each newsletter is archived by date at www.whafs.com.
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Calendar
Year Cafeteria Plan Grace Period Ends March 15
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March 15, 2008 is the end of
the grace period for any calendar-year cafeteria plans that
instituted the maximum grace period of two months and 15 days.
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DOL
Issues Proposed Changes to FMLA
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The
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a notice of proposed
changes to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations by
incorporating 15 years of court decisions, regulatory and technical
amendments. The DOL is seeking public comment that must be received
by April 11, 2008 and expects to issue the final regulations before
the end of the Bush administration. Some of the 12 proposed
changes include:
- Clarifying
that "light duty" work does not count against FMLA
leave
- Clarifying
definitions of "serious health condition"
- Clarifying
substitution of paid leave and intermittent leave
- Consolidating
employer notice obligations
- Clarifying
employee notice provisions when requesting FMLA
- Streamlining
fitness for duty and medical certification process
- Addition
of two categories of military related leave (Please see the
February 5, 2008 edition of Compliance Corner for more
information on the military related leave provisions, which are
already in effect)
Click here to view employment poster
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DOL
Issues Bulletin on Collecting Delinquent Contributions
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Field
Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2008-01 has been released by the U.S.
Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA) and was developed to reinforce the fact that a plan's fiduciaries
and trustees have the complete responsibility to monitor and collect
delinquent plan contributions.
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Reviews
to Begin on HIPAA Compliance
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The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) officials announced
at a workshop in January, that it has hired PricewaterhouseCoopers
accounting firm to conduct HIPAA compliance reviews of companies
against which HIPAA-related security complaints have been filed. CMS
announced that it will begin reviewing 10 to 20 hospitals in the next
nine months for compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule and, if
necessary, they will impose civil penalties of up to $25,000 per year
per type of violation and impose criminal penalties of up to 10 years
and $250,000 for certain wrongful uses or disclosures of individually
identifiable health information.
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EBSA Issues Checklist
for Wellness Programs
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EBSA has issued Field
Assistance Bulletin 2008-02 to its agency personnel for their review
of employer wellness programs for compliance with the Final HIPAA
Regulations, which were effective July 1, 2007. The Bulletin contains
a checklist that employers may find helpful when designing their own
wellness program.
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CAHI Releases State
Mandate Summary
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The Council for
Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) has released their annual report
entitled "Health Insurance Mandates in the States." The
report summarizes the health insurance mandates of each state
including required coverage for grandchildren, morbid obesity
treatment, and cervical cancer screening.
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State Updates
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On February 7, 2008,
the Commissioner of Insurance issued a Bulletin clarifying claims
payment requirements for all licensed health insurers in Wisconsin
with defined and/or preferred provider networks. If marketing
materials presented to enrollees indicated that a specific primary
care physician was in-network, the carrier must provide in-network
covered benefits to enrollees until the end of the plan year for
services received from that physician, regardless of whether the
physician is a participating provider at the time the services are
provided.
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WHA
Financial Solutions, Inc.
800-362-7121
or 608-274-1820
The
information included in WHA Financial Solutions' Compliance Corner
is intended for general information purposes only.
This information does not and is not intended to constitute
legal advice. Any decisions whether to implement these ideas
should be made by the reader in consultation with professional
financial, tax, and legal counsel.
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