Employer Alert! Regulators Make Big Changes to Benefit Plan Notice and Disclosure Deadlines Due to COVID-19 National Emergency

May 21, 2020 | 2:00pm - 3:00pm CST

May 22, 2020 | 11:00am - 12:00pm CST

The DOL and IRS have issued rules that extend several important benefits deadlines due to the COVID-19 national emergency. The new rules extend the time frames for COBRA elections, COBRA payments, and HIPAA special enrollments. The DOL also issued Disaster Relief Notice 2020-01 which gives employers some flexibility in the timing of ERISA required disclosures. The extension of COBRA election and payment timelines means that eligible participants will be able to wait to elect COBRA for longer than the normal 60 day election period, and employers will not be permitted to terminate COBRA coverage due to nonpayment for an extended period of time. Deadlines for mid-year election change subject to the HIPAA special enrollment rules are also extended. We were planning to cover Medicare and employee benefits issues in this month's compliance webinar, but due to these developments we will be covering these important rules instead, and will hold our Medicare webinar at a later date.

*Please be sure to list R&R Insurance as the firm that invited you when completing your webinar registration. Register at least 24 hours prior to receive advance webinar materials.

 

Benefits During Breaks-in-Service, Leaves, and Re-Hire Issues

June 25, 2020

2:00pm - 3:00pm CST

Register here

Wouldn’t it be nice if employees never missed a day of work or ever took a leave! Until then (when pig’s fly), one of the most difficult administrative issues employee benefits managers face is when employees have some kind of break-in-service that effects eligibility. Many different rules can apply in these circumstances. Employers may have to consider FMLA coverage requirements, ACA-related waiting periods and re-hire rules, and more. Plan eligibility could even be different depending on if the employer is using the monthly measurement, or the look-back measurement method to define full-time status. In this webinar we will help you sort out how to handle these “break-in-service” situations.

*Please be sure to list R&R Insurance as the firm that invited you when completing your webinar registration. Register at least 24 hours prior to receive advance webinar materials.

Series Presenters:

Bob Radecki, President, Benefit Comply, LLC
Bob has more than 30 years’ experience in the HR and employee benefits industry helping employers deal with difficult benefit and compliance matters. He has served as the principal HIPAA consultant to a number of health insurance companies and is recognized as an expert on a variety of benefit compliance issues including COBRA, FMLA and health reform. Bob has been the featured speaker at numerous industry events and conferences, and has published many articles on various compliance issues.
 
Regan Blomme, J.D., Senior Consultant, Benefit Comply, LLC
Regan Blomme has experience working as an attorney for a major Fortune 500 company and for a PEO providing benefits and HR services to small employers. She has also worked as a legal researcher for Thomson Reuters. Prior to obtaining her law degree, Regan worked as an account manager in a leading insurance agency in the Minneapolis area, so she understands the issues and challenges facing employee benefit consulting firms and agencies. Regan received her law degree from William Mitchell College of Law, an MBA from The University of St. Thomas and is a member of the Minnesota Bar Association.

Fritz Hewelt, Senior Consultant, Benefit Comply, LLC
Fred W. (“Fritz”) Hewelt brings more than 30 years of experience to his clients, assisting them with a broad range of issues related to the evaluation and remediation of employee benefit and human resource compliance challenges. Fritz has also assisted numerous clients with welfare benefit plan due diligence in merger and acquisition situations. Fritz holds a BS in business administration from Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, Illinois. He also has earned designation as a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) and a Fellow, Life Management Institute (FLMI).

Mark Hoaglund, HIPAA Privacy and Securiy Specialist, Benefit Comply, LLC
Mark Hoaglund has helped more than 200 companies with their HIPAA compliance needs. Before becoming a compliance specialist, Mark worked for Fortune 500 companies including Pillsbury and Honeywell as a senior manager and project manager. He has extensive experience with data security and security management. Mark held lead positions in application development, application support, and computer operations. Mark received a computer programming certificate from Brown Institute, Minneapolis, MN and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota.

Mark Major, J.D., Senior Consultant, Benefit Comply, LLC
Mark Major has more than 30 years' experience with employee benefit plan legal compliance as in-house ERISA counsel, as a lead U.S. compliance attorney for Mercer Consulting. Mark's practice specializes in health, welfare and retirement benefits law supporting small and large employers. Mark is a member of the Denver and Colorado Bar Associations.

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