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March 01, 2008 at 02:00 AM
A recent study by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) has found that ERISA, the primary law governing employment-based health and retirement benefits, is working as Congress intended in preventing multi-state employers from potentially having to meet 50 different sets of health plan regulations. The EBRI analysis says that, “the regulation of employment-based health benefit plans has evolved into a system [in] which both federal and state laws play important roles.”
As a result of a series of Supreme Court decisions, the analysis continues, “health benefit plans that purchase coverage from insurance companies (insured plans) are subject to ERISA regulation directly at the federal level and indirectly at the state level, while self-insured plans (typically only very large employers) are regulated exclusively at the federal level.” The important distinction, EBRI says, “is that ERISA pre-empts self-insured plans from state coverage mandates.” The analysis says that “it’s clear from the case law that ERISA puts limits on the states’ ability to carry out health insurance reforms. ERISA pre-emption has prevented individual states and localities from mandating a minimum level of coverage for employment-based plans, and, so far, appears to prevent the states from mandating the employers provide health benefits. For employers operating in multiple states, this is exactly what ERISA was supposed to do-prevent multi-state employers from having to meet potentially 50 different sets of regulations.”
The Center for Due Diligence (CFDD), an independent information and strategic services firm, recently launched a newly revamped Web site (www.thecfdd.com) for retirement advisors. “The Web site will be the richest Web-based resource available for retirement advisors,” said Phil Chiricotti, CFDD president, in a release. CFDD hosts one of the largest conferences for retirement advisors in the industry. The primary areas of the Web site include: Insights; Monitor, which will feature updates on legislation, litigation, regulatory action and enforcement; Links; Conferences; Training; Resources, which will provide valuable tools and resources on benchmarks, business models, designations, and ethics; Ask an Expert, with commentary from John Hancock, ComplianceWorks, Inc., Prudential, and Target Date Analytics; Research and Trends; Target Date Funds; Retirement Income; Jobs/Recruiting; and a place to buy and sell practices.
