March 23, 2011 marked the one-year anniversary of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA, sometimes also referred to as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act or PPACA). When ACA was launched, it created an immediate need for all employers (and to a greater extent, all Americans) to become educated on this very complex legislation. Throughout the past year (beginning even before the actual passage of the Act), Mesirow Financial has been taking numerous steps to keep you up-to-date on the many provisions of this new law via our Legislative Updates, webinars and seminars and through one-on-one, customized impact studies.

Our communications will continue to come to you in a variety of ways as guidance and regulations are released and new information becomes available. As the many layers of the Affordable Care Act continue to unfold, you have our commitment to keep working diligently to provide you with a variety of educational resources to keep you informed of changes to this substantial legislation.

Here's what's coming up next:

Ongoing Education
Through a variety of resources, including our membership with United Benefit Advisors (UBA), our relationship with the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), our access to various law firm publications and our employee benefits legal guidance partner, McDonald Hopkins, LLC, among others, we are continually making available learning opportunities and materials to update our clients.

Here's a recap of what we have brought you to date:

September 7, 2011 Task Force Revamps and Renames Impact Study
Mesirow Financial's Health Care Reform Task Force revised and renamed our former health care reform "Impact Study." Our new "Road to Compliance" helps our employee benefits professionals guide employers to prepare for expected heavy guidance release and other activity related to the 2014 provisions of the Affordable Care Act, while reminding them of compliance requirements from early passage of the Act to present.

August 29, 2011 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: Guidance Issued on ACA's Summary of Benefits and Coverage
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires each employer group health plan to provide a 4-page summary of its benefits to all individuals who are eligible for coverage. This requirement takes effect on March 23, 2012 (two years after the enactment of the ACA). The three agencies charged with implementing many of the ACA's requirements have just issued proposed regulations, along with templates of proposed formats, under which a plan may furnish this new "summary of benefits and coverage" (SBC). Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released this new Employer Compliance Alert: Guidance Issued on ACA's Summary of Benefits and Coverage. Request a copy.

July 12, 2011 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: More Changes to ACA-Required Internal and External Review Procedures
Interim final regulations issued under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) require that group health plans (other than those that are "grandfathered") comply with a number of internal claims and appeals procedures that go beyond those previously required under ERISA. The ACA also requires group health plans to offer a new state or federal external review process to review denied claims. Although these new requirements are generally effective for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, the Department of Labor (DOL) has granted two separate extensions of this compliance. Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released this new Employer Compliance Alert: Revised Again: More Changes to ACA-Required Internal and External Review Procedures. Request a copy.

May 3, 2011 Employer Seminar – Implementing Health Care Reform: Overview and Politics and Carrier Perspectives
The new Congress has had a big impact on the implementation process of PPACA. Janet Trautwein, chief executive officer of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), keynotes this employer seminar to address what's different in Congress now, and how it could impact employers over the next few years. In addition, our panel of executives from major health insurance carriers including: BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois, CIGNA and UnitedHealthcare, presents their perspectives regarding changes in benefits and administration, state-run exchanges and medical loss ratio.

April 28, 2011 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: Expanded 1099 Reporting Requirements Retroactively Repealed
Both political parties have long agreed on the need to repeal the expanded Form 1099 reporting requirements enacted as part of last year's Affordable Care Act (ACA). On April 14, President Obama finally signed legislation retroactively repealing these requirements. Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released the new Employer Compliance Alert: Expanded 1099 Reporting Requirements Retroactively Repealed. View the pdf.

April 27, 2011 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: Budget Compromise Eliminates "Free Choice Vouchers"
As a part of the recent compromise allowing for passage of a federal budget for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2011, congressional Republicans succeeded in repealing a significant provision of last year's Affordable Care Act (ACA). This provision would have required most employers (regardless of size) to offer "free choice vouchers" to certain of their lower-paid employees who chose not to enroll in the employer's health plan. Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released the new Employer Compliance Alert: Budget Compromise Eliminates "Free Choice Vouchers." View the pdf.

April 18, 2011: Release of e-Legislative Update
The Free Choice Voucher Program provision of the Affordable Care Act was been repealed. This provision was part of the FY2011 Budget Agreement – containing roughly $2.5 billion in cuts – that President Obama signed into law on April 15, 2011.
View the pdf.

February 15, 2011 Webinar: Tax Implications of Dependent Coverage After Health Care Reform
Mesirow Financial hosted a Webinar for our clients, presented by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, discussing the extended dependent coverage requirement, the corresponding change in tax law and the impact of both on employers sponsoring group health plans, cafeteria plans and health reimbursement arrangements.

December 27, 2010 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: IRS Delays Application of Nondiscrimination Rules for Insured Health Plans
On December 22, 2010, the IRS announced that insured group health plans will not be required to comply with the nondiscrimination requirements under health care reform until regulatory guidance on those requirements is issued. Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released the new Employer Compliance Alert: IRS Delays Application of Nondiscrimination Rules for Insurance Health Plans.

December 22, 2010 ACA Continuing Education for Employee Benefits Practice
Mesirow Financial's Employee Benefits service teams attended a special continuing education webinar on the Affordable Care Act (ACA): Health Plan Nondiscrimination Testing After Health Care Reform. Hosted by the International Foundation, this program discussed the "old" nondiscrimination rules versus "new" nondiscrimination rules, explained the two tests that apply – the "Eligibility Test" and the "Benefits Test" – and noted penalties for failing to comply with the rules.

December 14, 2010 Webinar: COBRA After Health Care Reform
Mesirow Financial hosted a Webinar for our clients, presented by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, considering whether COBRA has any long-term future (in view of the ability to purchase coverage through the exchanges starting in 2014) and addressing several short-term implications for COBRA and comprehensive health care reform.

November 3, 2010 ACA Continuing Education for Employee Benefits Practice
Mesirow Financial's Employee Benefits service teams attended a special continuing education program on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) – Health Care Reform: What Do Employers Need to Do to Comply Now? Presented by Christopher S. Sears, a partner at Ice Miller LLP, this detailed program provided our teams with the latest updates and tools on this important and ever-changing topic, to better serve our clients.

October 18, 2010 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: Limited Relief on New Claims and Appeals Procedures
The agencies charged with enforcing the Affordable Care Act (the "Act") have answered several frequently asked questions concerning the Act's provision on more stringent claims and appeals procedures for non-grandfathered health plans, providing limited relief to plan sponsors who are scrambling to comply. Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released the new Employer Compliance Alert: Limited Relief on New Claims and Appeals Procedures.

October 18, 2010 Release of Employer Compliance Alert: IRS Makes W-2 Reporting of Cost of Health Coverage Optional for 2011
On October 12, 2010, the IRS released Notice 2010-69, which provides interim relief from the ACA requirement that the cost of coverage under employer-sponsored group health plans be reported on Forms W-2 provided to employees. Written by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, we released the new Employer Compliance Alert: IRS Makes W-2 Reporting of Cost of Health Coverage Optional for 2011.

September 23, 2010: Release of Model Employee Notices
The Affordable Care Act requires that certain notices describing several of the provisions of the Act be distributed to employees. For our clients' convenience, we made available model employee notices released by the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services, together with a description of each.

September 16, 2010 Release of Employee Communication: Health Care Reform and You – Understanding Today's Affordable Care Act (ACA)
While the rules for health care reform legislation are still being written, employees need information about how current ACA provisions are likely to affect them. To meet this need, Mesirow Financial created an employee communication template for clients to provide to their employees, discussing what employees need to know now about many of the provisions of ACA. The template is also available in Spanish.

September 16, 2010 ACA Seminar at Medinah Country Club
Mesirow Financial co-hosted this comprehensive health care reform seminar, Health Care Reform: The Law and Its Impact, together with Ice Miller LLP and Crowe Horwath LLP. The seminar featured a panel discussion led by Mark A. Kmety, senior managing director and co-practice leader at Mesirow Financial, followed by concurrent breakout sessions: Impact on Employers, and Impact on Health Care Providers.

August 10, 2010 Webinar: The Effect of Health Care Reform on Employers
Mesirow Financial hosted a Webinar for our clients, presented by Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP, through United Benefit Advisors, focusing on the ACA provisions that become effective in 2011 (technically, plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010), regulatory guidance that has been issued to date (i.e., grandfathered plan rules, dependent coverage and lifetime and annual limits) and health care reform changes to be aware of for the coming years.

July 20, 2010: Release of New e-Legislative Update
On Wednesday, July 14, 2010, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor and the Treasury issued interim final regulations for compliance with the preventive services provision of the Affordable Care Act. We published and distributed the new e-Legislative Update: "Preventive Services" – Interim Final Regulations Issued. Read the Web page complete with links to important resources.

June 29, 2010: Release of E-Legislative Update
The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) today released the official application and instructions for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), and will begin accepting applications for the program today. We published and distributed the new e-Legislative Update: Early Retirement Program (ERRP) Official Application Now Available for Completion and Submission. Read the Web page complete with links to important resources.

June 17, 2010: Release of E-Legislative Update
On June 15, 2010, the Departments of Health & Human Services (HHS), Labor (DOL) and the Treasury jointly issued new regulations which provide guidance on the grandfathered status provision. We published and distributed a new e-Legislative Update: "Grandfathered Status" - Interim Regulations Released. View the pdf.

June 11, 2010: Release of E-Legislative Update
Regulations for the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program were issued on May 5, 2010 and became effective on June 1, 2010. We published and distributed a new e-Legislative Update: Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP). View the pdf.

May 17, 2010: Release of E-Legislative Update
In tandem with our seminar, we published and distributed a new e-Legislative Update: IRS Issues Tax Guidance for PPACA Dependent Child Coverage Provision. View the pdf.

May 17, 2010: PPACA Seminar at Hyatt Regency O'Hare
We hosted a special employer seminar: Navigating Through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, featuring Harmony Harrington, manager of Legislative & Policy Management at BlueCross BlueShield of Illinois. The full web presentation with slides and audio is available by request.

April 1, 2010: Hosted Webinar "Setting the Course for Responsible Health Care Reform"
We hosted the Webinar: Setting the Course for Responsible Health Care Reform, presented by Janet Trautwein, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU). A podcast and presentation materials are available by request.

March 23, 2010: Released Legislative Update
Shortly after the United States House of Representatives passed the Senate health care reform bill, we published and distributed a new Legislative Update: House Passes Health Care Reform: What Happens Next. View the pdf.

August 13, and August 27, 2009: Hosted Webinar "Health Care Reform: It's Your Business"
Before Washington, DC even had a name for health care reform legislation, Mesirow Financial hosted a Webinar for our clients, presented by Janet Trautwein, executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Health Underwriters (NAHU), through United Benefit Advisors. This presentation featured Ms. Trautwein's first-hand view of the urgent legislative issues being considered in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, and discussed the latest health care reform proposals.