http://www.hewittassociates.com/Hewitt Washington Report60http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8213http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8213President Obama signed into law on March 2, 2010 a bill to temporarily extend emergency unemployment benefits, the COBRA premium subsidy program, and a Medicare physician payment update, along with other programs, all of which had expired on February 28. The "Temporary Extension Act of 2010" (H.R. 4 ...Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8214http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8214On March 3, 2010, President Obama made a statement at the White House asking and urging Congress to hold an "up or down" vote on health care reform in the next few weeks. After more than a year of debate, the President said that "Congress owes the American people a final vote on health care reform." ...Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8215http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8215On March 4, 2010, by a vote of 217-201, the House passed its own version of the "Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act" (H.R. 2847). The House-passed bill amends the Senate-passed bill to comply with pay-go rules. The Senate passed the HIRE Act by a 70-28 vote on February 24, 2010. Both ...Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8216http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8216The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a proposed rule that would clarify the definition of the terms "employee welfare benefit plan" and "welfare plan" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The proposed rule would clarif ...Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8180http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8180President Obama met with Congressional Democrats and Congressional Republicans for more than six hours on Thursday, February 25, 2010 at the much-anticipated health care reform summit. The two sides traded talking points and noted areas of broad agreement on the issue of health care reform, includin ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8181http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8181On February 25, 2010, the House approved by voice vote the "Temporary Extension Act of 2010" (H.R. 4691). The bill continues the emergency unemployment compensation program through April 5, 2010, and extends the 65% COBRA premium subsidy included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA - ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8182http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8182The Senate passed the first of several anticipated jobs bills by a 70-28 vote on February 24, 2010. The $15 billion dollar "Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act" (HIRE Act) was introduced by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) as an amendment (S. Amdt. 3310) to a jobs bill (H.R. 2847) th ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8183http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8183Vice President Biden released a report on Friday, February 26, 2010, which outlines several employment policy issues the Obama administration is prioritizing as it focuses on job creation and economic recovery. The report, Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, includes sev ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8184http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8184The Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is scheduled to release proposed investment advice regulations on March 2, 2010. EBSA released final investment advice regulations on January 21, 2009, but the agency later withdrew them on November 19, 2009, citing con ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8185http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8185On February 22, 2010, the Department of Labor's (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) 2010-01. This bulletin answers questions that were not addressed in a previous communication issued by the DOL in July 2009 (FAB 2009-02). Bulletin 2010-01 pr ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8186http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8186The Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Civil Rights (OCR) has posted online a list of entities that have incurred data breaches of protected health information involving more than 500 individuals, as required by the rules under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clini ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8187http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8187The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) (P.L. 110-343), enacted on October 3, 2008, expanded the mental health parity requirements that had been in place since 1996. MHPAEA generally prohibits group health plans that provide mental health o ...Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8149http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8149Health care reform is back in the spotlight with President Obama's upcoming bipartisan meeting to discuss health care reform legislation set for this Thursday, February 25. The President has posted his health care reform proposal in advance of the meeting, saying that it will make for a more product ...Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8150http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8150The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has updated the Application for Expedited Review of Denial of COBRA Premium Reduction to reflect changes made by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act that extended the COBRA subsidy eligibility period through February ...Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMThttp://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8151http://www.hewittassociates.com/Intl/NA/en-US/KnowledgeCenter/LegislativeUpdates/WashingtonReportDetail.aspx?cid=8151The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 19, 2010 issued the "Advance Notice" of changes to methods used to calculate health care capitation rates for payments to Medicare Advantage organizations for Calendar Year 2011. The Advance Notice is issued annually 45 days before the ...Mon, 22 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT