American Benefits Council

American Benefits Council, Miller & Chevalier Announce Results of Corporate Health Care Policy Survey
Respondents Express Concerns About Health Care Reform Proposals of Both Presidential Candidates, Call for More Attention to Cost and Quality Issues and Maintenance of ERISA Standards

September 16, 2008: The American Benefits Council and Miller & Chevalier Chartered today announced the results of their 2008 Corporate Health Care Policy Forecast Survey, measuring the current perspectives and attitudes of leading corporate benefit professionals on the direction of health care policy in the coming year.

By wide margins – and regardless of their personal political affiliation – the people who design and administer employer health plans expressed concerns with both Presidential candidates’ health care proposals, saying that Senator John McCain’s proposal to repeal the tax exclusion for employer-provided health coverage and Senator Barack Obama’s proposal to compel employers to “pay or play” would have strong negative impacts on American workers.

"This feedback should be a wake-up call to our political leaders that the people responsible for structuring and managing employer-sponsored health plans, which cover more than 130 million Americans, are deeply skeptical about key elements of both Presidential candidates' reform proposals. Rather than taxing workers' health benefits and compelling employers to provide coverage they can’t afford, candidates should focus on initiatives to control costs and promote top quality care," said James A. Klein, president of the American Benefits Council.

The corporate benefits executives also urged Presidential and Congressional candidates to pay more attention to issues that affect the cost of health coverage and the quality of health services. Employers are actively working to address rising health care costs and have implemented programs designed to improve health care quality, with 92% of respondents saying their companies have adopted wellness or chronic care programs. Other programs and policies in wide use include (1) offering a consumer-directed health plan with a health savings account or health reimbursement arrangement, (2) requesting public reporting of provider quality and (3) participating in regional or national public-private collaboratives to establish and support uniform standards for measuring and reporting cost or quality information.

The survey results also confirm that nearly unanimously, business leaders believe maintaining the federal preemption framework of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), is vital to continuing employer-sponsored coverage. Regardless of their company’s size, geography, industry or even the respondent’s own political affiliation, respondents overwhelmingly support maintaining ERISA standards and oppose individual regulation at the state level.

Full survey results are available here. For more information or to schedule an interview with Council policy staff, please contact Jason Hammersla at (202) 289-6700.

Council tells DOL panel: participant education essential to addressing ‘decumulation’ problem
September 10, 2008: At today’s hearing of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ERISA Advisory Council Working Group on Spend Down of Defined Contribution Assets at Retirement, Allison Klausner, Assistant General Counsel - Benefits for Honeywell International Inc., testified on behalf of the American Benefits Council on the looming problem of asset "decumulation."

"Once an individual has accumulated retirement savings, he or she faces another set of challenges in determining how to spend those savings," Klausner said. “Attention to this issue is essential to ensure that retirement savings lead to retirement security.”

Klausner’s testimony identified the key shifts that have contributed to the decumulation problem: the decline in the number of defined benefit plans and the rise of defined contribution arrangements, the increased selection of lump sum distribution options by participants, and significant advances in life expectancy. "The combination of these three factors creates a clear public policy challenge," Klausner said. "Imprudent management of savings in defined contribution plans and IRAs could result in retirees outliving their private retirement savings."

Klausner also suggested a number of improvements for DOL to undertake, chiefly in the area of beneficiary education. “The most important thing that can be done is to educate Americans about the decumulation challenge,” Klausner said. "The more that individuals understand the risks and challenges involved in the decumulation phase, the more prepared they will be to address these challenges successfully. The Department can play a critical role in this education process," Klausner said.

Klausner’s full testimony is available on the Council Web site. To arrange an interview with Council policy staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director of communications, at (202) 289-6700.

Council describes for DOL panel the importance of "win-win" flexible retirement programs
Retention of skilled, knowledgeable workers critical for American companies
September 9, 2008: "Losing skilled employees due to the inflexibility surrounding current retirement laws is an increasing risk to the success of our company," said Maria Norman, corporate director, benefit strategy and design for Northrop Grumman Corporation. Norman, a member of the American Benefits Council Board of Directors, testified on behalf of the Council in today's hearing of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) ERISA Advisory Council Working Group on Phased Retirement.

Norman urged the panel to "focus on the role that flexible retirement programs can play in meeting the needs of both workers and employers, as well as in bolstering the economy and relieving burdens on government programs. Under current law, there are certain obstacles to the ability of employers to implement these 'win-win' programs and, as the population ages, the disconnect between the law and the needs of the workplace will expand."

"We strongly encourage the Advisory Council to be very careful in recommending policy changes so that retirement programs can provide maximum flexibility to employers and employees," Norman said.

The full text of Norman's testimony is available on the Council Web site. To arrange an interview with Council policy staff, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director of communications, at (202) 289-6700.

DOL proposed disclosure regulations represent practical, straightforward approach to retirement plan fees
July 22, 2008: "American Benefits Council members are pleased that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed reasonable, straightforward regulations for disclosure of defined contribution plan fee information to employees," said Council president James A. Klein. "Upon our initial review, the DOL proposal appears to provide simple yet meaningful disclosure to plan participants."

Klein continued, "The Council strongly supports transparency of retirement plan fee and related information so that individuals have all the tools they need to invest wisely for their future. For this reason, we are particularly gratified that the proposed regulations appear to address plan fees not in isolation, but as part of a package of useful information on plan investments (such as historical rate of return and risk level) that participants can use to make educated savings choices."

The DOL proposal represents the last of three regulatory projects to address defined contribution plan fees, following previous issuances on disclosure to the federal government and disclosure from service providers to plan sponsors. The Council has worked cooperatively with DOL on these projects and engaged in a constructive dialogue with Congressional lawmakers as they examined the issue earlier this year.

The Council will review the proposed regulations thoroughly and intends to submit official comments before the September 8 deadline. “The timetable for finalization of these rules is ambitious, but we look forward to working with DOL to ensure orderly implementation by retirement plan sponsors and service providers,” Klein said.

To arrange an interview with a Council staff member, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director, communications, at (202) 289-6700.

Employer coalition opposes S. 334 in letter to senators
July 7, 2008: The National Coalition on Benefits (NCB) has sent a letter to Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Robert Bennett (R-UT) expressing opposition to the core provisions of the Healthy Americans Act (S. 334). Wyden introduced the bill in January 2007 and Bennett was the first Republican to sign on as a cosponsor.

As a member of the NCB’s steering committee and co-chair of its Legal and Legislative Developments subcommittee, the Council took the lead in drafting the letter to let the Senators know that S. 334 would have a major adverse impact on employer-sponsored health coverage. “The core provisions of the Healthy Americans Act would cause large scale disruption in the source, financing, and regulation of the employer-sponsored health coverage that now serves most Americans,” the letter states. “Moreover, widespread and sudden disruption in employer-sponsored health coverage is likely to harm employer-employee relations because most employees have a longstanding expectation that their employer will be their primary source for health coverage.”

The Council is a founding member of the coalition, which represents over 150 employers, trade associations and other organizations. NCB supports maintaining ERISA and its preemption standard so that employers are able to offer uniform benefits to employees and retirees without being subject to costly and conflicting state regulatory requirements.

San Francisco case represents threat to ERISA; preemption standard essential for plan sponsors
April 15, 2007: “For more than 30 years, America’s voluntary employer-sponsored health care system has relied upon the federal standards provided by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA),” American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said at a media briefing today, two days before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit is to hear oral arguments in the pivotal case regarding the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance.

“Innovation at the state and local level to expand access to health care coverage is important. But it must not come at the expense of ERISA’s critical preemption standards and the millions of people who rely on their employers for health care coverage,” Klein said. “The San Francisco law will restrict employers’ ability to uniformly administer multi-state health plans by forcing employers to make certain choices that result in modification or establishment of an employee benefit plan – exactly the sort of state or local regulation ERISA was intended to preempt.”

Representative Charles W. Boustany, Jr. (R-LA) participated in the Council’s media briefing to offer his perspective on the need to protect ERISA’s federal preemption standards. “Congressman Boustany has been an outspoken champion on this issue because he recognizes that ERISA’s protections benefit employees and their families, as well as employer plan sponsors,” Klein said.

To read the full media release, click here.

To arrange an interview with a Council staff member, please contact Jason Hammersla, Council director, communications, at (202) 289-6700.

‘Safe and Sound’ retirement goals include raising financial literacy, expanding coverage
November 8:"The current voluntary employer-sponsored retirement system has been an enormous success," said Lynn Dudley, American Benefits Council vice president, retirement policy, at a hearing before the House of Representatives Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee of the Education and Labor Committee. "The magnitude of America’s demographic challenges now dictates that individuals, employers and the government all need to do more to continue this success and ensure widespread retirement security."

Dudley’s testimony was drawn from the Council’s 2004 report Safe and Sound: A Ten-Year Plan for Promoting Personal Financial Security, which contains specific goals for improving retirement coverage and savings and discusses the responsibilities of the key stakeholders.

"The fact that individuals will be called upon to play a greater role in achieving personal financial security does not mean that employers or the government will be doing less," Dudley said. "As individuals play a more prominent role in achieving their own personal financial security, employers and the government will be expected to help provide the tools to more simply and successfully play this larger role."

The full text of the Council's media release is available in the Newsroom.

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ERISA Preemption and State Health Reform Initiatives

The Council's ERISA Preemption Issue Page

The Council strongly believes that legislative responses that affect employers must build on the current federal framework which preserves uniformity in plan design and administration. The Council is a founding member of the Coalition on Benefits, a group of employers and employer associations dedicated to working with Congress to preserve ERISA benefits. Click here to find out how to join in this effort.

As Congress is considering how to address the problem of the working uninsured, one of the questions being raised is how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 ("ERISA") will interact with state initiatives. ERISA "preempts" state laws that relate to employer sponsored employee benefit plans in order to promote the employer sponsorship of health plans and the uniform administration of benefits.

Simply put, ERISA preemption is vital to the voluntary sponsorship of health plans. Over 70 percent of American workers age 18 to 64 have employer-based health coverage. Employers depend on ERISA preemption to ensure that coverage can be offered uniformly across the country and administered relatively efficiently. ERISA preemption also gives each employer the flexibility to design the terms of health plans to meet the changing needs of their unique workforce and to attempt to control spiraling health care costs.