Allen Steinberg : Perspectives

Employee benefit plans—especially retirement and health care—have become an increasingly important part of the employment relationship. For employers, these plans represent an important part of the total compensation package, a tool for retention and recruitment, and a growing financial and compliance burden. For employees, these plans represent a key part of their overall financial security and wellbeing, a financial burden, and a source of complexity and frustration. In effect, it’s complicated. Our firm is dedicated to helping employers manage these complexities and focus on the important things.

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Allen Steinberg

15.10.2017 10.06 CDT

Lawsuits challenging the fiduciary practices of major colleges and universities have survived motions to dismiss. And so, the legal battles over plan costs will continue.

Higher Ed Fiduciary Lawsuits: A Scorecard and Some Observations

Over the past few months, decisions have been issued in six of these cases (the suits against MIT, The University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Duke and Emory). Here are some comments on this first round of decisions.

Duke Emory Johns Hopkins MIT University of Pennsylvania

The first round of court decisions has been issued in the fiduciary challenges to major colleges and universities. Overall, the courts have been allowed the core allegations - that the schools breached their fiduciary duties by allowing the plans to pay excessive fees – to continue. These decisions increase the likelihood that other schools will be subject to copycat fiduciary litigation.

Allen Steinberg

08.10.2017 11.11 CDT

Employers are caught in the middle of the ongoing stalemate over the future of the ACA. Unfortunately, being caught in the middle could prove to be costly in a variety of ways.

Healthcare Wars: Employers Caught in the Middle

As the political battles over the possible repeal, replacement or repair of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) drag on, employers are likely to get caught in the middle.

Employers Healthcare Costs repeal

As the political battles over the possible repeal, replacement or repair of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) drag on, employers must come to grips with an unpleasant reality: they are likely to get the worst of all worlds for the foreseeable future.

Allen Steinberg

22.09.2017 10.04 CDT

: It is for plan administration to diverge from plan documents. It is also risky.

Do What You Say You Are Going to Do

Employers Paying the Cost for Not Following Plan Documents.

Fiduciary Litigation Plan document

Two recent cases (Acosta v. Macy’s, Inc. and Erwood v. Life Ins. Company of North America) serve as reminders of how easy it is for plan administrative practices to diverge from plan documents. The cases also illustrate the risks of allowing this to happen.

Allen Steinberg

08.09.2017 12.24 CDT

The downstreaming of care – to less resource intensive settings – is occurring throughout the U.S. healthcare system. This trend holds promise for patients and payers, but may be a threat to some existing providers.

The Downstreaming of Health Care

What are the Implications of Moving Care to a Less Resource-Intensive Setting?

cost savings Telemedicine

Healthcare services are, increasingly, being delivered in less resource-intensive settings. This “downstreaming” of care will only increase in the years to come and promises to produce lower costs, meet consumer preferences and take advantage of technological advances. However, downstreaming of care will also have significant implications for patients, payers and providers.

Allen Steinberg

24.08.2017 06.53 CDT

Healthcare costs continue to absorb an increasing share of benefits funding. This is forcing employers to find new ways to do more with less help employees meet other key needs. This blog explains the different approaches available to employers in meeting these needs and building employees’ human capital.

Human Capital: Enabling Employees to Build Their Resources

Employers are finding new ways to meet employee needs as healthcare costs crowd out amounts available for employer-funded programs.

employee benefits Human capital voluntary benefits

Employee benefit plans are a way to build “human capital” – defined as the abilities and qualities of people that make them productive. As healthcare costs absorb an increasing share of benefits funding, employers need to find new ways to help employees become secure in their ability to obtain health care, to meet other life exigencies, and to finance their needs in retirement. This blog explains the different approaches available to employers to do more with less in building employees’ human capital.