SIIA Meets with DOL Officials Regarding Self-Insurance Study

Washington, DC, June 04, 2010 --(PR.com)-- A SIIA delegation met yesterday in Washington, DC with Phyllis Borzi, assistant secretary of labor and other key DOL officials to discuss the development of a report on self-insured group health plans mandated by the recently-passed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The objective of the meeting was to secure an opportunity for SIIA to consult with the DOL regarding the development of the report to ensure that self-insurance plans are accurately portrayed. Ms. Borzi indicated that SIIA's assistance could be useful.

"We are very pleased that the DOL was receptive to our offer of assistance and we look forward to working with them over the coming weeks and months," said SIIA Chief Operating Officer Mike Ferguson.

The meeting was prompted by the requirement of the PPACA that the DOL must access information about self-insurance from the Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan - Form 5500. The initial report is scheduled to be released in March of 2011.

"Data included in this report is extremely narrow and does not provide a complete picture of the financial stability of many self-insured plans," Ferguson said. "We were encouraged that DOL personnel agreed that without broadening its view, the report could suffer from significant gaps in key information and paint an inaccurate portrait of self-insurance."

Additional member communications on this subject will follow on an ongoing basis. SIIA is also working to assure the accuracy of another report - this by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) - that will survey the group health benefits market and compare self-insurance with other forms of coverage.

Yesterday's meeting illustrates the critical role SIIA continues to play in representing the interests of its members as the health care regulatory environment continues to evolve.

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