Events
Employer Webinar – Interaction Between Medicare and Employer Health Plans
Tuesday, August 9, 2011 – 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT
Although the federal Medicare program is entirely separate from the system of employer-sponsored health coverage, there is a remarkable level of interaction between the two. For instance, depending on an employer’s number of employees, any plan sponsored by that employer may be required to provide benefits that are primary to Medicare. Those same “Medicare Secondary Payor” rules proscribe certain actions by an employer that are intended to encourage employees to waive the employer’s coverage in favor of Medicare.
More recently, employers sponsoring plans that provide coverage for prescription drugs have been required to notify their Medicare eligible participants as to whether that coverage is “creditable” for purposes of Medicare Part D. Last year’s health care reform accelerated the deadline for providing these creditable (or non creditable) coverage certificates. In this webinar, we will address the Medicare Secondary Payor rules, the guidelines for notifying Medicare-eligible participants of the plan’s creditable coverage status and other interactions between the Medicare program and employer health plans.
PRESENTERS
Kenneth A. Mason, Partner – Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP
Ken heads the Employee Benefits Group. He concentrates on ERISA and other aspects of employee benefits law, including tax and fiduciary issues, retirement and welfare plans, executive deferred compensation, federal employment discrimination statutes and issues unique to governmental and other tax-exempt employers.
Chadron J. Patton, Associate – Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP
Chadron is a member of Spencer Fane’s Employee Benefits Group. Chadron received his juris doctor from University of Kansas School of Law, where he completed the Tax Law and Business and Commercial Law certificate programs.
