The ACA: The Rear View Mirror and the Crystal Ball
Thursday, May 10, 2012
9:00 am - 10:30 am Pacific/12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Eastern

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has had a tremendous impact on group health plans and group health plan sponsors and there is still much more on the horizon. Join Ashley Gillihan, Esq. as he provides you with the two tools that you need with respect to the ACA: a rear view mirror and crystal ball.

Why do you need a rear view mirror? Employers can face significant penalties for failing to comply with many of the requirements that are already effective, such as the health insurance reforms. Ashley will identify his "Top 10" problem areas for those provisions of the ACA that are already effective to ensure you steer clear of the pitfalls and traps.

Why do you need a crystal ball? In 2014, arguably the most significant provisions of the ACA--the individual mandate and the employer share responsibility provisions--go into effect, assuming the ACA survives constitutional scrutiny by the Supreme Court. If deemed constitutional, employers will be forced to potentially answer two questions: (i) is my coverage “minimum essential coverage" for purposes of the individual mandate and (ii) is it cheaper to drop group health coverage for my employees and just pay the applicable penalties? Ashley will help you answer these questions so that you are prepared to make the right decisions leading into 2014.

Ashley Gillihan
Alston & Bird LLP

Ashley Gillihan is a member of Alston & Bird's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Group. He is also a secondary member of the firm's ERISA Litigation Group. Mr. Gillihan's legal practice focuses exclusively on assisting clients with various health and welfare benefit plan issues related to the following:

-Cafeteria plan and flexible spending account related issues;
-Consumer driven health care arrangements such as Health Reimbursement Arrangements(HRAs) and Health Savings Accounts (HSAs);
-ERISA reporting, disclosure, and fiduciary obligations;
-COBRA administration;
-HIPAA portability and discrimination;
-HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Administrative Simplification;
-Federal tax issues associated with health and welfare benefit plans (e.g. VEBAs, nondiscrimination testing, etc.) ; and
-Welfare Benefit Plan issues arising from various federal employment discrimination statutes such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA)

Mr. Gillihan represents various corporate plan sponsors, insurers, HSA trustee/custodians, financial institutions and third party benefit plan administrators.

Mr. Gillihan lectures frequently and has published various articles on health and welfare benefit plan related topics. He is a faculty member for MCOL (a managed health care on-line organization) and the Institute of Applied Management and Law (IAML). He is a member of the Advisory Board of Editors of the Benefits Compensation Law Alert and the Technical Advisory Council to the Employer's Council on Flexible Compensation. He is also the primary author of the Flexible Benefits Answer book by Aspen Publishers.

Mr. Gillihan is a member of the state bars of Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama. He is a 1996 graduate of Samford University's Cumberland School of Law.

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WEBINAR QUESTIONS?
Please send in your questions about this hot topic to us in advance! Guarantee that your questions will be answered and help Ashley gear the presentation towards the concerns of his audience. Send your questions to hcaainfo@hcaa.org by May 8, 2012.

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