Employee Benefits Security Administration December 6, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces proposed revisions to the Form M-1, Report for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs). The revisions can be viewed on the Employee Benefits Security Administration's (EBSA) Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa. The proposed form is substantively different from previous versions of the Form M-1 and may not be used for filing purposes. Elsewhere in this edition of the Federal Register, EBSA is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Those rules would amend the existing MEWA regulations to implement the registration requirement added to section 101(g) of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, (ERISA), as amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) as well as to enhance compliance, enforcement, and protection of employer-sponsored health benefits. The proposed form and the accompanying instructions would facilitate the filing requirements for MEWAs under ERISA.

This document contains a proposed rule under title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that, upon adoption, would implement reporting requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and certain other entities that offer or provide health benefits for employees of two or more employers. The proposal amends existing reporting rules to incorporate new provisions enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Affordable Care Act) to more clearly address the reporting obligations of MEWAs that are ERISA plans. This regulation is designed to impose the minimal amount of burden on legally compliant MEWAs and entities claiming exception (ECEs) while implementing the Secretary's authority to take enforcement action against fraudulent or abusive MEWAs included in the Affordable Care Act and working to protect health benefits for businesses and their employees. This proposed rule implements the new provisions while preserving the filing structure and provisions of the 2003 regulations which direct plan MEWAs and non-plan MEWAs to report annually and file upon registration or origination. Elsewhere in this edition of the Federal Register, the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to the Secretary's new enforcement authority with respect to MEWAs and Notices of proposed revisions of the Form M-1 and the Form 5500.