Employee Benefits Security Administration March 1, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document announces revisions to the Form M-1, Report for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements (MEWAs) and Certain Entities Claiming Exception (ECEs), and its availability. The revisions can be viewed on the Employee Benefits Security Administration's (EBSA) Web site at www.dol.gov/ebsa. The revised form is substantively different from previous versions of the Form M-1. Elsewhere in this edition of the Federal Register, EBSA is publishing Final Rules for Filings Required for Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangements and Certain Other Related Entities. These rules 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 form and the accompanying instructions facilitate the filing requirements for MEWAs and ECEs under ERISA.

This document contains final rules under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) that implement reporting requirements for multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs) and certain other entities that offer or provide benefits that consist of medical care (within the meaning of section 733(a)(2) of ERISA and 29 CFR 2590.701-2) for employees of two or more employers. These final rules amend the existing Form M-1 reporting rules by incorporating new provisions enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ``Affordable Care Act''). They also amend existing Form 5500 annual reporting rules for ERISA-covered plans subject to Form M-1 reporting rules. Elsewhere in this edition of the Federal Register, the Employee Benefits Security Administration is publishing final rules related to the Secretary of Labor's new enforcement authority with respect to MEWAs, a notice adopting final revisions to the Form 5500 Annual Return/Report and its instructions to add new Form M-1 compliance questions, as well as an additional notice announcing the finalized revisions to the Form M-1 and its instructions. These improvements in reporting, together with stronger enforcement tools authorized by the Affordable Care Act, are designed to reduce MEWA fraud and abuse, protecting consumers from unpaid medical bills.