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ARTICLE · 10 OCTOBER 2011

Warning: ERISA "Plan Assets" May Be Involved

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
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On July 6, 2011, the Board of Directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) announced1 that the company would credit customers some $4.26 million in the form of policy credits on individual and group health policies.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Alden Bianchi
Alden Bianchi
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Apportioning the $4.26 Million Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Policy Credits Among Employers and Employer-Sponsored Group Health Plans

On July 6, 2011, the Board of Directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts (BCBSMA) announced1 that the company would credit customers some $4.26 million in the form of policy credits on individual and group health policies. The announcement came in response to a report by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, which was critical of a severance benefit paid to former BCBSMA Chief Executive Officer Cleve Killingsworth in the same amount. To the extent that policy credits are being paid to group health plans that are subject to regulation under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA), employers will need to exercise care. Based on long-standing Department of Labor (DOL) guidance, a portion of aggregate policy credits could constitute "plan assets," which are subject to the ERISA

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