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September 8, 2017 page 4
 Both the website address and phone number for the
Medicaid agency in Nebraska have changed; and
 The Medicaid website address has changed in West
Virginia.
And finally, EBSA’s website address that appears at the
end of the model notice has been updated.
The notice explaining the right to premium assistance
must be provided to employees residing in the below-
listed states at least once annually, without regard to
where the employer is located, or where the health plan
is sitused:
STATES WITH P REMIUM ASSISTANCE
Alabama Minnesota Pennsylvania
Alaska Missouri Rhode Island
Arkansas Montana South Carolina
Colorado Nebraska South Dakota
Florida Nevada Texas
Georgia New Hampshire Utah
Indiana New Jersey Vermont
Iowa New York Virginia
Kansas North Carolina Washington
Kentucky North Dakota West Virginia
Louisiana Oklahoma Wisconsin
Maine Oregon Wyoming
Massachusetts
The revised Medicaid/CHIP notice is available for viewing
and/or downloading from the DOL’s website, in both
English and Spanis .
REMINDER: DISTRIBUTE M EDICARE PART D NOTICES BY
OCTOBER 15TH
Plan sponsors have an annual obligation to provide the
Medicare Part D creditable notices to Medicare-eligible
individuals. The annual Medicare Part D open enrollment
period for the 2018 year begins October 15, 2017 and
runs through December 7, 2017.
The Medicare Part D Notice of Creditable or Non-
creditable Coverage must be provided to Medicare-
eligible individuals at least annually, prior to the
Medicare Part D open enrollment period. This means that
all Medicare Part D notices of creditable or non-
creditable coverage must be provided within the 12-
month period ending on October 15, 2017.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
provide model language that can be tailored by plan
sponsors to satisfy their notice obligation:
 Model Individual Creditable Coverage Disclosure
Notice Language
 Model Individual Non-Creditable Coverage
Disclosure Notice Language
NEW YORK PAID FAMILY LEAVE L AW U PDATES
As follow-up to
discussion of the New York Paid Family leave (PFL) law,
this article discusses some recently released guidance
relating to reporting of employee contributions, as well as
some additional compliance tips for employers.
Reporting Contributions on Form W-2. The New York
Department of Taxation and Finance released
relating to the tax consequences of this law. Under the
PFL law, an employee can be required to pay the full cost
of the benefit. The tax guidance indicates that the
premium is to be paid on an after-tax basis and reported
on the employee’s Form W-2, using Box 14 (state
disability insurance taxes withheld). PFL benefits are
taxable non-wage income that must be included in
federal gross income. Generally, withholding is not
automatic, though, the individual beneficiary can request
withholding. The benefits paid are reported by the payer
(generally, the insurer) on a Form 1099-MISC.
Next Steps for Employers. In light of the final regulations
adopted by nd
following are some
steps for employers to consider in an effort to ensure
compliance with the law when it takes effect on January
1, 2018.
1. Contact your state temporary disability insurer to
begin the process of obtaining a PFL policy.
2. Determine, in conjunction with your insurer, what, if
any, payroll deduction will be collected from your
employees.
3. Develop an internal PFL policy. Points to include:
 Eligibility. Generally, employees who regularly work
a minimum of 20 hours per week are eligible for
PFL benefits after 26 consecutive weeks of
employment; those working fewer than 20 hours a
week are eligible after 175 work days.
 Funding sources addressing whether
contributions will be derived solely by the
employee contributions through a payroll
deduction process, or, whether the employer fully
funds the benefit, or perhaps a combination of
both employee/employer contributions;
 A description of how leave can be used. Under the
PFL law, instances giving rise for the need for leave
include baby bonding, to provide physical or
psychological care to a family member with a
serious health condition; or to relieve family
pressures when the employee’s spouse, domestic
partner, child, or parent is on active military duty.