ERIC 2017 Spring Policy Meeting


Thursday, April 27 (10am) - Friday, April 28, 2017 (3pm US/Eastern)


Spring Policy Meeting
April 27 - 28, 2017

Location
Covington & Burling LLP
One CityCenter, 850 Tenth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-4956

ERIC meetings offer the best opportunity to engage directly with key Washington policymakers, network with peers at other leading large employers, hear about the latest employee-benefit developments, learn what ERIC is doing to support large employers providing health and retirement benefits, and enjoy presentations from ERIC's Advisory Council and other experts. We will continue to update this page as the event nears.

*** You can view and download the full agenda by clicking on "View Meeting Documents" above. ***

Agenda

April 27
10:00 am - 10:45 am Advisory Council Meeting
10:45 am - 11:45 am Advisory Council Reception (All members welcome and encouraged to attend)
11:45 am 12:45 pm Networking Lunch
12:15 pm - 12:45 pm Keynote Speaker
12:45 pm - 5:00 pm Policy Meeting
5:30 pm - 8:00 pm Reception (All members welcome)

April 28
8:00 am – 8:35 am Breakfast
8:35 am – 11:30 am Policy Meeting
11:30 am - 12:30 pm Breakout Sessions
12:30 pm – 1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm Breakout Sessions
2:15 pm – 3:30 Policy Meeting
3:30 pm – Closing Remarks

Panel Topics:

ERISA Preemption vs. States’ Rights – Impact on Large Employers – Leading experts will discuss the aggressive state actions that threaten to violate ERISA and the judicial and legislative actions surrounding them as well as an exploration into what these changes and others will mean for employers and what to expect in the coming months.

Taxing Retirement and Health Benefits – Panelists will explore the impact of taxation of employee benefits on the future designs of total rewards programs, a 100% Roth 401(k) plan world, the prospect of a robust individual market in which retirees could buy health insurance, the role of health savings accounts (HSA), as well as the practical implications of policy changes on an aging workforce.

Federal Regulatory Rollback Opportunities – Hear from a Trump Administration official on the Presidential Executive Order on regulatory relief. Then participate in small groups led by ERIC Advisory Council members to discuss specific regulations and how ERIC can change them to reduce compliance and other burdens on employers. Topics to be discussed are:

• Defined benefit plans
• Defined contribution plans
• ACA-related regulations, and
• Health plan regulations not related to the ACA

Health Care Reform - The Latest and What It Means to Large Plan Sponsors – A discussion of the ongoing efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, and what effects it will have on those enrolled in Medicaid or who purchase health insurance in the individual market. The panel will also focus on what employers stand to gain or lose, and what else can be done to encourage delivery system reform, transparency, cost-containment, and quality improvement.

Congressional Panel – Hear from the key policymakers writing employee benefits and tax laws in both the House and Senate. ERIC members will have the opportunity to question those intricately involved in the legislative process, and comment on the impact of current or proposed legislation their effect on employee benefits.

U.S. Supreme Court Litigation Update – Review of cases before and recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court on employee benefit matters important to ERIC members, including a discussion of the impact of the addition of a ninth Justice.

Wellness – Financial and Health – This panel will explore the latest challenges and successful strategies in financial wellness, including public policy ideas that can help bolster employers' ability to encourage employees to save money and maximize the efficiency of their spending. We will also examine the challenges associated with balancing the costs of retiree health benefits, with the need to ensure older employees are not locked into employment just to maintain health insurance. Panelists will discuss options to empower employers and employees regarding financial wellness.

Concurrent sessions:

Breakout Series 1
1. Prescription Drug Policy: What Are the Industry Players Requesting? :Federal and state policymakers are bombarded with requests and demands from constituencies. We will hear directly from the industry groups on what they are asking Congress to do to support their industries and engage with them on the impact of those policies on employer plans and beneficiaries..

2. 401(k) Fee Litigation – An exploration of the most recent cases, how large employer plan sponsors can avoid the suits, and how legislative relief can be crafted and advanced.

Breakout Series 2: The Intersection of Multistate Employer Policy Issues on the State and Federal Levels
1. The Patchwork of Paid Leave – Sick & Parental Leave Issues : A growing threat to large employers is a patchwork of laws that harm employers’ ability to maintain consistent, uniform paid leave policies. This discussion will explore different state laws and regulations, ERIC’s priorities in shaping legislation on these issues, and language for model legislation that works for all members.

2. Statehouse Battleground – Health Care Issues: Panelists will provide a discussion on the current landscape of employer-related state health care issues. Topics will include the challenges companies are facing in controlling costs, especially in relation to telehealth, biosimilar medications, assessments on payers, and state innovation.

Additional Meeting Details

Nearby hotels: http://www.eric.org/uploads/doc/meetings-events/Hotel%20List.pdf

Directions: http://www.eric.org/uploads/doc/meetings-events/Directions%20to%20Covington.pdf

Sponsorship
If you are an ERIC member company and are interested in being a sponsor of this meeting, please contact Deborah Chin at dchin@eric.org. A sponsorship includes your company's logo on meeting and reception promotional materials, signage, and emails.

Note: ERIC is going paperless for our meetings. In this era of reducing paper consumption and the increasingly online mobile universe, we will not provide printed handouts for our meeting sessions. We will upload all of the meeting documents and handouts to the ERIC website.

Please also feel free to contact us directly for more information or to be added to our mailing list (202/789-1400 or memberservices@eric.org).

Meeting Attire:

Business Casual