Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Ask the Regulators George Bostick Benefits Tax Counsel U.S. Department of the Treasury George Bostick is the Benefits Tax Counsel at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. As Benefits Tax Counsel, George is responsible for advising the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, the General Counsel of the Treasury and others within Treasury in the formulation of the Administration s employee benefits and executive compensation policy. He directs the activities of the attorneys, accountants, and actuaries who develop and review policy, legislation, regulations, and revenue rulings dealing with all aspects of employee benefits taxation and related matters. Previously, Mr. Bostick was a partner at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP. He is one of the founders of the firm s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Team. He has worked in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation for his entire career. He focused primarily on executive compensation matters, compensation and benefit arrangements, cross-border benefits, and employee stock ownership and other equity compensation plans. Mr. Bostick served from 1978 to 1980 as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center. He is a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Notes Editor of the Virginia Law Review; and Emory University, where he majored in economics. Joe Canary Director, Office of Regulations and Interpretation, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor John J. Canary, known as Joe, is the Deputy Director of the Office of Regulations and Interpretations with the U.S. Department of Labor s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA). EBSA s Office of Regulations and Interpretations (ORI) is primarily responsible for carrying out EBSA s regulatory agenda and interpretive activities under Title I of the ERISA, except for the group health plan provisions of Title I, which are handled by EBSA s Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance. The general interpretive and regulatory responsibilities of ORI are allocated on a subject matter basis between three divisions: the Division of Fiduciary Interpretations, the Division of Coverage, Reporting and Disclosure, and the Division of Regulations. The office also plays a major role in the Department of Labor s development, analysis and implementation of pension and welfare plan policy issues by providing technical assistance and support to the EBSA Assistant Secretary and other offices within EBSA. Page 1 of 10
ORI also coordinates regulatory and interpretive activities under federal pension law with other Federal agencies such as the Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Mr. Canary joined EBSA in 1996 as Chief of the Division of Coverage, Reporting and Disclosure. Before joining EBSA, Mr. Canary served as the Associate Deputy Solicitor in the Department s Office of the Solicitor from 1991 through 1993, and as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Plan Benefits Security Division during 1993 and 1994. Mr. Canary also worked at the Investment Company Institute, the national association for the mutual fund industry, where he was Assistant Counsel for Pensions. He started his career in private practice with the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in its Los Angeles, California office from 1982 to 1986 and in its Washington, D.C. office from 1986 to 1990. Michael Hash Director, Office of Health Reform Department of Health and Human Services Michael Hash is the Director of the Office of Health Reform at Department of Health and Human Services. In this capacity, Hash helps coordinate the Department s work on implementation of health reform and providing outreach to Congress and stakeholder groups with interests in health reform. From April 2009 until January 2011, Mike served as the Deputy Director of the White House Office of Health Reform helping to coordinate the Administration s legislative and implementation efforts related to the Affordable Care Act. Prior to his federal appointment, Mike was a principal at Health Policy Alternatives, Inc., a Washington-based health consulting firm specializing in health policy and financing issues for a wide array of provider, consumer, foundation, and corporate clients. From March 1998 through December 2000, Mike served as the Deputy Administrator and Acting Administrator of the Health Care Financing Administration (now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services), which administers Medicare, Medicaid and the State Child Health Insurance Program. He also served from 1990 to 1995 as the Senior Staff Associate of the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment of the House Energy and Commerce Committee with responsibilities for Medicare legislation and health care reform proposals. From 1973 to 1980, Mike was employed by the American Hospital Association, concluding his service as Deputy Director of the Washington Office, overseeing the management of the Association s government relations programs. Mike is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, with post-graduate studies in political science at Vanderbilt University. He has held teaching positions at the Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University, and was chair of the board at Providence Hospital in Washington, D.C. Page 2 of 10
Alan Tawshunsky Deputy Associate Chief Counsel (Employee Benefits) Internal Revenue Service Alan N. Tawshunsky is the Deputy Associate Chief Counsel for Employee Benefits at the IRS. In that position, he supervises the attorneys in the National Office of IRS Chief Counsel who work on published guidance, private letter rulings, litigation support and other legal advice relating to qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, executive compensation, health and welfare plans, and employment-related tax credits. Mr. Tawshunsky joined the IRS Chief Counsel s office in March 1995. He has received numerous awards, including the Annual Award of the Secretary of the Treasury, the IRS Chief Counsel National Technical Guidance Award, and the IRS Chief Operations Officer Award. Mr. Tawshunsky received a B.A., magna cum laude, from Queens College, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. Prior to joining the IRS, Mr. Tawshunsky was a law clerk to Judge Joseph Longobardi of the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and in private practice at several large law firms in Washington, D.C. Amy J. Turner, Esq. Senior Advisor and Special Projects Manager U.S. Department of Labor Ms. Turner is Senior Advisor and Special Projects Manager in the Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance. She is responsible for managing regulations, interpretive guidance, and implementation activities for group health plans under Part 7 of Title I of ERISA, as amended by the Affordable Care Act, the mental health parity provisions, the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, and the HIPAA portability and nondiscrimination rules. Her responsibilities also include coordination with other Federal and State Agencies on implementation of non-erisa provisions affecting employment-based group health coverage, including other Affordable Care Act provisions. In recognition of her work, Ms. Turner has received the Secretary of Labor s Exceptional Achievement Award six times. She was also honored four times with the Secretary of Labor s Compliance Assistance Award of Excellence. Ms. Turner joined EBSA in 1996. Prior to that, she worked in the Department of Labor s Office of the Solicitor, Plan Benefits Security Division. Ms. Turner is a graduate of Cornell University s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the George Washington University Law School. She is a frequent speaker on topics related to employment-based group health plan coverage. Page 3 of 10
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Health Policy Committee Meeting Maria Krogue Christensen Vice President for Product Development Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators Chair, Health Policy Committee, ERIC Maria Krogue Christensen is the Vice President for Product Development at Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators, a not-for-profit organization that administers employee medical, dental, wellness, life, disability, pension, and retirement savings plan benefits for a diverse group of affiliated organizations. She previously served in benefits administration at Brigham Young University. Her more than 30 years of experience, both as a plan sponsor and as a plan administrator, have covered many facets of employee benefits management, including benefit design, marketing, client services, product development and implementation, and strategic planning. Maria received a B.A. degree from Brigham Young University. Challenges in the Understanding and Implementation of the Affordable Care Act Andy R. Anderson Partner Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP Andy R. Anderson is a partner in Morgan Lewis's Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice. He has handled a variety of employee benefits matters, including government self-correction programs, cafeteria plans, health and welfare plans, VEBAs, and benefit plans for tax-exempt organizations and churches. He has worked with numerous Fortune 500 companies regarding the administration of employee benefits programs, with an emphasis on the administration of health and welfare plans. Mr. Anderson frequently counsels clients on regulatory compliance issues dealing with the Internal Revenue Code, ERISA, COBRA, HIPAA, Mental Health Parity, and Healthcare Reform. Mr. Anderson's practice also focuses on outsourcing employee benefits issues in the areas of retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and payroll practices. Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Anderson led the Hewitt Associates' legal group responsible for outsourcing employee benefits. Mr. Anderson has commented on proposed regulations, testified at IRS hearings, and testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on ERISA preemption. He also worked closely with several government agencies during the launch of the advance credit for the TAA tax credit. Mr. Anderson has lectured extensively on the subject of Page 5 of 10
employee benefits and outsourcing. He is a JCEB faculty member, where he teaches the cafeteria plan section for the ERISA Basics class. He has been quoted in employee benefits articles for various publications, including Forbes, CNN Money, Business Insurance, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Law360, Human Resource Executive Online, and BNA. Mr. Anderson received his J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law in 1984 and his B.A., summa cum laude, from MacMurray College in 1981. He is admitted to practice in Illinois. Shared Responsibility and Reporting the Results under the ACA Alden Bianchi Practice Group Leader, Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice & Member, Employment, Labor & Benefits Section Mintz Levin Alden J. Bianchi is the Practice Group Leader of the firm s Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Practice and a Member in the Employment, Labor & Benefits Section. He advises corporate, not-for-profit, governmental, and individual clients on a broad range of executive compensation and employee-benefit issues, including qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, stock and stockbased compensation arrangements, ERISA fiduciary and prohibited transaction issues, benefit-related aspects of mergers and acquisitions, and health and welfare plans. Alden represented the Romney administration in connection with the historic 2006 Massachusetts health care reform act, and he has testified before the Senate Finance Committee on the subject of health care reform. He is a member of the BNA Pension & Benefit Publications Advisory Board, a resource to one of the nation s premier tax and legal publishers, Tax Management, Inc./Bureau of National Affairs. Mr. Bianchi is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute; Suffolk University; and Georgetown University law schools. He holds an LL.M. in taxation from Boston University School of Law. He is listed in Woodward & White s Best Lawyers in America and Marquis Who s Who in American Law, and was also nationally recognized in the 2011 edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leader in his field. Annually since 2006, Alden has been recognized as a Massachusetts Super Lawyer by the publishers of Boston Magazine. He is also a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. Page 6 of 10
Richard D. Stover Principal and Consulting Actuary, Health and Productivity Buck Consultants, A Xerox Company Rich Stover is a Principal and Consulting Actuary in the Health and Productivity practice of Buck Consultants' Secaucus, New Jersey office. Rich has assisted clients in strategy, design, legislative compliance, and financial analysis for both active and retiree life and health programs. Rich has consulted extensively with employers on the health reform initiatives in San Francisco and Massachusetts, as well as reviewing the design, financial and administrative impact of federal health reform. He has also helped lead Buck s health reform initiatives on a national level, including development of actuarial and compliance services for compliance. Rich has more than 25 years of experience in the financial, plan design, and compliance aspects of group life and health benefits. Prior to joining Buck, Rich was the health and welfare practice leader of William M. Mercer's New Jersey office. He was also Vice President and Group Actuary Home Life Insurance, with responsibility for pricing, design, and managed care programs. He is frequently interviewed and quoted in general and business publications such as Business Insurance, CFO, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today. Rich has also been interviewed for various radio and television programs such as CBS Evening News, CNN, and Dow Jones television. Additionally, he is a frequent speaker before various benefit and human resource groups on health and welfare topics such as wellness programs, HIPAA, non-discrimination requirements, mental health parity, GINA, and the state and federal health reform. Rich earned a B.S. degree in Mathematics and Statistics from Stevens Institute of Technology. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Page 7 of 10
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Retirement Security Committee Meeting Mike Wise Senior Corporate Counsel Caterpillar Inc. Chair, ERIC Retirement Security Committee Michael J. Wise is Caterpillar s senior in-house employee benefits counsel, leading the Company s Compensation and Benefits Practice Group within the Legal Services Division. He advises Caterpillar Inc. and its domestic subsidiaries regarding the design, documentation, implementation and administration of qualified and non-qualified retirement plans, welfare benefit plans and executive compensation programs. He also provides advice regarding all areas of compliance with the requirements of ERISA. Before joining Caterpillar, Mr. Wise practiced exclusively in the area of employee benefits and executive compensation with a large law firm, where he represented diverse clients ranging from not-for-profits, professional corporations and closely held businesses to large, publicly traded corporations. New Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate Connie Donovan Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Ms. Donovan is presently at the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) and was selected by the PBGC Board of Directors to serve in the newly created position under ERISA as Participant and Plan Sponsor Advocate. In that role, Ms. Donovan acts as liaison between PBGC and participants and plan sponsors of defined benefit plans to assist in resolving disputes and conflicts between these groups. Previously, Ms. Donovan was at the U.S. Department of the Treasury as Pension Counsel to the Office of D.C. Pensions, and prior to that she was at the U.S. Department of Labor and assisted the Secretary with the Department s oversight of the PBGC. Ms. Donovan was the Chief Executive Officer of the $6.5B New Hampshire Retirement System, the former General Counsel and Executive Director of the District of Columbia Retirement Board, and General Counsel of the Montgomery County Maryland Board of Investment Trustees. Prior to her position as Executive Director and General Counsel to prominent public pension funds, Ms. Donovan worked for NCR Corporation as a vice president where she held a variety of increasingly responsible positions in the areas of employee benefits, mergers and acquisitions, and employment law. Ms. Donovan began her career with the federal government in Boston, Massachusetts. Page 9 of 10
Ms. Donovan served as a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys Executive Board and Investment Committee Co-Chair. Bar memberships include Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and the District of Columbia. Ms. Donovan graduated with a bachelor s degree from Boston College (magna cum laude), received her J.D. from The American University, Washington College of Law, and her LL.M. in Taxation from the Georgetown University Law Center, where she studied and published under the late U.S. Congressman John Erlenborn. Leslie Kramerich Chief Policy Officer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Leslie Kramerich rejoined PBGC in October 2012 and is now Acting Chief Policy Officer. Leslie is an attorney who has been a Congressional staff member for both sides of the Hill and both sides of the aisle. She has worked for authorizing and appropriations committees. She has been a law partner with Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson & Hand, a part of Mercer Human Resource Consulting s Washington Resource Group, a retirement and tax lobbyist for the Investment Company Institute, an Assistant Secretary of Labor heading up what is now the Employee Benefits Security Administration, and a consultant to varied organizations including the Aspen Institute s Initiative on Financial Security, the Pension Rights Center, AFSCME and AARP. She was part of PBGC from 1993 to 1998 as Attorney-Advisor to the Chief Negotiator and was closely involved with the Early Warning Program. Now as PBGC s Acting Chief Policy Officer, Leslie manages the day-to-day operations of Legislative Affairs, Policy Research & Analysis, and Communications and Public Affairs. Page 10 of 10