John,
I was trying to keep it simple in my comment, but certainly appreciate
people like John who have the time to provide detailed and informative
comments. Under ERISA Section 101, the Plan Administrator is required
to provide things such as the Summary Plan Descriptions ("SPD") and
annual repo
Without going into a lot of discussion about the difference between the
plan sponsor and plan administrator activities, the plan administrator
is responsible for this. If you are also the plan administrator, than
you have both responsibilities. Your SPD should state who is the plan
administrator
A live person on the phone is not limited to what can be provided in a
271 response or a 277 or any other HIPAA required response. Talking to
a person on the phone is not considered the use of "electronic media",
as defined by 162.103. Direct Data Entry, which is the subject of the
limitation to
I would just add that I hope that if CMS decides to expand on this in a
Q&A or in whatever manner they choose that they consult with their
counterparts at the DOL. I have made comments several times about the
discrepancy between HIPAA and ERISA. It benefits everyone if as much
information about h
Just wanted to add for some of those who aren't "knee-deep" in HIPAA
that the acknowledgment requirement discussion is a health care provider
issue. For health plans the acknowledgment requirement in 164.520(c)(2)
is not applicable. Health plans should be able to satisfy their notice
requirement
