Federal & State Regulations | MEWAs - Nebraska | J. J. Keller® Compliance Network

State Info

Summary of differences between federal and state regulations

Among the various employee benefit programs established and governed by ERISA are multiple employer welfare arrangements (MEWAs), which are subject as well to state regulatory and fiscal standards consistent with ERISA. Federal ERISA covers MEWAs. Nebraska has the Multiple Employer Welfare Arrangement (MEWA) Act to regulate health benefit plans offered by MEWAs that are not fully insured.

Under the act, MEWAs will be required to apply for a certificate of registration. MEWA sponsorship is limited only to associations of employers that have been in existence for three years, which are composed of two or more employers in the same trade, and have applications from at least two employers with two hundred employees. A MEWA will establish a trust, governed by a board of trustees made up of member employers, to hold all health benefit plan funds.

These boards of trustees have several responsibilities, including serving as a fiduciary, plan administration, adoption of a plan of operation, and maintenance of the stop-loss policy. The required stop-loss policy must provide coverage in excess of 125 percent of claims on an aggregate basis, and must be issued by a licensed insurer. If the MEWA cannot pay claims the Act allows the board to directors to assess employers whose employees are covered by the MEWA.

The employers remain liable to the MEWA after their participation has terminated. A MEWA must notify employers and employees that the health benefit plan is not insurance, covered by the Guaranty Association, or governed by the insurance laws. An annual filing of financial statement and a statement from a qualified actuary that rates and reserves are adequate to pay claims must be filed by the MEWA. If the MEWA violates the law, the director could revoke or suspend the certificate or impose an administrative penalty.