The Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) has made available the final form of the Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (“ERRP”) Application on its website. While HHS has not yet stated when or how the applications may be submitted, HHS has indicated that applications will be accepted beginning no later than June 30, 2010. The application itself, and the instructions to the application, indicate that the Account Manager and/or the Authorized Representative of the plan sponsor are to complete the application. The “Authorized Representative” is an individual who generally holds legal authority to sign on behalf of, and bind, the plan sponsor to the terms of a contract or agreement. An Authorized Representative may be the plan sponsor’s CFO, CEO, President, general partner, Human Resource Director, or other individual in a position of similar status and authority, or, for a multiemployer plan, a member of the jointly appointed board of trustees which includes both labor and management trustees. The Authorized Representative must sign the Plan Sponsor Agreement portion of the application and certify that the information contained in the application is true and accurate to the best of the plan sponsor’s knowledge and belief. In contrast, the “Account Manager” is the individual who coordinates the application process for the plan sponsor, and may be an employee of the plan sponsor or an outside consultant (or other non-employee) assisting the plan sponsor with the application process. The Account Manager will serve as the plan sponsor’s primary contact with HHS with respect to the application. Only one individual may serve as an Authorized Representative and only one individual may serve as an Account Manager, at a time. As a reminder, a plan sponsor must submit a separate application for each plan for which the plan sponsor desires to participate in the ERRP. The application must be fully completed and approved by HHS, and the plan sponsor and plan each must be certified by HHS to participate in the ERRP before the plan sponsor may submit eligible claims for reimbursement in the ERRP. Note that HHS may deny applications, even if they are complete, if it appears that the ERRP may run out of funds. Therefore, plan sponsors who are interested in participating in the ERRP should begin preparing their applications now, and should monitor this website and the HHS website for information regarding where and when to file the completed applications, to maximize their chances of filing a timely and complete application once HHS opens up the application process for submissions.
View the Application and the Instructions to the Application
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