Hospitals

Beyer-Barber Company counts among its largest clients a number of hospital and health care systems. One of the most important areas that we feel are unique to these plan sponsors is the recent trend toward acquisitions of other hospitals, nursing care facilities, nursing associations, physician practices, etc. This often involves not only the typical issues of melding multiple pension programs with different benefit formula, retirement eligibilities, etc. in order to address plan discrimination issues, but also the melding of for-profit and not-for-profit entities together raising tax deductibility and FAS 87 issues. We have a substantial amount of experience among our hospital/health system clients in this area and are fully prepared to address these matters as they arise.

Another area which seems to be more prevalent for hospital/health plan sponsors than other corporate plan sponsors is that most are currently at or near "Full Funding" Limitations which result in no contributions being required/permitted to the plan. While on the surface this is a positive situation, it presents concerns as to how and whether to allocate accounting expenses and/or credits to each entity in the hospital/health system, as well as the timing and projection of contribution requirements once the Full Funding Limitation situation is concluded.