Health Care Reform Impact Subject of Webinars

Online, May 11, 2010 (Newswire.com) - Recent reform will bring sweeping changes in health care across the United States. The Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) has slated a pair of live, hour-long webinars in which leading experts will address separately how these moves will affect nonprofits (May 27) and churches (June 10).

Registration is open for the 1 p.m. EDT webinars, "Impact of Health Care Reform: What it means for Nonprofits and Churches," which will address:

• changes in coverage, taxes
• reporting requirements
• new terms, such as "minimum essential coverage"
• impact on employers with less than 50 employees
• differences for insurers

"Health care reform will impact both Christian nonprofit organizations and churches," said ECFA President Dan Busby. "These webinars will help each group understand steps to take to be prepared for changes soon to come." Among other learning objectives for the webinars are distinguishing between new health coverage options and previous plans and government-mandated new reporting requirements.

Chip Watkins will present the May 27 webinar designed for nonprofits. Watkins served as an attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service before he joined the law firm of Webster, Chamberlain & Bean in 1986. Watkins counsels and represents national and regional professional associations, charities, public policy advocacy organizations, churches and other tax-exempt organizations on income and employment tax, employee benefits, Section 403(b) retirement plans and other legal and regulatory matters. He frequently speaks, writes and teaches seminars on these and other issues of interest to tax-exempt organizations.

The presenter for the June 10 webinar designed for churches is Attorney Danny Miller, who since 1974 has practiced in the employee benefits area, advising church denominational benefit plans and programs, large independent churches and religious nonprofits on employee benefit issues. Miller, a lecturer on employee benefits issues for church and other nonprofit employers, organized and moderated the first Church Plan Workshop in 1997. He co-authored the church plan chapter in Panel Publishers' "The 403(b) Answer Book."

Registration fees are waived for ECFA members and are $39 for non-members. A recording of the webinars will be available through the ECFA website after each webinar at no cost for ECFA members and $39 for nonmembers.

For more information on these webinars and to register, visit www.ecfa.org. Connect with ECFA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/accountability or on Twitter @ECFA.

Other scheduled ECFA webinars for 2010 include: "CEO Selection, Transition and Development," to be presented July 15 by David L. McKenna, former president of Seattle Pacific University and Asbury Theological Seminary; "Redefining How We Raise Resources," which will be presented August 26 by R. Scott Rodin and Gary G. Hoag, authors of the coming release "The Sower;" and "Capitol Hill Update," to be led by ECFA President Busby and ECFA Senior Vice President Wes Willmer.

ECFA, founded in 1979, provides accreditation to leading Christian nonprofit organizations that faithfully demonstrate compliance with the ECFA standards pertaining to financial accountability, fund-raising and board governance. For more information about ECFA, including information about accreditation and a listing of ECFA-accredited members, visit www.ecfa.org or call 1-800-323-9473.