What triggers a plan being considered a MEWA?
This one of those questions that depends on individual facts & circumstances. However, as a rule of thumb, anytime you have more than one employer entity in the same plan there is the chance it could be a MEWA. If the employers are “under common control” (a term with its own maze of interpretations) , then it is a single employer. However any other arrangements would be MEWAs. Example: Cadillac & Buick are different employer entities clearly under common control of GM. On the other hand, Dad’s Service Station (owed by Dad) and Mom’s Dry Cleaners (owed by wife/Mom) are not under common control. Even if Dad & Mom owned both business together…but operated them quite separately, it might well be considered not under common control. When in doubt, assume most plans with different employers that don’t clearly operate together from the same source of power would technically be a MEWA. That’s why most of the provider-sponsored plans selling to different employers are technically MEWAs, and a
