| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
April 16, 2003 - 8,101 subscribers
Today's sponsor: NCEO
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Our Bookstore now carries books published by the NCEO! The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a nonprofit membership and research organization that provides information on broad-based employee stock plans, now has over a dozen of its most popular publications available for purchase in the BenefitsLink bookstore. Topics range from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to stock options to employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs).
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
GE, Ford, UPS, P&G, Verizon, Others Back New Pay-for-Quality Initiative for Physicians
Press release. Excerpt: "Under the new program, top-performing doctors could see income gains of up to 10 percent in the form of bonuses paid by participating employers. These physicians will also be highlighted in provider directories, helping employees and their families identify doctors with proven outcomes in treating particular illnesses, or whose patient care and support systems are exemplary." (National Committee for Quality Assurance)
Opinion: New HIPAA Privacy Rules Are Mixed Bag
Excerpt: "One of the enduring images of Sept. 11, 2001, was the anxious looks of relatives trying to find their loved ones listed among the names of the injured being treated at New York hospitals. As of Monday, that kind of public posting of patients' names is against federal law unless the patients agree in advance to allow it. Kind of hard to do when you're comatose or otherwise unconscious." (The Fort Worth [Tex.] Star-Telegram)
Opinion: Medical Privacy Takes a Hit Under New Rules
Excerpt: "As of Monday, a new federal medical-privacy rule gives data-processing companies, insurers, doctors, hospitals, certain researchers, and others legal permission to share citizens' personal health information-- including genetic information-- without individuals' consent." (Sue Blevins in the Christian Science Monitor)
Daughter's COBRA Coverage Continued Despite Mom's Failure to Enroll After Employer Changed Carriers
Fink v. Dakotacare (8th Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This opinion teaches us ... that employers need to take special care with qualified beneficiaries in making a change from one insurer, HMO or self-funded plan to another, regardless of paperwork requirements that may apply to active employees. And employers need to keep track of COBRA payments that might get misdirected in the transition from one insurer, HMO or self-funded plan to another." (EBIA Weekly)
Analysis: Employer Erred in Ending COBRA Coverage Due to Insurer Switch
Excerpt: "When an employer/plan administrator switched insurers, it still had the duty to ensure that the COBRA coverage of existing qualified beneficiaries was maintained, according to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Therefore ... the employer and/or other plan fiduciaries should have forwarded that premium to the current insurer." (Thompson Publishing Company)
Compliance Challenge Mars FMLA Portrait
Excerpt: "Ten years after Congress approved the landmark family medical leave act (FMLA), employees are steadily increasing utilization of the federal protection, while employers report ongoing difficulties with leave-tracking and compliance." (BenefitNews.com)
Eldercare Benefits Expand Beyond Referral Services
Excerpt: "Working with Ceridian LifeWorks Services, Baxter International last September began to offer its 20,000 U.S. employees free in-home assessments for elderly relatives, detailed analyses of local alternative living arrangements, and discounts on products such as special pagers that help elderly persons contact their loved ones quickly during an emergency." (BenefitNews.com)
More Than One Road to Consumer-Driven Health Plans
Excerpt: "Once charted primarily by the health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) blessed last year by the Internal Revenue Service, consumer-driven health plans are now exploring a number of bypasses, side streets and off-ramps." (BenefitNews.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Analyst PD-14123
for Southern California Edison
in CA
Retirement Plan Coordinator
for American Funds
in TX
Retirement Sales Specialist
for Actuarial Planning Group, Inc.
in ALL STATES
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Reality Check on Consumer-Driven Healthcare
on April 24, 2003
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
2003 Spring Conference
in AZ
May 13, 2003
Western Pension & Benefits Conference Phoenix Chapter
Sal Tripodi Talks About Current Events in Employee Benefits
in FL
April 23, 2003
GrayHarris
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
William L. MacDonald Named To Additional Positions of President and Chief Executive Officer of Retirement Capital Group
(Retirement Capital Group)
Employee Benefits Security Administration Releases Field Assistance Bulletin on 'Participant Loan' Rules
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
ESOP Association Praises Rep. Ballenger's (R-NC) Introduction of Employee Ownership for the 21st Century Act (HR 1778)
(ESOP Association)
PSCA Applauds Representatives Portman And Cardin On Aptly Named Pension Preservation and Savings Expansion Act of 2003
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Steven Spurling (Stanton Trust Company)
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- Employee Benefits Library
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