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June 13, 2003 - 8,276 subscribers
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Association Health Plan Bill Faces Test In House
Excerpt: "Small businesses would be able to band together in nationwide health plans under legislation that cleared a House committee Thursday.... Opposition came from Democratic committee members who warned the measure would pre-empt tough patient protections passed by states, such as requirements that insurers cover mammograms, obstetrical care and mental health treatment, and provide mandatory grievance procedures." (AP via the Ledger-Enquirer.com)
Coalition of 12 Small Business Groups Opposes Association Health Plan Bill
Excerpt: "A dozen small business organizations, including the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce and National Small Business United, have joined together to oppose legislation that would create association health plans, the Chicago Tribune reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Senate Finance Committee Approves Medicare Plan With Prescription Coverage
Excerpt: "The Senate Finance Committee, after splintering over Medicare's future for years, approved legislation last night that would help all older Americans pay for prescription drugs while also expanding the role of private health plans in treating the nation's seniors." (Washington Post)
Prescription Bill Fuels Lobbying Blitz on Hill
Excerpt: "[T]he Medicare prescription drug legislation moving through Congress has mobilized an army of lobbyists trying to seize a share of the $400 billion pot of gold on offer." (Washington Post)
Opinion: Senate's Medicare Drug Plan will Limit Senior's Choice of Medication
Press release. Excerpt: "Seniors should not rush to embrace the Prescription Drug and Medicare Improvement Act of 2003 ... 'This is drug coverage by committee. A bureaucratic process will determine which drugs are available and who gets them. Not every medication will be covered, covered medications can be denied, and private drug coverage may no longer be available,' says Twila Brase, president of the Citizens' Council on Health Care." (Citizens' Council on Health Care)
Opinion: Beware the Medicare Steamroller
Excerpt: "Grassley and Baucus insisted that those on traditional Medicare must get a drug benefit equal to those joining the new market-based option. That violates President Bush's important principle - which the entire free-market policy community supports - that a new drug benefit should be a carrot to encourage seniors to join modern health plans that can provide better benefits." (The Galen Institute)
Opinion: Myths About Medicare
Excerpt: "[O]n the great question of whether to privatize Medicare, the Senate bill, approved by the Finance Committee last night, wisely demurs. It aims to offer both choices and leaves it to Grandma and the free market to decide." (Washington Post)
Universal Healthcare Bill Close To Passage In Maine Legislature
Excerpt: "Gov. John Baldacci's sweeping health-care reform bill moved toward certain enactment after receiving preliminary approval in the House early today and in the Senate on Thursday. Both chambers rejected amendments that would have blocked, weakened or modified the bill." (The [Portland, Me.] Press Herald)
When We Send FMLA Notice, What If Employee Won't Return the Health Care Provider Form?
Excerpt: "We send out the Health Care Provider form with any FMLA notifications and request that the form is returned within 15 days. What, if any, recourse does the employer have if the employee does not or refuses to return the form so we can determine whether or not the health condition is 'serious' or not? Does the employer have to assume the condition is a 'serious health condition' and consider the leave covered under the FMLA?" (Proskauer Rose on WorkIndex.com)
Chrysler Shifts Additional Benefit Costs to Salaried Retirees
Excerpt: "Salaried retirees of Chrysler Group will be forced as of July 1 to pay more for health care as their out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs and office visits jumps and a deductible of up to $400 is instituted for the first time. Retirees of the Chrysler Group ... will also have their company life-insurance coverage reduced on July 1, with most plans cut to $50,000. Previously, retirees received two times their final annual pay in life insurance ..." (Detroit Free Press via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
VEBAs Gain Currency for Retiree Medical Benefits
Excerpt: "Signs indicate voluntary employee beneficiary associations (VEBAs) are slowly becoming more common as a way of funding retiree medical benefits. 'We're getting more and more RFPs from employers looking to see if we can administer VEBAs allowing for the accumulation of assets to be used for life, sick, or accident [expenses] at retirement,' says Pam Norley, senior vice president of Fidelity Employer Services Co. in Boston." (BenefitNews.com)
Mandatory Health Insurance Debate in Congress May Begin Soon
Excerpt: "Sen. John Breaux expects to wrap up a bipartisan agreement soon to reform Medicare using private insurance plans and then, he said, he is ready to begin persuading his centrist colleagues on Capitol Hill to support the idea of mandatory health insurance for all Americans." (UPI via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Consumers Interested But Not Familiar with LTC Coverage
Excerpt: "It's official – long-term care insurance is now hot. But brokers should still help educate employees about LTC's importance before selling them the product. A new study by Prudential Financial finds that LTC has become as important to employees as venerable mainstays such as life and disability insurance." (BenefitNews.com)
Consumer-Driven Plans Are the Future of Health Care, According To Recent Reports
This year, consumer-driven health care plans may begin to make their mark as the most significant new form of health insurance coverage since managed care, according to the report, Consumers Take Charge: Defined Contribution Health Plans. The study explains that consumer-driven plans will never completely replace managed care programs, but they could have a substantial impact on the operating principles and direction of the health care sector. (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Stock Options in Cost-Sharing Arrangements Represent Dilemma for IRS
Excerpt: "Cost-sharing arrangements represent a way for U.S. companies to recover research and development (R&D) costs from their foreign-based operations.... The more difficult issue ... is whether it is fair to force third-party companies to share the costs of stock options.... When a foreign company enters into a cost-sharing arrangement and stock options are included in the cost base, the foreign company is essentially subsidizing the R&D employees' ownership interest in the U.S. company." (Tax.CCHGroup.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Coordinator
for American Funds
in TX
Retirement Services
for Administaff
in TX
401(k) Account Manager
for CNA
in CA
Event Designer/Lead Benefit Systems Analyst
for CitiStreet
in FL
Trust Administrator-Employee Benefits
for Hancock Bank
in MS
Call Center Team Leader
for CNA Trust
in CA
Business Workflow Analyst
for Administaff
in TX
Benefits IT Manager
for Employee Benefit Solutions
in MA, NH, RI
Manager, Pensions Administration
for The Public Service Pensions Board, Cayman Islands
in Location Other Than U.S.
Compliance Sr. Consultant
for Wachovia Corporation
in MD
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Prescription Drugs for Seniors
on June 12, 2003
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
The 2003 Executive Compensation Seminar: The Metamorphosis of Executive Compensation
in IL
June 24, 2003
The Conference Board
How to Respond to the Proposed FLSA Changes
in ALL STATES
June 25, 2003
Hewitt Associates
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
How To Manage Your 401(k) Plan For The 21st Century: Philadelphia Area Experts To Host Seminar For Benefits Executives
(Resources For Retirement, Inc.)
IRS Web Site Offers Identification Numbers for Businesses
(Internal Revenue Service)
NYLIM Retirement Plan Services Enhances Listen and Learn Education for Retirement Plan Sponsors
(NYLIM Retirement Plan Services)
Certain ALI-ABA Employee Benefits Course Materials and Tapes Now on Sale
(American Law Institute - American Bar Association (ALI-ABA))
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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