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November 12, 2003 - 8,649 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
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Learn About Retirement Planning Opportunities & Challenges Facing the Tax-Exempt Employer An Interactive Audio Conference, November 18, 2003, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET Recent changes in the law and regulations now give tax-exempt employers new opportunities to maximize retirement benefits for their employees. Learn from an expert in the field how to design a program that complies with the new requirements while also obtaining the most benefits for your employees. Register today and get the chance to ask your own specific questions!
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
House Republicans Offer Compromise on Competing Medicare Drug Benefits
Excerpt: "House Republicans floated a compromise on Tuesday that they said could delay direct competition between private health plans and traditional Medicare, the most contentious issue in a bill to help millions of elderly people buy prescription drugs." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Some Retirees Fear Loss of Company-Provided Healthcare Benefits If Medicare Bill Passes
Excerpt: "The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 32 to 37 percent of retirees with employer coverage -- about 4 million -- would lose it if the Medicare drug plan is passed. The mechanics of the plan would halt certain subsidies that Medicare now pays to employers with retiree coverage, which would be an additional financial incentive for them to drop the benefits, the budget office said." (Sun-Sentinel.com)
The Cost Savings of Disease Management Programs: Report on a Study of Health Plans
11/03; link to 4-page Microsoft Word document. (American Association of Health Plans/Health Insurance Association of America via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Study: Pain at Work Costs Billions
Excerpt: "Headaches, back pain, arthritis and other muscle and joint pain cost the nation's employers more than $60 billion a year in lost productivity, a study has found." (AP via CNN.com)
Healthcare Author, Futurist Russell Coile Dies at 60
Excerpt: "Russell Coile Jr., the author and futurist who became a fixture as a speaker at healthcare conferences across the nation, died yesterday of complications from brain cancer." (Modern Healthcare; one-time free registration required)
Ways for Federal Employees to Take Sting Out of Healthcare Premium Increases
Excerpt: "The Federal Employees Health Benefits Program will offer 205 health care options in 2004, and a number of them give employees and retirees the opportunity to save hundreds of dollars on their health care spending." (Washington Post)
The Federal Employee Health Benefits Program: a Model for Workers, Not Medicare (PDF)
34-page white paper. Excerpt: "Largely because of its ability to constrain cost growth reasonably well with limited government intervention, [FEHBP] has been proposed by some political leaders and analysts as a model to replace the current Medicare program, to cover small businesses and the uninsured, or, in some cases, to cover the entire nation. This ... approach would not work well ... for the older, sicker populations served by Medicare." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Commentary: 'What's Health Insurance, Mom?'
Excerpt: "Isabelle, who doesn't miss much, asked me on the way home why her parents have no health insurance. 'It has to do with politics,' I said. 'And money. And certain people being very greedy and very selfish.' 'Maybe you and Daddy could use my health insurance if you need to go to the doctor,' she suggested." (AlterNet.org)
Tax Credits Proposed as Incentive for More Healthcare Coverage in Maryland
Excerpt: "Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr.'s top health officer today will present a plan to bring universal health care to Maryland, including an unusual carrot-and-stick strategy that would use tax credits and penalties to persuade more uninsured workers to purchase insurance." (Washington Post)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Employee Benefits Account Manager
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in CT, MA, NH, RI
Employee Benefits Analyst - Marsh - Reno
for Marsh Risk & Insurance Services
in NV
Benefits Administrator
for Independent Benefit Services
in MD
Senior Retirement Plan Consultant
for Invesmart
in TX
Plan Administrator
for PenSys, Inc.
in NC, SC
Retirement Plan Consultant
for Invesmart
in ME
Defined Contribution Plans - New Business Account Manager
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Newly Posted Events
2005 401(k) Sales Summit
in California on March 17, 2005
presented by ASPA - the American Society of Pension Actuaries
ERISA's Fiduciary Requirements in Today's Investment Turmoil: The Enron Decision and Mutual Fund Misconduct
Nationwide on December 2, 2003
presented by Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
Advanced Pension Conference
in Illinois on September 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
SunGard Corbel Client Conference
in Florida on June 7, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Disease Management: Employer/Employee Benefits
Nationwide on November 19, 2003
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (IFEBP)
IRS/ASPA Mid-Atlantic Benefits Conference
in Pennsylvania on May 24, 2004
presented by ASPA & IRS
Financial Education is VITAL to Your Company - Learn Why
Nationwide on November 19, 2003
presented by EDSA Group, Inc.
Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in California on February 26, 2004
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans
in California on March 17, 2004
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Representing the Professional and Closely Held Business - Qualified Plans, Welfare Benefits, and Tax Planning
Nationwide on February 12, 2004
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Ceridian Launches Comprehensive Retirement Plan Services
(Ceridian)
PERFORMAX Launches Consumer-Driven Health Plan
(PERFORMAX)
Great-West Retirement Services Announces Strategic Relationship With Wells Fargo & Co
(Great-West Retirement Services)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Jeanette C. Lucadano (R.J.L. Pension Services, Inc.)
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