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January 2, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ActiveHIPAA
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Test Begins for Health Care Reform Law: Health Savings Accounts Arrive
1/1/04. Excerpt: "Under the new Medicare reform law, consumers can now open tax-advantaged health savings accounts, known as HSAs. The measure allows working-age Americans with high insurance deductibles to set aside money to cover routine health care expenses, tax free. Supporters and critics agree the program could fundamentally alter the nation's health care system. NPR's Julie Rovner reports." (National Public Radio)
Medicare Law's HSA Provisions Could Presage New System
Excerpt: "[I]ndustry analysts are touting the new law's provisions - especially the addition of Health Savings Accounts - as a boon to plan sponsors." (BenefitNews.com)
Overview: Electronic Cards Permitted for Spending Accounts and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (PDF)
At pp. 1-2 of 5-page document. (Trucker Huss Benefits Report)
State-Federal Dispute Looms on Drug Imports
Excerpt: "Current law prohibits the practice unless the Food and Drug Administration can guarantee that the drugs coming into the country are safe, which neither the Clinton nor Bush administration has been able to do." (Washington Times)
Drug Fees for Military Retirees Might Be Raised
Excerpt: "Pentagon budget documents indicate that retirees may be asked to pay $10 – up from the current $3 – for each 90-day generic pr*scription filled by mail through Tricare, the military's health insurance program. Tricare's current $9 co-pay for a three-month supply of each brand-name drug would jump to $20." (HamptonRoads.com)
Patients' Rights Are Cornerstone of John Edwards' Campaign
Excerpt: "Edwards's focus on an issue that his eight primary competitors seldom mention grows out of his basic values about the purpose of law. But his emphasis on patients' rights can also stand as a metaphor for the position he is trying to carve out in the Democratic field: a form of populism ..." (Washington Post)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Administering Restricted Stock and other Equity Compensation Awards: the Software Options
Excerpt: "What follows is information on several software products that serve this underserved, small company market." (Beyster Institute)
Middlemen in the Low-Wage Economy
Excerpt: "Like Wal-Mart, thousands of American enterprises rely on labor contractors to help hold down costs, and those industries - from New York apparel makers to California's vegetable growers - have given similar 'I had no idea' responses when their contractors have been accused of cutting corners." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Stock Options Stealth
Excerpt: "[Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.)], the one with the accounting degree, ... has introduced legislation to short-circuit FASB and any new expensing rules. It would require expensing of options -- but only those granted to the chief executive officer and the next four most highly paid executives." (Washington Post)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Client Services Team Manager
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
FSA Manager
for Oxford Associates
in MD
Retirement Services District Manager - Sales
for ADP Retirement Services
in IL
Handy Links:
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- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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