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January 7, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits
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Spring 2004 Information Sessions Learn about the nation’s only LL.M. degree program in employee benefits law. 18-course curriculum includes: Pension, Profit-Sharing and 401 (k) Plans Executive Compensation Health and Welfare Benefit Plans ERISA Litigation Full- or part-time joint J.D./LL.M. programs available. Information sessions on degree programs in tax law or employee benefits law: Friday, Jan. 9, from 5 to 6 p.m. Contact the Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits at 312.987.2380 or visit our website.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Federal Judge Delays Trial Date for Class-Action Lawsuit Against HMOs Filed on Behalf of Physicians
Excerpt: "Judge Federico Moreno of the Federal District Court in Miami on Monday delayed until Sept. 13 the trial date for a class-action lawsuit filed against several large health plans on behalf of about 950,000 physicians nationwide, the AP/Florida Times-Union reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Overview: One-Year Extension of MHPA's Expiration Date
Excerpt: "On December 19, 2003, President Bush signed legislation extending the existing Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) provisions of ERISA and the Public Health Service Act until the end of 2004 (Public Law 108-197). The law merely extends existing law, so plans that are in compliance have no new obligations." (The Segal Company)
Reviews Mixed For Consumer-Driven Plans
Excerpt: "Consumer-driven health plans will reach a milestone of 1 million members in 2004. HealthLeaders Research market analyst Jane DuBose says that for employers assessing the plans' impact, the answers are mixed." (HealthLeaders News)
Overview: Health Savings Accounts (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service ('IRS') quickly published preliminary guidance on HSAs in question and-answer format in Notice 2004-2, which was issued on December 22, 2003. Treasury and IRS officials have indicated that they expect to publish additional guidance on HSAs in the summer of 2004. This Legal Alert summarizes the new law and the preliminary guidance on HSAs." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Treatment Cost Down, But Depression Still Costs Employers Plenty
Excerpt: "Although costs to treat the disease have decreased over a 10-year period, absenteeism and productivity costs have remained high, a sign employers do not yet have a firm grip on how to target the disease in the workplace." (BenefitNews.com)
Health Plans Improve Mental Health Care
Excerpt: "In recent years, managed behavioral health firms have developed tools to assess treatment and quantify outcomes, bringing technology, data, and increased objectivity to a field once dominated by more subjective assessment. Not only are these tools beginning to document the value of behavioral health care, they also are improving care by helping providers identify high-risk patients who might otherwise go undetected." (Healthplan via Medscape; one-time registration required)
Senate Democrats Say They Will Address Issue of Uninsured in Next Congressional Session
Excerpt: "After helping navigate the Medicare pr*scription drug program through Congress, retiring Sen. John Breaux set his sights Tuesday on his next legislative priority: the uninsured." (2theAdvocate.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Men's Life Expectancy Soars
Excerpt: "Life expectancy for men over 65 has jumped by more than 10 per cent, it emerged today. By 2041 a man aged 65 can expect to live 20.9 more years than the previous estimate in 2001, a rise of 10.58 per cent.... according to new forecasts from the [British] Government Actuary's Department, which is responsible for predicting demographic changes." (ThisIsLondon.com)
New Interest Rate Could Swell General Motors' Pension, Health Obligation
Excerpt: "'We look at the discount rate once a year. It was 6.75 percent. It will be something else, something lower,' said GM's CFO John Devine. The discount rate is tied to Treasury bill yields, which were down in 2003, so other companies with large retiree pension funds will likely also have to lower their rates." (Detroit Free Press)
Automating Complex Work: the Next Big Step in Information Technology for Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "Although business-centric process automation technology is just now beginning to mature, firms (especially outside of health care) have reported a number of promising results: Dramatic reduction in labor costs; Significantly improved quality, accuracy, and consistency; Improved process streamlining; Increased information velocity ... ; Improved service to customers and trading partners; [and] Business agility and flexibility." (Healthplan via Medscape; one-time registration required)
Lessons in Good Governance-- An Employer Roundtable Discussion (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "[A]re Sarbanes-Oxley and the new regulations and reporting requirements having their intended effect? Have boards and their compensation committees strengthened the links between executive performance and executive compensation?" (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)
Newly Posted Events
Measuring the Effectiveness of Preventive Care
Nationwide on January 15, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
McKay Hochman Launches Cafeteria Plan, DC Health Care Documents
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)
PBGC Executive Director Steven A. Kandarian Announces Departure
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Pension Reporter (5500) System from DATAIR – Year 2003 Forms Released
(DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Katherine Bredemeier (Career Consulting Services, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Health & Welfare Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CA, CT, NJ, NY, OH, TX
401 (k) Administrator
for GAP-Pension Inc.
in NJ
Assistant General Counsel
for General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the UMC
in IL
Sr. Benefit Analyst - Retirement Plans
for CB Richard Ellis
in CA
Recruitment & Staffing Specialist
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
ERISA Attorney
for Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.
in WA
Plan Specialist
for Transamerica
in CA
Sales Executive
for ClearBenefits, Inc.
in
Operation Supervisor
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
Plan Contributions Services Associate II
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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