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February 4, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
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The Impact of Consumer-Driven Health Plans on Health Care Costs: a Closer Look at Plans with HRAs (PDF)
24 page 'Public Policy Monograph' dated January 2004. (American Academy of Actuaries)
Economist Questions Role of Private Plans in New Medicare Law
Excerpt: "[Princeton economics professor Uwe] Reinhardt said he does not believe that efforts to urge beneficiaries to join private health plans are based on the belief that private plans can save taxpayers money.... [T]he real intent of urging private plan participation 'is to build a platform to shift the costs [of Medicare] from taxpayers to the elderly,' by capping the amount Medicare pays. That might or might not be a good policy, he said, 'but it deserves to be debated.'" (Reuters Health via Medscape.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: What the President Did Not Tell You About the GOP Pr*scription Drug Plan
Excerpt: "By approving the legislation, the president may have fulfilled a commitment or two, but not to the nation's elderly. Here are some key details omitted from President Bush's speech ... Estimated cost of the Medicare drug bill over 10 years: $400 billion; Estimated increase in drug industry profits: $139 billion." (Sherrod Brown in the Cincinnati Post)
Opinion: Democratic Presidential Candidates Should Stop Attacking Pharmaceutical Industry
Excerpt: "Democratic presidential candidates this year are 'running against their usual list of 'enemy' industries,' such as the pharmaceutical industry, with the 'standard trope' that 'you're being denied things you need and deserve,' such as lower pr*scription drug costs, Holman Jenkins, editor of the Wall Street Journal daily e-mail newsletter, writes ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Funeral Notice for ERISA Attorney Michael S. Gordon
Includes a link to an online guest book that will be shared with Mike's family; please add your regards if you wish. (Washington Post)
National Retiree Legislative Network Board Members Mourn Passing of Retiree Advocate Michael Gordon
Press release. Excerpt: "Retirees and older citizens across the country lost a good friend and defender of pension and health care benefits on Feb. 1 with the passing of Michael S. Gordon, according to Jim Norby, president of the National Retirees Legislative Network (NRLN). Gordon served as general counsel and chief legislative strategist for the NRLN ..." (National Retiree Legislative Network)
Massachusetts High Court Rules for G*y Marriage
Excerpt: "The Massachusetts high court ruled Wednesday that only full, equal marriage rights for g*y couples -- rather than civil unions -- would be constitutional, erasing any doubts that the nation's first same sex marriages would take place in the state beginning in mid-May." (AP via Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
Ohio Legislature Votes to Ban Same-Sex Unions
Excerpt: "The Ohio Legislature gave final approval on Tuesday to one of the most sweeping bans on same-sex unions in the country, galvanized by court rulings in Canada and Massachusetts that have declared g*y marriage to be legal." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Lessons for ERISA Fiduciaries from a Ninth Circuit Case
Excerpt: "Make sure your plan document has the 'magic' language of the Firestone case.... In questions of ambiguity or areas needing clarity, seeking the advice of counsel can help to establish that the plan fiduciaries employed 'prudent procedures' ... Remember that informal discussions among committee members memorialized through emails may eventually be used against the committee members ..." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier on BenefitsBlog)
Overview: Senate Finance Committee Adopts COLI Amendment
Excerpt: "Companies that purchase company-owned life insurance (COLI) in the name of an employee would be required to acquire the employee's written consent under an amendment adopted by the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) on February 2." (CCH Tax News)
Opinion: Teachers, Don't Let State Lawmakers Take Your DB Plan or Retiree Health Coverage Away
Excerpt: "Even if you're not knocking on the door of retirement, it's worth reflecting on the value of your pension--and fighting to preserve it--because many policy makers are pushing changes that would put your retirement security at risk.... 'We need to be vigilant,' adds Jim Sproul, president of NEA-Retired, 'or the pillars of retirement that our members count on-- a good pension with cost-of-living increases, as well as health coverage-- won't be there when they need them.'" (NEA Today)
Opinion: the Debt No One Wants to Talk About
Excerpt: "The federal government's gross debt -- the accumulation of its annual deficits -- was about $7 trillion last September, which works out to about $24,000 for every man, woman and child in this country. But that number excludes items like the gap between the government's Social Security and Medicare commitments and the money put aside to pay for them. If these items are factored in, the burden for every American rises to well over $100,000." (David Walker in the New York Times; one-time registration required)
Who Bears the Burden of Social Insurance? Evidence from Japanese Health and Long-Term Care Insurance
19 pages. (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Newly Posted Events
Introduction to ESOPs
in Wisconsin on June 1, 2004
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership
7th Annual HR Technology Conference & Exposition
in Illinois on October 13, 2004
presented by Human Resource Executive Magazine
Newly Posted Press Releases
William F. Brown, Esq., Joins DATAIR’s Legal Staff
(DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Project Manager
for Transamerica-The Winning Organization
in CA
Communications Strategist
for CitiStreet - A State Street & Citigroup Company
in MA
Senior Compensation/Classification Analyst (Labor Analyst)
for King County Human Resources
in WA
Employee Benefits Attorney
for Oxford Legal Associates, LTD
in NJ
Pension Administrator
for xélan, The Economic Association of Health Professionals
in CA
Manager, Recordkeeping & DC Administration
for Third Party Administrator
in MI
Employee Benefits Support
for Trust Department, western Colorado community bank
in CO
Actuarial Associate
for xélan, The Economic Association of Health Professionals
in CA
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in MI
Benefit Advisor
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in CT, MA, NH, RI
Benefits Analyst
for Maersk Sealand
in NJ
Account Executive - Client Relationship Management
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in CA
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