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February 5, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: International Foundation
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Register now for this timely and informative educational offering With the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act by Congress in December 2003, health savings accounts (HSAs) are now a viable health care option as of January 1, 2004. What does this mean for your consumer-directed health care plan? How does it affect or compare to other forms of health care accounts that you may already have in place? For more information or to register visit www.ifebp.org.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
FDA Turns up Heat in Battle Over Drug Reimportation from Canada
Excerpt: "U.S. regulators on Wednesday ... criticized Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, among others, for his efforts to 'ignore federal law' by advocating the importation of Canadian drugs." (Reuters via Medscape.com; one-time registration required)
Group Health Plan Changes in Medicare Pr*scription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003
Excerpt: "The Medicare Pr*scription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (the 'Act') brought a number of changes that affect employer sponsored group health plans. There were changes to the Medicare Secondary Payer provisions, the enactment of the subsidy provision for the employer sponsored pr*scription drug benefits for certain retirees who are Medicare eligible, and the enactment of certain tax incentives for health and retirement security, including health savings accounts." (Haynes and Boone LLP)
Flexible Spending Accounts and the Debit Card Craze: a New Generation in Outsourcing
Excerpt: "Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs) can be a facilitator of a wide variety of specialty benefits, by allowing employees to set aside pre-tax money for those benefits. One of the hottest new trends in outsourcing FSAs and making them easier for employees to use (and employers to manage) is debit cards." (Aon Consulting)
HSAs Could Make Debit Cards an Invaluable Tool, Card Vendors Say
Excerpt: "Although less than a month old, the health savings account (HSA) provision of the Medicare reform law signed last month by President Bush could present an enormous opportunity for medical debit-card vendors." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Workers Expect Cut In Retiree Health Benefits
Excerpt: "More than 6 in 10 said they expect employers to shift more retiree medical costs to workers. Forty-one percent of those surveyed said they expect reductions in Social Security benefits, too, with the program itself remaining intact." (AP via Boston Globe)
Senator: Bush Officials Hid Medicare Bill's Costs
Excerpt: "One of two Senate Democrats who helped write the new Medicare pr*scription-drug law said yesterday that the Bush administration withheld information about the law's estimated cost at key moments in negotiations last year." (AP via Philadelphia Inquirer)
Opinion: Bush Health Proposals Are Boon for Lobbyists, Wealthy People
Excerpt: "[T]he Bush proposals are equivalent to making people look for new homeowners insurance when the stove is in flames. Association health plans are the most insidious example ..." (Dayton Daily News)
Opinion: the State of Healthcare
Excerpt: "Members of Congress are profoundly mistaken if they believe that the new Medicare law enables them to escape the coming Medicare crisis, particularly when the baby boom generation starts retiring in just seven years." (The Heritage Foundation)
Final HIPAA Regs Require Health Plans to Use Unique Identifier for Health Care Providers
Excerpt: "If a health care provider has been assigned an NPI, health plans are required to use it to identify the provider on all standard transactions that require identification of the provider, and health plans may not require a health care provider to obtain an additional NPI. HHS encourages (but does not require) health plans to give providers six months' notice before requiring them to use NPIs. Most health plans must comply with the new regulations by May 23, 2007 ..." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Bush Expected to Endorse Amendment on Marriage
Excerpt: "President Bush condemned the Massachusetts court ruling on g*y marriage on Wednesday, and conservative groups said the White House had informed them that the president would soon endorse efforts to pass an amendment to the United States Constitution defining marriage to be between a man and a woman." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Massachusetts Gives New Push to G*y Marriage in Strong Ruling
Excerpt: "Massachusetts' highest court removed the state's last barrier to g*y marriage on Wednesday, ruling that nothing short of full-fledged marriage would comply with the court's earlier ruling in November, and that civil unions would not pass muster." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Text of DOL Advisory Opinion 2004-01A: Governmental Plan Definition
Excerpt: "[I]t appears that the Health Fund and Paraprofessional Fund were established and are maintained pursuant to collective bargaining between the School Committee and the Union. The School Committee has the authority to substantially participate in the discretionary administration of the Health Fund and Paraprofessional Fund by reason of its power to appoint three trustees to the board of trustees of each Fund." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
California Grocers Reject Binding Arbitration
Excerpt: "Supermarket chains involved in a four-month strike-lockout with Southern California grocery clerks rejected an offer from the workers' union Wednesday to have its members return to work immediately if the companies would agree to binding arbitration." (AP via Washington Post)
Last Hurrah for Stock Options
Excerpt: "For many technology workers with stock options, the market rally of the past several months represented the first time in years that shares are worth more than the paper they're printed on. Consequently, as shares remained aloft, employees cashed in options with a vengeance." (Wired Magazine)
Newly Posted Events
Consumer-Driven Health Care - Solution to Rising Health Care Costs
in District of Columbia on February 26, 2004
presented by International Society of CEBS - Capital Chapter
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Client Services Representative
for PAi
in NV, WI
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for 401(k) Advisors
in CA
401(k) Enroller with Bi-Lingual Spanish Speaking Skills
for 401(k) Advisors
in CA
Educational Product Sales
for Financial Finesse Inc
in CA
Pensions/401(k) ERISA Compliance Specialist
for Parker White Consultants, Inc.
in NY
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