Welfare Plans Edition
Today's sponsor is The BenefitsLink Newsletter
(click on banner for more information)
August 31, 2000
Emergency Day Care a Key Fringe Benefit Practice Gaining in Popularity
Excerpt: "Experts say while emergency child care doesn't relieve parents of the financial burden of finding their children regular care, it at least offers some companies which normally would balk at offering child care an option... Charges vary widely, but some corporations ... can expect to pay around $20,000 annually for 'one space per 350 employees' which covers either one child every day of the year or, more likely, the children of scores of employees on several days each year." (The [Trenton NJ] Record)
Manage Temp Benefits Without Turning into the Next Microsoft Debacle
Excerpt: "With the right benefit-plan language, you can avoid a costly temp-employee lawsuit. Learn various steps you can take, and how to avoid the length-of-service trap." (Workforce.com)
Temporary Workers Win Benefits Ruling
Excerpt: "Recognizing the changing nature of the American work force, the National Labor Relations Board has voted to make it easier for millions of temporary workers to join unions and win benefits on the job.... Temps, contractors and consultants who are not attached to a company's core work force make up as much as 25 percent of the nation's employment base by some estimates, or nearly 35 million workers." (Washington Post)
U.S. Unions Win in Ruling on Temporary Workers
Excerpt: "In a major victory for U.S. labor unions, the National Labor Relations Board made it easier Wednesday for the growing legion of temporary workers to join unions at the companies to which they are assigned." (Washington Post)
Gore Pushes Patients' Bill of Rights
Excerpt: "Al Gore and Joseph Lieberman say all Americans are entitled to a 'patients' bill of rights' that sets minimum standards of care, and they're challenging opponents George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to offer the same." (Associated Press)
Al Gore Calls for Patients' Bill of Rights
Excerpt: "Vice President Al Gore ended a week of campaigning on health issues on Thursday by calling for a strong patients' bill of rights, something President Clinton has battled unsuccessfully for in recent years. Having laid out plans earlier in the week to strengthen Medicare, add a prescription drug benefit to the program and ensure access to health insurance for all America's children, Gore turned to an issue which has stalled in Congress." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Healthcare Policy Issues Set to Sway the US Presidential Race
Excerpt: "Survey data released Wednesday suggest that the public wants the government to take an active role in reducing the number of Americans who lack health insurance and that the issue is likely to figure heavily with voters in the upcoming presidential election." (Medscape; free registration required)
Absent Congressional Action, States Provide Managed Care Protections
Excerpt: "The issue of consumer protections for patients in health maintenance organizations (HMOs) and other managed care plans has been hotly debated in Congress, and on the campaign trail, for at least three years.... [A]s with other pressing public policy issues in recent years, in the face of strong public sentiment for action and federal gridlock states have taken action with the enactment a wide range of managed care patient protection reforms." (Center for National Policy)
Time To Rethink Health Benefits In The Employer Setting
Excerpt: "Is it time to scrap a health care system that logically should work, but as a practical matter will not be allowed to work? Consider: Managed care costs less and premium trend factors are lower than other forms of health benefit programs. Coverage levels are higher, participants like their plans and withdrawal rates are low. However, managed care is trapped between physicians who have been squeezed to their limit and politicians seeking a scapegoat ..." (Richard Quinn, in Employee Benefit News)
Naic Hopes To End Surprise Long Term Care Price Hikes
Excerpt: "Insurance companies that persistently file for rate increases could be banned from doing business in states that adopt the new long term care regulatory amendments approved recently by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). The NAIC amendments were developed to address industry-wide problems with long term care pricing practices and consumer protection concerns." (insure.com)
Pennsylvania Officials Ponder Physicians' Request to Allow Negotiations with Insurers
Excerpt: "In its fourth and final public hearing of the summer on the subject, the Pennsylvania State House Insurance Committee heard doctors say that current conditions in the state hinder medical decisions as insurance companies beat down the delivery of health care by dictating what kind of care to deliver, who will deliver that care, when to deliver the care, and where that care will be delivered." (https://benefitslink.com/articles/feeds/967735916.html)
(Following also appears in Retirement Plans Edition)
Actuaries Have the Fourth-Best Job Around, Careers Book Says
Excerpt: "Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor, trade groups and telephone surveys, the book, due out this weekend, ranks 250 jobs according to six criteria: income, stress, physical demands, potential growth, job security and work environment." (ABCNews.com)
Salaries, Wages & Employee Benefits Surveys
Excerpt: "This bibliography is intended for those who need to know salary information for job interviews and for those who need to set salaries, wages and benefits of employees. This is NOT a comprehensive list." (Arizona State University Libraries)
| Pension Administrator | for LBA Retirement Plan Services, L.L.C. in FL |
| 401k Call Center Manager | for Citistreet - A State Street / Citigroup Company in MA |
| Benefits Administrator | for Marsh Inc. in NY |
Subscribe to the Retirement Plans Edition, too (click)
Copyright 2000 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
Feel free to forward this email to friends, colleagues or clients, if no fee is paid to you and the email is forwarded in its entirety. Thanks!
BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., published by Dave Baker with much help from Mary Hall and lots of friends.
To subscribe (free): visit https://benefitslink.com/newsletter - or the person desiring to subscribe can send an email to listmanager@postmastergeneral.com, with this as the subject of the email: subscribe BLwelfare
We have an online archive of prior issues at
http://www.postmastergeneral.com/cgi-bin/archive.pl?list=BLwelfare
|
DEPARTMENTS
|
|
BENEFITS SPEAKERS
Looking for a speaker for your benefits group? Want to throw your hat into the ring? Free. _____________ BENEFITS CANDIDATES Need personnel? It's like fishing in a barrel here. _____________ BENEFITS JOBS Need a benefits job? Sort the openings by their distance away from you. _____________ BENEFITSBOARDS.NET Exchange questions and tips with colleagues. Co-sponsored by us and several employee benefits organizations. _____________ PROGRESSIONS Promotions and new personnel in the employee benefits community. _____________ Q&A COLUMNS Experts field questions online, submitted by readers via email. _____________ CONFERENCES View by location, by sponsoring organization, or by date. _____________ SOFTWARE Largest listing of benefits software on the net: descriptions, downloads. _____________ ADVERTISE Ads are our sole source of support. No subscription fees! _____________ CONTACT US Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Copyright 2000 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved. BenefitsLink is a trademark of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. |