Welfare Plans Edition
January 2, 2001
Today's sponsor is EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click on banner for more information)
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Heath Privacy Project
Interesting portal web site on the issue of healthcare privacy. (Institute for Health Care Research and Policy, Georgetown University)
Health Information and the Internet: A Wealth of Free Advice, But Is It Reliable?
Excerpt: "A recent study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project reports that more than 5-1/2 million people seek health and medical information from the Internet's 17,000 health-related sites each day. That is more than shop online." (Baltimore Sun)
What's Happening with the "Unique Health Identifier" Plan?
Excerpt: "Congress has placed a temporary, one-year moratorium on federal funding for the government's plan to assign everyone a unique health identifier (a patient ID number). That number would be used to tag and track each person's medical information electronically from cradle to grave. The moratorium was included in the recently enacted appropriations bill (H.R. 3194), which was signed into law November 29, 1999." (Institute for Health Freedom)
Advocates Release New California HMO Patient Guide
Excerpt: "The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights (FTCR) announced today an Internet guide to help Californians understand and utilize their rights as managed care patients under new health care laws. The interactive patient guide, the first to deal with California's new patient protection laws, is posted at www.calpatientguide.org." (Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Lawyers Use Racketeer Law Against HMOs
Excerpt: "Over the past year or so, RICO suits have been filed against the nation's largest HMOs. The latest to face a RICO complaint is Columbia-based Magellan Health Services Inc., which functions as an HMO for mental health benefits. Two nearly identical class action cases against Magellan, citing RICO and a federal law governing employer-based benefits, were filed in the fall in federal court in St. Louis." (Baltimore Sun)
How TRW's HR Manager Uses Metrics to Control Employee Turnover
Excerpt: "HR's evolving mandate is to measure everything: Turnover, benefits costs as a percent of payroll, HR staff to employee ratios. But so what? The numbers only matter if you can show their impact on business results. Here's how you can do that, with just your existing HR and payroll data and an Excel spreadsheet." (IOMA's Human Resource Department Management Report)
Firms Studying Costs of Contraceptives Benefits for Employees
Excerpt: "Contraceptives can prevent the temporary disability that results from pregnancy and childbirth, just as blood pressure medicine can prevent a disability due to cardiovascular disease. So, if a company covers preventive medicines such as blood pressure drugs but not contraceptives, then that company's health plan is discriminating against women, the EEOC ruled." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Health Insurance Rates to Climb 11 Percent
Excerpt: "When Mercer asked employers in 1999 about their plans for 2000, only 30 percent said they planned to raise employees' premiums, deductibles, co-payments and other fees. Asked recently about plans for 2001, 57 percent said they would raise employees' costs." (Chicago Sun-Times)
How DOL's New Patients' Rights Claims Procedure Will Affect Your Plan
Excerpt: "If plans fail to make timely decisions or otherwise fail to comply with the regulation, claimants may go to court to enforce their rights." (IOMA's Managing Benefits Plans)
Continuing Troubles at HMOs Promise a Wild Ride
Excerpt: "The coming year promises a wild ride for most players in health care--not to mention consumers who depend on the industry for their health and well-being." (Los Angeles Times)
(Following also appears in Retirement Plans Edition)
NCEO Survey Shows Limited Variations in Option Plan Design
The NCEO has completed the most comprehensive study ever made of broad-based employee stock option grants. Contrary to what many might expect, there is little variation in key elements of option plan design across industry, region, and company size. (The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO))
| Consultant, H&W Practice | for Fidelity Investments in NH |
| 401(k) Pension Analyst | for REPTECH Corp. in CO |
| Pension Plan Administrator | for Pension Plan Professionals, Inc. in FL |
| 401(k) Client Service Manager - Full or Part Time | for Independent 401(k) Advisory Firm in Northern Virginia in VA |
Subscribe to the Retirement Plans Edition, too (click)
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