The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Welfare Plans Edition January 3, 2001 Today's sponsor is EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click on banner for more information) Kinder, Simpler Cafeteria Rules Excerpt: "New rules from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) should make it easier and less confusing for employees to make mid-year changes to cafeteria benefit plans. The rules, adopted by the Internal Revenue Service in March 2000 after years of review, apply to all types of Section 125 benefits plans that begin on or after Jan. 1, 2001." (HR magazine) Don't Discourage Employees From Using Their Sick Days Excerpt: "The reasoning behind PTO programs ... is to encourage an employee to take as few sick days as possible. Offer them a reward, and they will come to work. The reasoning, however, stinks." (CFO magazine) Work-Life Benefits on Solid Ground in 2001 Excerpt: "[T]here will be some important changes--particularly on the part of management, which is moving toward the dual approach of improving work life balance and at the same time boosting performance." (Chicago Tribune) Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity: Questions and Answers Excerpt: "Why is the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program implementing mental health and substance abuse parity for the 2001 contract period? [Answer:] At a recent White House Conference, President Clinton directed the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to equalize benefits coverage in the year 2001 for mental health and substance abuse conditions with benefits coverage for other illnesses or diseases in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program." (Office of Personnel and Management, U.S. Government) American Association of Health Plans' Statement on New Privacy Rules Excerpt: "Patient privacy and quality health care go hand in hand. One should not be pursued at the expense of another. We have been hopeful that this rule would apply the guiding principle that was outlined in the proposed rule: that it would render private information easy to use for health purposes, and hard to use for other purposes. Unfortunately ..." (AAHP) Researcher Sentenced for Selling Wynette's Medical Records Excerpt: "A former medical researcher who sold late country music superstar Tammy Wynette's medical records to supermarket tabloids yesterday was sentenced to six months in federal prison and six months of home detention." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) DOL and DHHS Issue Final Rules Promulgating a National Medical Child Support Notice Excerpt: "The Child Support Performance and Incentive Act of 1998 (CSPIA) required the DOL and the DHHS to jointly develop and promulgate a new National Medical Child Support Notice.... The Notice is to be used by state agencies to notify an employer of a noncustodial parent that a state court or administrative agency has issued a child support order requiring the employer's group health plan to provide coverage for the child of such noncustodial parent." (EBIA Weekly) Mental Health Parity Originally published June, 1999. Excerpt: "Should health insurance agencies have to cover treatment for mental health? The president of the Health Insurance Association of America and the executive director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill take your questions." (Online Newshour, by the Public Broadcasting System) Mental Health Parity: An Overview of Recent Legislation Originally published September 1998. Excerpt: "The limits on mental health care are generally much more restrictive than those on other types of care. For example, the median lifetime limit for mental health care spending in an indemnity plan is $40,000, whereas the typical lifetime limit for total spending is $1 million." (American Association of Retired Persons) California’s Mental Health Parity Insanity Originally published October, 1999. Excerpt: "This week, California Governor Gray Davis signed legislation which declares that "mental illness is real." As a psychiatrist I'd have to say that the legislators got this part correct. But the new law also mandates parity in coverage for mental illness-- bad medicine for all Californians." (Pacific Research Institute) Mental Health Parity: What Can It Accomplish in a Market Dominated by Managed Care? Originally published June, 1998. Excerpt: "Managed care's ability to hold down health costs has made parity somewhat more acceptable to many employers and legislators, and parity proponents are happy to take advantage of this fact. Yet parity proponents are often far from happy about the way managed care actually works in many mental health areas. The following discussion does not argue for or against parity, but simply attempts a balanced look at the subject." (Alan L. Otten, published by Milbank Memorial Fund) Mental Health Parity Publications & Web Sites Good Web portal on the issue of "mental health parity." (Louis de la Parte Mental Health Institute of the University of South Florida) Online Guide to the Health Plan Appeals Process Excerpt: "This easy to read guide features sample appeals letters, specific strategies to use when negotiating the internal and external appeals processes and specific instructions to follow when all appeals have been exhausted and it's time for the next step. Principles used by the case managers at the Patient Advocate Foundation are reflected throughout the publication." (National Patient Advocate Foundation) Cuts in Health Benefits Squeeze Retirees' Nest Eggs Excerpt: "Fewer than one in four employers now provide medical coverage of any kind for Medicare-eligible retirees; 40 percent provided retiree coverage in 1994, according to a recent national survey of companies with 500 or more employees by William M. Mercer ..." (New York Times; free registration required) (Following also appears in Retirement Plans Edition) Stock Option Fundamentals: Vesting And Expiration (2d in Series) Excerpt: "Once an option expires, however, you lose the right to exercise it. That's why it's essential that you understand the vesting and expiration provisions of each stock option grant so that you take full advantage of your options-- or at least don't forfeit their value." (MyStockOptions.com; free registration required)
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