Welfare Plans Edition
January 24, 2001
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Revised Actuarial Standard of Practice: Incurred Health and Disability Claims (PDF)
Excerpt: "The revision of ASOP No. 5 has a number of changes from the 1991 version ... This standard discusses incurred health and disability claims in total, rather than just unpaid health claims liabilities. Thus, the standard addresses the paid portion of incurred health and disability claims; This standard explicitly discusses long-term claim products, and the knowledge and considerations for estimating incurred health and disability claims." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Medical Privacy Gap
Excerpt: "The American Psychiatric Association is concerned about a little-noticed loophole in the medical privacy rules the Clinton administration issued [Business, Jan. 16]. Using this loophole, commercial fundraisers can use protected health information about a person without that person's consent." (Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post)
Analysis: IRS Issues Final Regulations on Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "The combined limit on tax-free benefits for transit passes and commuter vanpools is $65 per month through December 31, 2001, and $100 per month thereafter. An employer only can provide cash reimbursement for mass transit expenses if vouchers or similar items that can only be exchanged for a transit pass are not 'readily available.'" (The Segal Company)
Exit Interview: OPM Chief Advocated New Benefits
Excerpt: "During her more than three years as [OPM] director, [Janice R.] Lachance has drawn warm reactions from numerous federal employees ... More than her predecessors, she has been willing to travel and hear from employees (she drew groans from her staff when she volunteered her e-mail address to questioners during an Internet chat) and has championed a significant expansion of health care and 'family friendly' benefits for federal workers." (Letter to the Editor of the Washington Post)
Percentage Co-payments: A Solution for Rising Drug Costs?
Excerpt: "... 65 percent of the employee benefits specialists polled in a recent survey by the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists (ISCEBS) said they think rising drug prices will push benefit-plan sponsors to shift from copayments to percentage-based coinsurance." (CFO.com)
Uninsured Press Their Case In Health Care Debate
Excerpt: "Each has a very different story, but all share the same plight-- they are just a few of the estimated 43 million people in the United States living without health insurance. Stories like theirs became fodder during the presidential race, providing dramatic evidence that government's inability to come up with solutions to the health insurance crisis has real-life victims." (CNN.com)
(Following also appears in Retirement Plans Edition)
DOL Clarifies Plan Expense Position
Excerpt: "While DOL characterized the guidance as merely 'clarifying' its position on plan expense issues, it is clear that DOL has retreated from some of the more aggressive positions taken in enforcement actions in 2000. The key element of the guidance is the acknowledgement that when determining payment of plan expenses, the analysis should focus on the settlor vs. fiduciary nature of the expense, rather than on whether the plan sponsor receives any benefit." (Groom Law Group)
| Benefits Administrator | for Lynden Incorporated in WA |
| M & A Tips from the Trenches | in CA on March 7, 2001 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference, San Francisco Chapter |
| Common Myths of Investment Education Programs | in CA on March 14, 2001 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference, San Francisco Chapter |
| Membership Appreciation Night featuring a Social Security Debate | in CA on April 17, 2001 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference, San Francisco Chapter |
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