| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
March 1, 2001
Today's sponsor: The International Quality & Productivity Center (click)
BENEFITS 2001 CONGRESS: How to Increase Customer Satisfaction & Leverage Your Benefits Dollars March 26-27, 2001 Scottsdale, AZ For more information call 1-800-882-8684 or visit: http://www.iqpc.com/b156benefits2001
Hiring Spouse to Get a Tax Deduction Backfires When Court Finds She Wasn't a True Employee
Excerpt: "Self-employed proprietors may be able to claim 100% of their health insurance costs as business expense, rather than deducting only 60% of their premiums above-the-line under IRC Sec. 162(l). A 1994 technical advice memo shows how this can be done.... The key to this planning strategy is that the spouse of the sole proprietor must be a bona fide employee of the business. The importance of this requirement was shown in the recent Richard Haeder decision [TC Memo 2001-7 (2000)]." (Practitioners Publishing Company)
Texas Teachers May Get Health Insurance From State
Excerpt: "Though officials expect the Texas economy to continue cooling, changes in investment policy may allow the state to finance a statewide teachers' health insurance plan, state officials have said." (Reuters via Excite! News)
Health Insurers See Benefits In Covering Non-Traditional Therapies
Excerpt: "Employers and insurance companies wanting to reduce sick days, doctor's office visits and hospital stays are catching on to the benefits of non-traditional medicine ..." (Arizona Republic)
How Teaching Employees To Reduce Risks Can Cut Your Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "What if you knew that 25% of the health care bills you pay for employees was linked to health risks that you, as HR and benefits managers, could influence and control? In fact, that 25% of medical expenses translates into an annual price tag of more than over $400 per employee, according to a new study by the Health Enhancement Research Organization ..." (IOMA's Managing Benefits Plans)
Statement by HHS Secretary on 30-Day Extension of HIPAA Privacy Regs Comment Period
Excerpt: "[U]nder the Congressional Review Act, HHS was legally required to submit this regulation for consideration by the Congress for a 60-day period. Due to an oversight under the prior administration, this requirement was not met. As a result of this oversight, the 60-day period of Congressional review did not begin until Feb. 13, and therefore the effective date of the regulation has been delayed until April 14, 2001." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services press release)
Opinion: How Not to Cut Health Costs-- Defined Contribution Accounts Are Bad Idea
Excerpt: "On the surface, cloning defined-contribution benefits for use in health care has a powerful appeal for CFOs. Plunk down a set amount of health-care dollars in an account for your employees each year, and let them spend it on whatever health plan they choose, rolling over the surplus from year to year. Think 401(k) matching ... Sound too good to be true? It is." (CFO.com)
Abolish Employer-Based Health System, Use Tax Credits for Universal Coverage?
Excerpt: "House Ways and Means health subcommittee members Jim McCrery (R-La.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) have joined forces on a plan that would eliminate the current employer-based health insurance system and replace it with a system that relied on tax credits to provide universal health coverage." (KaiserNetwork.org)
AAHP Applauds Bush Approach to Managed Care Reform
Excerpt: "On patient protection, President Bush has sent the strongest and clearest signal yet that genuine patient protection legislation must benefit patients -- not trial lawyers and other special interests. By assuring patients the right care -- up front and without delay -- through independent external review ..." (American Association of Health Plans)
Opinion: It's Past Time for Patients' Rights
Excerpt: "Gov. Mike Easley isn't waiting for Congress to give HMO customers a fair shake. He wants North Carolina to pass its own Patients' Bill of Rights. That's just what the doctor ordered." ([Wilmington, N.C.] Morning Star)
Labor Department Establishes Toll-Free Number To Help Form 5500 Filers
Excerpt: "Starting March 1, 2001, employee benefit plan professionals can receive help in completing Form 5500 annual reports/returns by calling the U.S. Labor Department's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) at the new toll-free number 1-866-463-3278." (U.S. Department of Labor press release)
It's Not Just How Many, But Who Gets Stock Options That Matters
Excerpt: "Using detailed data on the compensation practices of new economy firms collected by iQuantic, the researchers look at whether equity grants actually improve stock market performance. They also look at the correlation between performance and the types of employees who receive these grants: in other words, does it matter which employee groups get stock options?" (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Qualified Retirement Plans Manager | for Arthur Andersen, Human Capital Consulting in PA |
| Sr. Benefits Analyst - Defined Contributions | for Benefits Consulting in TX |
| Manager, Compensation & Benefits | for Arch Chemicals, Inc. in CT |
| 401(k) Administrator | for USI Retirement Services in NJ |
| Employee Benefits Client Manager | for Willis of Arizona, Inc. in AZ |
| Benefits Attorney | for Exxon Mobil Corporation in TX |
| Defined Contributions Administrator II | for Dreyfus Service Corporation in NY |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Introduction to Employee Ownership Plans | in NV on May 22, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to Employee Ownership Plans | in AZ on May 23, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to Employee Ownership Plans | in CA on May 21, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to Employee Ownership Plans | in AK on July 26, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| PensionOnline Welcomes Benefit Insights, Inc. as a Key Partner in Its TPA Directory and Services Marketplace (PensionOnline) |
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