| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
March 14, 2001
Today's sponsor: EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (click)
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HIPAA Review Puts IT Projects On Hold
Excerpt: "The fate of a multibillion-dollar government-inspired jackpot for information technology companies sits in limbo as Tommy Thompson, the new secretary of Health and Human Services, revisits medical privacy rules formulated under the Clinton administration." (ZDNet)
Opinion: a Call for a National Summit on Information Management and Healthcare Quality
Excerpt: "Despite mind-boggling developments in patient care and dramatic advances in information management in other industries, progress toward an enterprise-wide electronic information infrastructure for healthcare - and resultant improvements in quality, efficiency, and service - has inched forward at a snail's pace." (Medscape; free registration required)
Pharmacy Group Objects to Privacy Rules
Excerpt: "Medical records privacy rules under review at the Department of Health and Human Services could prevent pharmacists from being able to fill prescriptions for many patients, a leader of a large healthcare business lobbying group said on Monday." (Reuters via Excite News)
The Other Privacy Law: Preparing for the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Excerpt: "[T]he most urgent privacy and security legal compliance issues in the coming months will involve the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ('Gramm-Leach'). This new law will require health plans and insurers to take a variety of actions with respect to the handling of member and subscriber data, in electronic and other formats, that parallel certain aspects of their HIPAA compliance efforts." (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
Dodging OSHA's Earnings Threat
Excerpt: "Corporate risk managers breathe easier after Congress dispels the doom of the ergonomics rule." (CFO.com)
Edwards Criticizes Breaux-Frist Patients' Bill of Rights Draft
Excerpt: "Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) 'lashed out' [Tuesday March 13] against a draft of patients' rights legislation sponsored by Sens. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and John Breaux (D-La.), saying the measure 'appears to be an HMO bill of rights,' CongressDaily/A.M. reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Key Bush Ally Would Limit HMO Damages to $500,000
Excerpt: "A key Senate ally of President George W. Bush will propose as early as this week a patients' bill of rights that would expand patient protection while setting strict limits on court awards against health plans accused of misconduct." (Reuters via Excite News)
Americans Seem Unsure How Their Health Plans Work
Excerpt: "One idea for improving the US healthcare system has been to offer the public greater choice in health plans. But, a new study shows, most Americans do not understand the details of their current health insurance--a potential obstacle if they are to choose from a range of plans, researchers report." (Reuters via Excite News)
Florida Doctor's OK Is a Must When An HMO Denies Treatment, Under Florida Bill
Excerpt: "When a health maintenance organization denies care recommended by a patient's doctor, a Florida physician must sign off on the rejection, according to a bill passed [March 7] by the House Committee on Insurance." (The Palm Beach Post )
Senators Spar Over Patients' Rights
Excerpt: "A leading backer of a bipartisan patients' rights bill in the Senate lashed out Tuesday at a competing measure currently being drafted. John Edwards, D-NC, who introduced legislation last month with Sens. John McCain, R-AZ, and Edward Kennedy, D-MA, said the bill being worked on by a group led by Sens. Bill Frist, R-TN, and John Breaux, D-LA, 'appears to have multiple problems.'" (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Minnesota Insurers Issue Care Guidelines
Excerpt: "In an unusual collaboration, the major health insurers serving Minnesota have adopted guidelines outlining how to treat patients for about 50 medical conditions." (USA Today)
Minnesota Managed Care Companies Agree to Publish and Follow Standard Treatment Procedures
Excerpt: "[Minnesota's] five largest health plans say they'll work together to provide treatment standards for common ailments like diabetes, high blood pressure and back pain.... It is believed to be the first statewide medical collaboration of its kind, said Dr. Gordon Mosser, the institute's executive director." (Washington Post)
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Federal Court Orders Changes In Management of Ohio Teamsters Plans
Excerpt: "A federal court in Cleveland, Ohio has ordered the trustees of the pension and welfare plans of Teamsters Union Local 293 to repay $78,000 to the plans and to hire the Segal Company as an independent consultant to assess the plans' operations, according to a consent order and judgment obtained on March 8, 2001 by the U. S. Department of Labor." (U.S. Department of Labor press release)
Employment Tax Planning Ideas For U.S. Companies Issuing Stock Options To Employees In The U.K.
Excerpt: "Many U.S. companies issue stock options to their employees in the United Kingdom (U.K.) under the their existing U.S. stock option plan. In this case, those stock options will be considered 'unapproved' for U.K. tax purposes and will be subject to National Insurance Contribution (NIC) tax on all gains enjoyed by employees upon the exercise, assignment, or release of employee stock options." (Jill Hemphill, PricewaterhouseCoopers)
EITF Continues itsDeliberations on Issue No. 00-23
Excerpt: "The Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) is in the midst of an extensive deliberation of over 30 practice issues and questions on the accounting for stock compensation under APB Opinion No. 25 and FASB Interpretation No. 44.... ). This letter briefly summarizes the conclusions reached at the January 17, 2001 meeting." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Consulting - Pension Actuary & Administrators | for Louis Kravitz & Associates, Inc. in CA |
| Pension Administrator/Accountant | for First Mercantile Trust Company in TN |
| Managing Director-Executive Benefits-Dallas | for Clark Bardes/ Compensation Resource Group in TX |
| Client Service Manager | for ING-Aetna Financial Services in CT |
| 401k/DC Administrator (FT or PT) | for Sacramento Area TPA in CA |
| Senior Benefits Specialist | for Managment Resource Consulting in TN |
| Assistant Vice President International Benefits | for Countrywide in CA |
| Employee Benefits Sales Rep/Account Manager | for Edward L. Elkin, CLU , Orinda, CA in CA |
| Benefit Plan Account Manager | for WT Benefits, LLC in TX |
| PENSION OPERATIONS - TRUSTMARK | for MBM Advisors Inc. in TX |
| Retirement Plan Sales | for http://www.channelsynergy.com in NC, OH, TN |
| Defined Benefit Analyst | for Paragon Consulting Group in ALL STATES, VA |
| Benefit Administration Associate-Multiple Locations | for Towers Perrin in NJ, VA |
| Client Manager | for Benefit Services Corporation, a subsidiary of METLIFE in GA |
| Operations Manager | for Invesmart in TX |
| Benefit Project Specialist | for Aon Consulting, Inc. in MD |
| Sr. Project Specialist | for Aon Consulting, Inc. in MD |
| Defined Contribution Plan Administrator | for Aon Consulting, Inc. in MD |
| Client Manager | for Citizens Bank and Trust Co in IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MO, NE, OH, WI |
| Health & Welfare Consultant | for Aon Consulting, Inc. in PA |
| Retirement Plans Account Administrator | for Invesmart - Portland, Maine in ME |
| Employee Benefits Tax Senior Manager | for Deloitte & Touche, a Professional Services Firm in TX |
| Defined Benefit Manager | for JELD-WEN in OR |
| Analyst | for Paragon Consulting Group in CO |
| Health Management Project Manager - EC-010215-003 | for Hewitt Associates in GA |
| 401 (k) Enroller/Contractor | for Transamerica in ALL STATES, CA, FL, GA, HI, IL, TX |
| 401 (k) Enroller/Contractor - Bilingual | for Transamerica in ALL STATES, CA, FL, GA, IL, TX |
| Testing & Reporting Specialist | for Zurich Scudder Investments in MA, NH |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| What Every Benefits Manager Needs To Know About The Pharmacy Benefit | in CA on March 28, 2001 presented by The Los Angeles Chapter ISCEBS |
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