| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
March 19, 2001
Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Business for Sale (click)
View our online listing of Employee Benefits Businesses For Sale! No charge to access any of the information. For just $200, you can list your business and all the particulars, using our page to reach prospective buyers for your business nationwide. (Over 7,000 people use this site per day; over 71,000 different people per month!) And you know why they're here: for employee benefits compliance information and tools. There's no better place to advertise your Employee Benefits Business For Sale.
Plan Barred From Denying 'Experimental' Treatment; Court Cites Plan Ambiguity, Degree of Harm
Excerpt: "In noting that a group health plan will at worst 'lose money,' as opposed to a plan beneficiary whose life could end 'expeditiously' due to a terminal illness, a federal district court approved a preliminary injunction that requires the plan to cover a procedure that it had previously held was excluded from coverage. The case is Kopicki v. Fitzgerald Automotive Family Employee Benefits Plan, 121 F. Supp. 2d 467 (S.D. Md., Nov. 22, 2000)." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Atlanta Suburb Proposes Gay Partner Benefits for Municipal Employees
Excerpt: "East Point employees could become only the second group of municipal workers in Georgia with domestic partner benefits if the City Council approves a proposed change to the city's insurance policy Monday." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution )
Pre-Paid Legal Confirms SEC Accounting Probe
Excerpt: "Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. confirmed published reports that the Company is the target of an informal inquiry by the Ft. Worth Office of the Division of Enforcement of the Securities and Exchange Commission." (CFO.com)
Southern Oregon Employers Suffer from Skyrocketing Health Insurance Costs
Excerpt: "Most cringe when renewal time comes around, waiting to see how much more they'll have to pay. L & S Trucking of Central Point swallowed a 47 percent increase to insure its 30 employees last year." ([Medford Ore.] Mail Tribune)
Policy Group Reports Modest Employer Interest in Defined Contribution Plans
Excerpt: "Employers remain intrigued by the prospect of stabilizing health benefit costs through defined contribution plans, but the market has not yet delivered a specific plan or compelling rationale to stimulate action, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)." (Medscape; free registration required)
The Health Insurance Malady
Excerpt: "Health-insurance costs are projected to soar in 2001--and once again, small businesses will feel the pain most acutely. Premiums for companies with fewer than 50 workers, which have risen an average of 9% over the past two years, are expected to show a jump of 12% this year, according to a survey by benefits consulting firm William M. Mercer Inc. The major culprit: skyrocketing costs for prescription drugs, up 18% last year." (Business Week)
Patients Rights Bill Stirs Passionate Debate in Subcommittee
Excerpt: "Members of the House Energy and Commerce health subcommittee engaged in a 'passionate and extensive debate' over patients' rights legislation [on March 15], illustrating 'how far apart both sides remain' on the issue, CongressDaily/A.M. reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Congress Attempts to Raise Pre-Tax Savings
Excerpt: "Congress is trying once again to raise the amount of pretax income people can contribute to their Individual Retirement Accounts and 401(k) plans, in an effort to get Americans to save more money. Reps. Rob Portman, R-Cincinnati, and Ben Cardin, D-Md., reintroduced a bill Wednesday that raises contribution limits and encourages businesses to offer pension plans." (Dayton Daily News )
Florida Bill to Give Patients Right to Sue HMOs Follows Texas' Lead
Excerpt: "Week two just ended in the legislature, and Rep. Joe Negron is already on version three of a bill allowing patients to sue their HMOs, Texas-style. [Texas' law holds companies liable for making bad treatment decisions.] All other HMO right-to-sue bills have failed in Florida. To prevent that from happening, Negron is trying to form a coalition of Democrats and fellow freshman lawmakers." (The Palm Beach Post )
Disclosure vs. Discretion: Should California Medical Arbitration Records Be Public?
Excerpt: "The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights ... is behind the request to obtain more records on arbitration cases. While it is likely that the group is more interested in lawsuits and made-for-media anecdotes than in working with health plans to improve the actual quality of care, that is beside the point. There is an underlying principle here: Information relating to arbitrations and civil lawsuits should be made public based on similar standards." (Sacramento Bee)
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Employee Stock Options Are Here to Stay
The market downturn has led some to question whether broad-based employee stock options will go away. This article discusses why they won't. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Benefits Consultant- Non-Qualified Plans | for Clark Bardes Consulting/Compensation Resource Group, Inc in Location Other Than U.S., ALL STATES |
| 401(k) Administrator | for Louis Kravitz & Associates, Inc. in CA |
| Pension Consultant/Administrator | for Gorrelick, Tievy & Associates, Inc. in MD (DC Suburbs) in MD |
| Team Leader | for Pension Corporation of America in OH |
| Employee Benefits Attorney | for Thompson Hine & Flory LLP in OH |
| Senior Banking Consultant | for Clark Bardes Consulting/Compensation Resource Group in IL |
| Account Executive | for Clark Bardes Consulting/Compensation Resource Group in IL |
| Senior Tax Manager Employee Benefits | for Deloitte & Touche, a Professional Services Firm in MI |
| Pension Administrator -- Traditional DC Plans | for CNA TRUST in CA |
| Senior Pension Administrator | for Schiller's Pension Consulting in CA |
| Defined Benefit Plan Administrator | for Pension Administration Firm in Southeast Michigan in MI |
| Pension Administrator | for The Paragon Alliance Group in PA |
| Pension Administrator | for Mid Atlantic Pension Design & Administration, Inc. in NJ |
| Benefits Paralegal | for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, L.L.P. in FL |
| Benefit Consultant | for Ernst & Young LLP in CA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Preparing Form 5500s | in CA on April 25, 2001 presented by The Los Angeles Chapter ISCEBS |
| Leaves of Absence | in MA on April 10, 2001 presented by Greater Boston Chapter of ISCEBS |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| VPA, Inc. To Provide Yahoo!'s Internal Disability Plan (VPA, Inc.) |
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