| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
April 13, 2001
Today's sponsor: The Insider's Guide to DOL Plan Audits (click)
From two former DOL investigators, this must-have book gives you an in-depth look at the Department of Labor-Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration and its operations. Offers insider's tips and guidance on DOL enforcement projects and objectives, and walks the reader through DOL single plan and service-provider audits.
Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Reacts to HIPAA Announcement by Bush
Excerpt: "Consumers lost in today's decision by the Administration not to delay the Privacy regulation. Implementation in such a short timeframe will require major expenditures of consumer premium dollars-resources that could be saved if health plans had a reasonable period to make the overwhelming number of changes required." (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association press release via U.S. Newswire)
Quotes on Bush Decision on Health Privacy Regulations
Excerpt: "[Here is reaction] to the Bush administration's decision Thursday to begin implementing rules that would give patients the right to guard health records: ..." (Associated Press, via Excite News)
Computerized Prescription Systems Cut Error Deaths-- Expensively
Excerpt: "Computerized prescription monitoring systems could drastically cut the number of medical errors in American hospitals, potentially saving tens of thousands of lives each year, a Harvard Medical School official told healthcare executives on Thursday ... But healthcare executives and hospital officials say that commercially available [computerized physician order entry] systems are too expensive and rudimentary to make them a practical option." (Reuters via Medscape; free registration required)
Bush to Implement Patient Privacy Rules
Excerpt: "Although short on specifics, today's announcement frames some of the areas that the new administration will revisit. For example, it would make it clear that physicians and hospitals could consult with other doctors and specialists about a patient's care, that pharmacists would be able to fill prescriptions over the phone and that parents could have access to information about the health of their children." (Reuters via Medscape; free registration required)
Bush To Allow Medical Privacy Rules To Take Effect
Excerpt: "Opponents said they would work with Thompson to seek changes in the rules. Industry groups, which complained that the rules would be too costly and burdensome, had hoped for changes before the rule took effect." (Congress Daily via GovExec.com)
Bush To Employ Medical Privacy Rules
Excerpt: "Brushing aside opposition from hospitals and insurers, President Bush on Thursday endorsed sweeping rules to ensure the privacy of medical files while ordering changes so parents can see their children's records. The rules proposed late in the Clinton administration and quickly put under review after Bush took office will give patients the ability to control who sees their medical records." (Associated Press, via Excite News)
Medical-Privacy Regulations Get Clean Bill of Health
Excerpt: "More than a decade after the first medical-privacy advocates stormed into Congress, demanding protection for their past log of hospital bills, prescriptions and vaccinations, a much-heralded set of privacy regulations has passed its latest hurdle: The White House." (Time.com)
Bush Lets Medical Privacy Rules Take Effect, With Caveats
Excerpt: "In a rare defeat for business, the Bush administration said Thursday it would let a set of controversial medical privacy regulations take effect immediately but would later seek to modify the regulations to address health care industry concerns. The surprising decision clears the way for implementation of the first federal medical privacy protections." (Los Angeles Times)
Bush Accepts Rules to Guard Privacy of Medical Records
Excerpt: "President Bush announced [on Thursday April 12] that sweeping rules to protect the privacy of medical records would take effect on Saturday. But he said the rules, issued by President Bill Clinton, could later be revised or clarified to address 'legitimate concerns' of the health care industry." (New York Times; free registration required)
Kaiser Permanente Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to 'Sweeping Reforms' for Disabled Patients
Excerpt: "In a move that could 'dramatically change the way hospitals and clinics' treat people with disabilities, Kaiser Permanente yesterday announced plans to revamp its California facilities to make them more accessible, as part of an agreement to settle a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of three patients who use wheelchairs, the Los Angeles Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Missouri High Court Upholds State's Right to Question Doctors about Managed Care Coverage Decisions
Excerpt: "The Missouri Supreme Court ruled April 10 that the state has the authority to question doctors about denial of care decisions they make on behalf of managed care companies, the Kansas City Star reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Disabled Patients Win Sweeping Changes From HMO
Excerpt: "The nation's largest nonprofit H.M.O. agreed yesterday to revamp all its California health centers and policies to ensure that people with disabilities have access to the full range of health care. The agreement will settle a class-action lawsuit, the first of its kind in the nation, that was filed last year against the health maintenance organization, Kaiser Permanente, on behalf of all its California members with disabilities." (New York Times; free registration required)
In Practice, Proposed Cut In Contraceptive Coverage May Not Affect Federal Employees
Excerpt: "... an Office of Personnel Management official said Thursday that since covering the costs of contraceptives does not significantly affect insurance providers' bottom line, most providers will likely continue to offer employees a broad range of contraceptive options, in order to remain competitive in the market." (GovExec.com)
Testimony: Challenges to the Employment-Based Health Care System (PDF)
Presented to the ERISA Advisory Council's Working Group on Challenges to the Employment-Based Health Care System, on April 10, 2001. (Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Opinion: Don't Assign Patient Protection Liability to Third Party Administrators
Excerpt: "This is adapted from an SPBA response to a question from Congress about the idea of exempting employers and plan sponsors from liability under proposed Patient Protection legislation if they don't 'make decisions'...but applying the liability to the 'decision makers'." (Fred Hunt, President of the Society of Professional Benefit Administrators)
How to Make Tax Credits for Health Insurance Work: the Role of Purchasing Pools
Transcript of 4/10/2001 conference. (Center for Studying Health System Change)
Testimony: Health Insurance Coverage and Uninsured Americans (PDF)
Testimony before the Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health, U. S. House of Representatives, Hearing on Health Insurance Coverage and Uninsured Americans, April 4, 2001. (Paul Fronstin of the Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Ohio Fines HMOs for Slow Payment
Excerpt: "Ohio Department of Insurance Director Lee Covington has fined seven Ohio health insurers a total of $545,000 for violating the state's prompt-payment laws. Covington also ordered them to submit corrective action plans to his department within 30 days." (insure.com)
MSAs Made Easy: Listing of Providers of High-Deductible Policies or MSA Administration
Excerpt: "MSA trustees are not required to determine whether distributions are used for medical care. Individual MSA holders, rather than MSA trustees, have the responsibility for determining qualified medical expenses and maintaining records of account distributions for qualified purposes.... A partial list of MSA vendors is attached. Other vendors can be identified by contacting an independent insurance agent in your area." (American Medical Association)
EBIA Announces Availability of Its Treatises in Innovative 'E-Book' Form
Excerpt: "Electronic (eBook) versions of the country's best employee benefit reference manuals are now available! The eBooks are downloadable PDF documents. The pages that appear on your computer screen look exactly the same as the pages in our three-ring binder print version. The best thing about the eBook is its fantastic search and navigation tools." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Reporting and Disclosure Requirements for Governmental and Nonelecting Church Plans (PDF)
8 pages. 4/2001. Prepared for CIGNA customers, but this well-done summary is useful for all governmental and non-ERISA church plans. Excerpt: "This special edition of CIGNA's Pension Analyst identifies ... reporting and disclosure requirements that apply to governmental and nonelecting church plans. In addition, it indicates what you need to provide or file and when. Finally, the summary indicates how CIGNA works with you to complete each reporting and disclosure task." (CIGNA's Pension Analyst)
Many Stock Option Holders Facing High Taxes
Excerpt: "Thousands of taxpayers are in ... binds after losing at the roulette many employee stockholders play with capital gains rules. But many tax specialists also blame the growing problem on the decades-old alternative minimum tax.... Today, the notoriously complicated AMT is increasingly snaring middle-income taxpayers and stock-options holders, forcing them to pay higher taxes. Also required is an additional, 62-line tax form [which] takes more than five hours to complete." (Associated Press, via Excite News)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| 401(k) and DC Plan Administrator | for Capax - Pension Services in Modesto, CA in CA |
| Sr. 401(k) Administrator | for A Non-Outsourcing Environment! in NC |
| PENSION ADMINISTRATORS | for Dynamic, GROWING Third Party Pension Administration / Investment Firm in KY |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| LifeMap Communications Names Jett Winter CEO (LifeMap Communications, Inc.) |
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