BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter for May 11, 2001

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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Welfare Plans Edition

May 11, 2001

Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Webcast (click)

   Determination of Required Minimum Retirement and Death
Distributions from Qualified Plans, IRAs, 457(b) Plans
and 403(b) Plans   Presented LIVE on Monday May 14th at 1 p.m. EST.   Instructor: Larry Grudzien of Buck Consultants

Beware of Predatory HIPAA Consultants
Excerpt: "As the health care industry prepares for complex regulations that will affect most of its systems and business processes, IT managers advise taking cautious steps to avoid being exploited by consultants. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) presents a lucrative opportunity for so-called experts, since noncompliance by health care officials can result in stiff fines and even jail time." (Computerworld)

Coping With Insecurities: What to Do When Patient Privacy Is Compromised
May 2001 issue. Excerpt: "When patient privacy is compromised, how can healthcare management best deal with the ensuing calamity, handle the media, and make it through to the other side?" (Healthcare Business)

ERISA Did Not Preempt Union Funds' State Law Claims Seeking To Recover Overdue Contributions
he Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that ERISA did not preempt multiemployer trust funds' claims under state law seeking to recover delinquent contributions. The ruling came in Southern California IBEW-NECA Trust Funds, et al. v. Standard Industrial Electric Company, et al. (SpencerNet)

Doctors May Proceed In Gathering Evidence For Case Against HMOs
Excerpt: "A federal judge in Florida gave physicians suing the nation's largest health maintenance organizations the green light Wednesday to proceed in collecting evidence to prove their case." (The Dallas Morning News)

Consumer, Insurance Groups Oppose Bill to Allow Small Businesses to Form Association Health Plans
Excerpt: "Consumer and insurance groups are opposing legislation that would allow small businesses and associations to 'pool their resources' to form association health plans because they fear the plans would 'escape state regulations,' CongressDaily reports. The bill, reintroduced Wednesday in the House and Senate, would set 'minimum solvency standards,' grant states an oversight role and require plans to pay state taxes that would fund small group risk pools." (KaiserNetwork.org)

House Republicans Ask Bush to Ease New Patient Privacy Rules
Excerpt: "House Ways and Means Committee Chair Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) and Ways and Means health subcommittee Chair Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) sent President Bush a letter on May 10 asking him to make 'major changes' in medical privacy rules that were issued by the Clinton administration, the New York Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

House Republicans Urge Bush to Ease Health Care Rules
Excerpt: "Influential House Republicans told President Bush today that he should make major changes in new rules that protect the privacy of medical records. Otherwise, they said, Congress would need to make the changes because some of the rules were unworkable." (New York Times; free registration required)

Group: Many Working Moms Not Insured
Excerpt: "Millions of mothers are too poor to buy health insurance but earn too much to get public aid, a private advocacy group said Thursday." (Washington Post)

(Following items also appear in Retirement Plans Edition)

Rabbi Trusts Holding Parent Stock Must Be Amended By May 16, 2001 To Avoid Adverse Tax Treatment
Excerpt: "Where a subsidiary is the grantor of a rabbi trust created for the benefit of the subsidiary's employees and the trust holds stock of the subsidiary's parent, distribution of the parent stock to the subsidiary's employees may result in the recognition of gain ... Gain recognition can be avoided, however, if the rabbi trust is amended ... This amendment will not be treated as a constructive dividend to the parent if it is adopted on or before May 16, 2001." (Pillsbury Winthrop LLP)

Demutualization: How to Handle an Employee Benefit Windfall
Excerpt: "When the arcane word 'demutualization' pops up in the news, CFOs should pinch themselves to stay awake--and read on. The reason? If an employee benefits provider demutualizes, or transforms itself from a mutual to a stock company, its policyholders could get million-dollar windfalls in cash or stock in the resulting IPO. That, in turn, could trigger the need to make thorny risk management choices promptly." (CFO.com)

Taking Stock of Option Repricing
Excerpt: "[Stock option] repricing is not such a simple process. Companies consider accounting standards, SEC regulations, and tax consequences, which can be uncontrollable when repricing occurs on the same day or within a short-term time frame." (InfoWorld.com)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)

ERISA-Benefits Attorney

for ARIS Corporation
in PA

401(k) Sr. Administrator

for Fast-Growing Benefits Firm
in CA

Health and Welfare Implementation

for Buck Consultants, Inc., A Mellon Consulting Company
in NJ

Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)