| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
June 27, 2001
Today's sponsor: The International Quality & Productivity Center (click)
The International Quality & Productivity Center presents a powerful conference on "Winning Strategies for Measuring & Improving Work/Life Initiatives," July 30-August 1, 2001 at the Hyatt Regency in San Francisco, CA. By attending, you will from over 12 leading organizations on how to improve your workforce and become an "employer of choice," including: Texas Instruments, Inc., Fannie Mae, Eddie Bauer, Inc., DuPont, Wachovia Bank, WFD Consulting, Boston College Center for Work & Family and many more! For more information, please call 1-800-882-8684 or visit: http://www.iqpc.com/G067worklife160701
Physical Confrontation Between Airline Employees in Front of Passengers is Gross Misconduct
Nakisa v. Continental Airlines (S.D. Tex. 2001). Excerpt: "An employee who is terminated for gross misconduct does not experience a COBRA qualifying event, so no COBRA election needs to be offered to the employee or to the employee's covered spouse or dependents. However, COBRA does not define gross misconduct." (EBIA Weekly)
Administrator Abused Its Discretion in Determining Rehabilitation Therapy Services Were Custodial
Castillo v. CIGNA Healthcare (9th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "The plaintiff in this case suffered severe head injuries, and her treating physicians referred her to a facility where she was evaluated by physical and occupational therapists and participated in a daily structured program to retrain her in basic physical and cognitive skills." (EBIA Weekly)
Court May Review Health Insurance Case
Excerpt: "The United States Supreme Court asked the Justice Department today for its views on laws that bar health care plans from setting up closed networks of doctors, pharmacies and other medical providers. The health insurance industry has been fighting so-called any-willing- provider laws ... in 24 states. The laws generally require health plans with preferred provider networks to pay for coverage provided by any doctor who has accepted the plan's payment terms." (New York Times; free registration required)
D.C.-Area County Expands Domestic Benefit Policy
Excerpt: "The Montgomery County Council yesterday ratified a labor agreement that will extend health and retirement benefits to the live-in partners of heterosexual county police department employees, a move that follows a growing national trend to put unmarried heterosexual and gay and lesbian couples on equal footing." (Washington Post)
Tax Law Expands Dependent Care and Adoption Credits
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-16) made significant changes to Tax Code provisions for employer-provided assistance for dependent care and for adoptions. (SpencerNet)
Computer Consultant Retains Workers, Clients with Unusual Policies
Excerpt: "[CEO Cynthia] Driskill shares proprietary information with serious job candidates before they join, including financial data and details of past mistakes she's made as CEO. 'One reason we have such a strong culture and such a low turnover rate is we're real clear about what we do well and where we've fallen down,' she says. Benefits are now written policies rather than catch-as-catch-can." (Knight Ridder/Tribune)
Patients' Rights Bill Continues to Evolve in Senate
Excerpt: "In the Senate today, lawmakers will likely address 'some of the thorniest disputes in the bill.' Lawmakers will likely vote on an amendment sponsored by Sens. Nelson and Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) that would prohibit independent reviewers from ordering coverage of benefits 'specifically excluded' or 'expressly limited' in an insurance contract." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Memorandum to Plan Administrators on Department of Labor's Final Rule on Claims and Appeals
June 4, 2001. Excerpt: "Last November the Department of Labor issued a final claims and appeals regulation applicable to all health and disability claims filed after December 31, 2001.... Procedural changes include requirements that plans ... decide 'urgent' health care claims within 72 hours, and that they use different decision makers and different medical experts at the appeal stage than those used for the initial claim decision." (Kraw & Kraw)
Texas Governor Warns Insurance Companies To Pay Up
Excerpt: "Days after vetoing a bill intended to speed payments to doctors by insurance companies, Gov. Rick Perry warned insurance representatives Monday they'd better pay claims promptly anyway." (Austin American Statesman)
Patients' Rights Pick Up Momentum in 2 Senate Votes
Excerpt: "By a vote of 57 to 43, the Senate rejected a Republican proposal to provide employers with complete immunity against lawsuits by employees who challenge the denial of their claims for health benefits.... The other victory for Democrats came in a 61- to-39 vote that defeated a measure to pull the bill from the floor." (New York Times; free registration required)
Health Care Bill Clears Big Hurdle in Senate
Excerpt: "Patients' rights legislation cleared a major hurdle in the Senate yesterday as Democrats handily defeated a Republican proposal to exempt employers from all health care lawsuits, boosting the prospects for compromise and for passage of the long-stalled measure." (Washington Post)
Opinion: Patients' Rights Bill is Meaningless to the Uninsured
Excerpt: "Nevertheless, as I watch the heat and light -- and money -- being expended over the question 'to sue or not to sue,' I'm beginning to long for a little perspective. This isn't a Patients' Bill of Rights. It's a Bill of Rights for People Who Have Insurance. It's a bill of rights without the right to health care." (Ellen Goodman in the Buffalo News)
New Jersey Patients' Rights Bill Would Be Tough on HMOs
Excerpt: "While Congress grabs the headlines with its fight over a federal law guaranteeing patients a bill of rights, New Jersey lawmakers are poised to pass one of the strongest laws in the nation permitting lawsuits against HMOs. The measure appears nearly certain to pass in the Assembly on Thursday, and is expected to win a quick concurrence from the state Senate. Acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco has promised to sign it." (Knight Ridder/Tribune)
Senate Rejects Republican Amendment to Patients Rights Bill Providing Absolute Employer Immunity
Excerpt: "The 57-43 vote came as backers of the bill prevailed over Republican predictions that businesses would cancel insurance rather than run the risk of legal liability. The vote was accompanied by a series of private meetings in which senators, prodded by the White House, labored to resolve differences over the employer liability question, pre-emption of state laws in the area of patients' rights and other sticking points." (Associated Press)
Non-profit Independent Review Organizations to Handle HMO Appeals Under Washington State Law
Press release. Excerpt: "The Office of the Insurance Commissioner will refer cases on a rotational registry basis to independent review organizations (IROs) such as PRO-West, the only Washington-based organization certified to provide those services. Patients and physicians can lodge appeals. Decisions by the IRO will be binding on the health plan." (PR Newswire, via Yahoo! Finance)
House Republicans Unveil Their Own Patients' Rights Compromise
Excerpt: "The bill gives patients a limited right to sue in state court if they are injured after their health maintenance organization (HMO) refuses to follow a treatment decision by an outside review panel to which the patient had appealed ... The [bill] protects employers who provide health insurance from being sued by limiting liability to a 'dedicated decision-maker,' typically the HMO." (CNN.com)
Bush, Senators Press for Deal on Patients' Rights
Excerpt: "A far-reaching patients' bill of rights gained momentum in the Senate on Tuesday as Democrats beat back Republican amendments and key lawmakers hammered out a compromise to limit employer liability, putting pressure on President Bush to drop his veto threat." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
HCFA Renamed and Reorganized as New Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Excerpt: "The HIPAA functions that have been within the scope of HCFA (such as issuing the Insurance Standards Bulletins...) will continue to be handled by the renamed agency, as part of the Center for Medicaid and State Operations." (EBIA Weekly)
HMOs Show First Annual Decrease in Enrollment
Excerpt: "The most recent edition of InterStudy's HMO Industry Report shows an annual decrease in total HMO enrollment for the first time since InterStudy began tracking enrollment in 1973. Total HMO enrollment in the United States dropped from 81.3 million as of January 1, 1999, to 80.9 million as of January 1, 2000..." (Medscape; free registration required)
Annual Study of Small-to-Midsize and Large Company Boards: 2001 (PDF)
24 pages. Includes statistics on board compensation matters: retainer fees, board meeting fees, non-cash compensation, stock-option grants, stock awards, more. (The Segal Company)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| 401(k)/DC Pension Consultant | for CBIZ Retirement Services Inc. in NY |
| Benefits Policy/Negotiations Project Managers | for University of California in CA |
| Benefits Policy/Negotiations Consultant | for University of California in CA |
| Sales Consultant | for Transamerica - The Winning Organization in TX |
| Sr. DB Supervisor | for Prestigious, privately held, full service consulting firm in CA |
| Consulting Services Supervisor | for A client who loves small to mid-size niche experience! in CA |
| DC Plan Administrator | for Aspen Pension Administrators, Inc. in NM |
| Retirement Plan Director | for CapTrust Financial Advisors in NC |
| ERISA Attorney | for ADP, Inc. in NJ |
| Director of Compliance | for Interactive Retirement Systems, Ltd. in MN |
| Health Plan Auditor/Consultant - LT-010626-004 | for Hewitt Associates LLC in IL |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| Getting the Most out of your ESOP: Building a High Performance Culture Through Employee Ownership | in MO on September 24, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Chicago (Oak Lawn) | in IL on October 2, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Atlanta | in GA on October 2, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Phoenix | in AZ on October 2, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Spokane, WA | in WA on October 2, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Evansville | in IN on October 9, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Davenport | in IA on October 9, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Houston | in TX on October 9, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Salt Lake City | in UT on October 9, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Omaha | in NE on October 16, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Ft. Lauderdale | in FL on October 16, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Las Vegas | in NV on October 16, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Lexington, KY | in KY on October 16, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - El Paso | in TX on October 22, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Minneapolis | in MN on October 23, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Indianapolis | in IN on October 23, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Dallas | in TX on October 23, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
| FMLA; Coordinating FMLA, ADA, and Workers' Comp; COBRA; HIPAA; and Section 125 - Peoria | in IL on October 23, 2001 presented by A.E. Roberts Company |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services Lands Real Estate Firm's 401(k) Business (CIGNA Retirement & Investment Services) |
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