| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
July 6, 2001
Today's sponsor: Guide to the Form 5500 Series: 2001 Edition for 2000 Plan Years (click)
The Guide to the Form 5500 Series: 2001 Edition for 2000 Plan Years provides plan administrators concise, complete explanations of the forms, schedules, and instructions in the Form 5500 Series, which was revamped last year. Written by respected author and lecturer Valeri L. Stevens. Just $134, but what a time-saver! Click for more details or to order online now.
New Strategies to Avoid ERISA Preemption
Excerpt: "The refusal of many federal courts to apply State insurance bad faith law to insurers and HMOs which contract with ERISA plans, in spite of ERISA's 'insurance saving clause', 29 USC 1144(b)(2)(A), is due primarily to their interpretation of the Supreme Court's decision in Pilot Life v. Dedeaux. They have assumed that ERISA's weak civil enforcement provisions, 29 USC 1132(a), were meant to be exclusive. Two recent cases suggest that this was not the Supreme Court's intent ..." (Health Administration Research Project)
Another Question is Answered in the Cafeteria Plans Q&A Column
For years, we've been filing a Form 5500 with Schedule A (Insurance Information) for our major medical plan. In 2000, we adopted a cafeteria plan that lets people salary reduce on a pre-tax basis to pay for their share of the medical insurance premiums and contribute to a health FSA and DCAP. What new annual reporting obligations do we have as a result of the cafeteria plan? (BenefitsLink.com)
Unlikely Leaders Face Off Over Patients' Rights
Excerpt: "Each, in his own right, could have found himself an easy target for abuse in the Senate's debate on the patients' bill of rights legislation. Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.), after all, made his fortune as a trial lawyer ... Sen. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), on the other hand, is a surgeon whose family started what has become the world's largest hospital conglomerate ..." (Los Angeles Times)
Opinion: Improving Americans' Health Care Coverage Through Defined Contributions
Excerpt: "The debate in Washington over enacting a patients' bill of rights ignores the potential results of that approach: a barrage of lawsuits that will further increase health care costs and compound, not solve, the nation's health care problems. A far more effective means of addressing the health care needs of Americans is to foster a system that offers employees and their families a defined contribution to the health plan of their choice." (Heritage Foundation)
Norwood Warns GOP On Patients' Rights Bill
Excerpt: "U.S. Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.) warned fellow Republicans that efforts to kill the Senate-approved patients' rights bill will cost them control of the House in the 2002 election." (Modern Health Care)
Doctor-Patient Relationship Hindered By Direct-to-Consumer Drug Ads, Op-Ed Says
The cost of prescription drugs is a major component of the recent increase in health care premiums. Excerpt: "Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising 'has become part of our pill culture,' making it difficult for physicians to 'control' their relationships with patients, Ivan Oransky, editor of the online medical magazine Praxis Post, writes in a USA Today op-ed." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser CCH Incorporated
Excerpt: "Compliance Desktop software from CCH saves time, reduces repetition and ensures accuracy in administering both Stock Options and Employee Stock Purchase Plans. The Stock Options module is a tool for facilitating the entire options plan and The Employee Stock Purchase Plan module facilitates administration of stock purchase plans. Both modules are fully integrated to work with one another and can be purchased together or individually."
Employer Costs For Employee Compensation - March 2001
Excerpt: "In March 2001, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers in private industry and State and local government in the United States averaged $22.15 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $16.07, accounted for approximately 73 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.08, accounted for the remaining 27 percent." (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Defined Contribution Plan Administrator | for Texas Benefit Planning, Inc. in TX |
| Pension Plan Administrator | for Benefit Associates, Inc. - Orange, CA in CA |
| Defined Benefit Pension Administrator | for Financial Planning Firm in CA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| The Third Annual Employers' Roundtable Summit on Health Plan Administration | in DC on April 10, 2002 presented by International Business Forum |
| Introduction to ESOPs | in IL on October 3, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to ESOPs | in MA on October 4, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to ESOPs | in CA on October 4, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to ESOPs | in MN on October 9, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to ESOPs | in CA on October 9, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Introduction to ESOPs | in IA on October 10, 2001 presented by National Center for Employee Ownership |
| Online Study Group for Course 2 | in ALL STATES on September 10, 2001 presented by IFEBP/Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) Program; co-sponsor The Wharton School |
| Online Study Group for Course 4 | in ALL STATES on September 4, 2001 presented by IFEBP/Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) Program; co-sponsor The Wharton School |
| Online Study Group for Course 7 | in ALL STATES on September 4, 2001 presented by IFEBP/Certified Employee Benefit Specialist (CEBS) Program; co-sponsor The Wharton School |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Capital Financial Group/H. Beck, Inc. Joins with 401kExchange! (401kExchange.com) |
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