BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter for August 16, 2001

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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Welfare Plans Edition

August 16, 2001 - 6,189 subscribers

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House-Senate Patients' Rights Conference Committee to Focus on Lawsuits
Excerpt: "The question of whether a federal patients' rights law would override state laws is also up for debate. Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-Ga.), who brokered the compromise with President Bush that 'propel[led]' the House bill to victory, said that the deal would allow state patients' rights laws to remain in place, but Democrats 'contend' that the bill would override state laws." (KaiserNetwork.org)

DOL Sues Employer Over Use of Payments from Stop-Loss Health Insurer
Press release. Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor obtained a consent order [on August 10, 2001] in its lawsuit against officers of Decatur, Ill.-based Kelly Food Products, Inc. for failing to pay $81,382 in health claims from monies forwarded for that purpose by the plan's stop-loss insurer." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)

Massachusetts Governor to Extend Same-Sex Benefits to More State Employees
Excerpt: "Acting Governor Jane M. Swift said [Wednesday] that she is extending some domestic partnership benefits to gays and lesbians among the state's 70,000 employees, a step aides called unprecedented. The benefits, now available to a small number of gays in senior management, would include paid leave for workers to care for a same-sex partner who is ill, and bereavement leave for employees if a partner dies." (Boston Globe)

Seventh Circuit Awards Interest On Delinquent Contributions To Multiemployer Funds
The Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that multiemployer pension and welfare funds were entitled to interest on delinquent contributions as specified by the terms of collective bargaining agreements with an employer. The case is Operating Engineers Local 139 Health Benefit Fund, et al., v. Gustafson Construction Corporation (Nos. 00-3648 and 00-3870). (Spencernet)

Appeals Court Upholds Denial of Death Benefits To Estate of Individual Who Killed His Wife
The U.S. Federal Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a decision by the Merit Systems Protection Board denying death benefits to the estate of an individual who murdered his wife. The case is Clark v. Office of Personnel Management (No. 00-3239). (Spencernet)

Patient Protection Rules, Laws Poised To Move Forward
As Congress begins its August recess, two parallel trains are poised to continue their journey through the land of health care patient protections. The first train carries complex regulations issued under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. On July 6, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued guidance on key provisions of its final regulations governing the privacy of protected medical information as required by the HIPAA. (Spencernet)

Watson Wyatt Invites Participation in Survey of 2002 Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "This survey is designed to generate an early picture of how health care costs are shaping up for the coming year. [Watson Wyatt hopes] you'll consider taking a few minutes to respond, and [looks] forward to sharing the survey results with you in the near future. The survey results will be presented in a subsequent [issue of Watson Wyatt's] Insider [online magazine] (no results will be individually identified)." (Watson Wyatt)

Moving Your Organization's Focus from Managing Costs to Managing Health
Excerpt: "The first step in this mission is to keep our focus on the big picture: total health costs. The second step is to capture the elusive opportunity costs of stress, illness and injury. In other words, we need to capture the value of a healthy workplace, not only the cost of poor health." (Benefits Canada)

Analysis: IRS Finalizes Cost Maintenance Rules for Asset Transfers for Retiree Health Accounts
Excerpt: "The IRS has released final regulations dealing with the requirement that employers transferring excess assets from their defined benefit plan to a §401(h) account pursuant to §420 must provide retiree health benefits that satisfy a minimum cost standard for five years after the transfer." (Watson Wyatt)

(Following items also appear in Retirement Plans Edition)

American Express May Pay $15 Million to Settle Independent Contractor Suit
Excerpt: "American Express Co. has signed an agreement under which it will pay $15 million to settle a lawsuit brought by employees who had been classified as independent contractors.... The class members alleged that they were misclassified as independent contractors and sought retroactive coverage in all employee health, welfare, retirement and compensation plans, and payment of certain taxes." (StarTribune.com)

House Bill Would Exclude Incentive Stock Options From Taxable Income
Rep. Amo Houghton (N.Y.) has introduced H.R. 2695, which would amend the Internal Revenue Code to exclude from taxable income incentive stock options and gain realized from the disposition of stock under employee stock purchase plans. (Spencernet)

IASB Announces Project to Change Accounting Standards for Stock Options (PDF)
Excerpt: "The International Accounting Standards Board announced its agenda of nine technical projects on August 2. Included in its 'leadership' projects is a review of stock option and other equity grant accounting, which it calls 'Accounting for Share-Based Payments' ... The IASB decided to go ahead with this stock option project despite the advice of some members of its Advisory Council, notably the U.S.-based Financial Executives Institute ..." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)

HR Consultant - LT-010813-002

for Hewitt Associates LLC
in IL

Pension Administrative Consultant

for PenSys, Inc.
in CA

Administrative assistant

for The K Corporation
in TX

Pension Technical Research Consultant

for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY

Defined Benefit Administration Specialist

for Consulting Actuaries Incorporated
in NJ

Director of Benefits

for VoiceStream Wireless
in WA

Daily Account Administration/Pension Analyst

for M.L. Kerns & Associates, Inc.
in TX

Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!)

Deferred Compensation and the Current Market

on August 22, 2001
presented by Brokerville.com

Equity Compensation in Turbulent Times

on August 23, 2001
presented by Clark/Bardes Consulting - Compensation Resource Group

Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)

Introduction to Employee Ownership Plans

in MI on October 11, 2001
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership