| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
August 31, 2001 - 6,288 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Glasser LegalWorks
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This timely "how to" program will address new DOL claims procedures, the avoidance of fiduciary liability after the Harris Trust decision, identifying conduct that might trigger a DOL investigation under its Strategic Enforcement Plan, and more. Designed for ERISA fiduciaries, investment advisors, and in-house, corporate, tax, labor, and insurance counsel. September 21 in Chicago; October 24 in New York.
(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Actuaries Say Protecting Genetic Information Is Dangerous
Excerpt: "Congressional proposals to restrict health insurance companies' access to genetic test results could damage the industry's ability to underwrite affordable insurance, actuarial experts said Wednesday at a Capitol Hill briefing sponsored by the American Academy of Actuaries. Experts warned that privacy bills currently under consideration in Washington define genetic testing so broadly that health insurers will not have enough information to set appropriate prices for coverage." (Medscape; free registration required)
Flight Attendant's Fight in Front of Passengers Constitutes Gross Misconduct, Court Rules
Excerpt: "An airline properly denied COBRA coverage due to gross misconduct when a flight attendant fought with a fellow employee in front of airline passengers and used a racial slur in violation of the airline's employee relations policy, a federal district court in Texas ruled. The case is Nakisa v. Continental Airlines, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20784 (S.D. Tex., May 9, 2001)." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Fifth Circuit Reverses Award of Disability Benefits, Damages On Grounds of ERISA Preemption
The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has vacated a jury's award of long term disability benefits and damages for emotional distress to a former salesman on the grounds that ERISA preempted the salesman's state law claims for those benefits and damages. The case is Hollis v. Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company and Paul Revere Insurance Group (No. 99-60877). (Spencernet)
Employee Subject To Lifting Restriction Was Not "Disabled" Under the ADA: Eighth Circuit
An employee who was subject to a 40-pound lifting restriction was not 'disabled' within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, as a result, her termination did not violate the ADA. This was the decision of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Brunko v. Mercy Hospital (No. 00-2989). (Spencernet)
Eighth Circuit Affirms Expanded Corporate Aircraft Deductions
Excerpt: "In Sutherland Lumber-Southwest, Inc., v. Commissioner (No. 00-2827, July 3, 2001), the Tax Court allowed an employer to deduct the full costs of letting company executives vacation via the company plane, even though the executives reported much less." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Opinion: Paid Leave Politics
Excerpt: "[T]he notion of government-mandated, paid family leave regrettably is acquiring an aura of political inevitability in Massachusetts -- tapping into conservatives' family values sentiments and liberals' fondness for social welfare programs." (Worcester [Mass.] Telegram & Gazette)
Analysis: EEOC Announces Rescission of Erie Enforcement Position
Excerpt: "[O]n August 20, the EEOC officially announced that it will undertake a significant review of how [ADEA] affects employer-sponsored retiree health care plans. In doing so, it rescinded the portions of its enforcement manual that dealt with health insurance provided to retired employees, stating that 'the Commission wishes to study further the relationship between certain employer practices regarding the provision of retiree health benefits and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act.'" (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)
Health Insurers Fight Back Against Pharmaceutical Marketing Clout
Excerpt: "Insurers are writing letters to consumers and doctors, asking them to reconsider their prescription choices and call their attention to cheaper alternatives. They are also planning to substantially increase the co-payment for new drugs and medicines for which effective alternatives exist at lower cost. Prescription drug costs rose 16.3 percent last year and expected to grow nearly 20 percent both this year and in 2002 ..." (Boston Globe)
Guide to Federal Patients' Bill of Rights Debate
11 pages. Excerpt: "The first section gives an overview of private health insurance market regulation ... The second section examines areas of consensus in the patient protection debate relating to such issues as access to care and information, scope of coverage and preemption. And, the final section provides a discussion of the key differences between the House and Senate bills-- in particular, how they handle external review of health plan decisions and liability." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
New Survey on Consumer Experiences with Health Plans
Excerpt: "A new Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health survey found that more than six in ten privately insured American adults under age 65 give their health plans a grade of A or B, but nearly half report having some type of problem with their health plan in the last year with a range of consequences for the consumer. The survey found strong support for the right-to-sue a health plan, but also a willingness to accept limits on damages." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
American Association of Health Plans: New Poll Confirms Americans' Skepticism of New Rights to Sue
Press release. Excerpt: "American consumers are highly concerned about rising health care costs that would result from a new right to sue managed care plans, according to a new survey released today by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. The survey confirms recent polling conducted by AAHP, which reveals deep public skepticism toward unlimited new lawsuits in the health care system." (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Consumers Union Attacks House Version of Patients' Rights Bill
Excerpt: "Consumer advocates criticized a House bill meant to give patients new leverage against their HMOs and contended Thursday that the measure actually would make it harder to win sufficient jury awards." (Associated Press via Washington Post)
U.S. Health Plans Get Good Reviews
Excerpt: "Nearly half of Americans say they have had a problem with their health plan during the past year but still give it a pretty high grade, according to survey results released yesterday. The plans got grades of A or B from 62 percent of the 1,205 people who participated in the survey, which was conducted by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the nonprofit health charity, along with the Harvard University School of Public Health." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Another Question is Answered in the Stock Options, Restricted Stock and Other Long-Term Employment Incentives Q&A Column
Do most defined benefit plans include stock options as part of compensation for plan purposes? If so, what definition is typically used: grant value, exercise price, Black-Scholes value, etc.? (BenefitsLink.com)
Report on the American Workforce 2001
Excerpt: "The 20th century was a remarkable period for the American worker, as wages rose, fringe benefits grew, and working conditions improved.... The American workforce was much better off at the end of the century than it was at the beginning. And the statistics used to understand the condition of working Americans also improved over the course of the century, as we discuss in this Report on the American Workforce." (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
EGTRRA's Reduction in Supplemental Wage Withholding Rate May Affect Accounting for Stock Options
Excerpt: "The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 ... changes the flat income tax withholding rate for supplemental wage payments. Supplemental wages include not only bonuses, commissions, and overtime pay, but also gains realized by employees when they exercise stock options.... This change in the minimum supplemental wage withholding rate has a collateral effect on certain accounting rules that apply to employee stock option plans." (White & Case, L.L.P.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| 401(k)/DC Pension Consultant | for CBIZ Retirement Services Inc. in NY |
| Risk Management Specialist | for Mellon Employee Benefit Solutions in NJ |
| Benefits Administrator | for Edwards & Angell, LLP in RI |
| Account Manager Benefits Broker | for NCC in CA |
| Retirement Plan Administrator | for Charter One Bank in OH |
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Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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