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September 11, 2001 - 6,306 subscribers
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Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Backs Contraceptive Coverage Bill at Senate Committee Hearing
Excerpt: "Lawmakers from both parties say a federal law would help women avoid unwanted pregnancies and reduce health costs associated with pregnancies. Employers, who provide the bulk of health policies, argue that the requirement would drive up the cost of providing coverage and leave many women uninsured." (Associated Press, via Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel)
Council Urges Senate Not to Allow Both Federal and State Regulation of Contraceptive Coverage
Excerpt: "Under the proposed bill all employer-sponsored health plans would be required to cover prescription contraceptive drugs and devices approved by the Food and Drug Administration as well as outpatient contraceptive services. The legislation also includes a provision authorizing further state law mandates if they provide protections to health plan enrollees 'greater than' the protections provided under the bill." (American Benefits Council)
Free Recorded Webcast: the Current Status of the HIPAA Regulations and Enforcement Approaches
Presentation made June 21, 2001. Available in high and low bandwidth in either Windows Media or Real Player formats. Link recommended by http://www.HIPAASummit.com (Deputy Director, Office of Civil Rights, Department of Health and Human Services)
HIPAA's Inner Workings: Data Standards Could Help You
Excerpt: "Use of the HIPAA standards (the final rule was published in the Aug. 17, 2000 Federal Register) is expected to provide true 'administrative simplification' to reduce errors, lower costs and simplify claims filing and processing. It is also likely to increase the use of electronic data interchange in health care, moving the field toward eventual replacement of paper-based transactions." (Medscape; free registration required)
Small Businesses Must Weigh the Benefits to Stay Competitive in Shrinking Skilled Labor Pool
Excerpt: "In today's labor market, corporate losses are small-business gains. For the first time in years, as the resumes of the downsized land on their desks, small-business owners are reporting that they are experiencing little trouble filling job openings. They acknowledge, however, that the easy pickings in the labor pool won't last once the economy recovers and corporations start hiring again.... Employers are facing a workforce shortfall of 5 million by 2006 ..." (Business Week via Yahoo! Finance)
Employee Who Elected to Pay Premiums With After-Tax Dollars Not Taxed on Disability Payments
Thomas v. Commissioner (Tax Court Summary Opinion 2001-136, Sept. 5, 2001). Excerpt: "Although the employer sponsored a 'premium conversion' (also called premium-only or premium payment) plan giving participants the opportunity to pay for insurance premiums with pre-tax dollars, the employee chose instead to pay his disability premiums with after-tax dollars." (EBIA Weekly)
Medical Plan's Denial of Benefits For Spouse's Job-Related Injury Upheld
Mitchell v. Dialysis Clinic, Inc. (6th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "The employee submitted a claim to the plan for medical expenses incurred as a result of her husband's broken ankle and foot, which were injured when he fell from a scaffold while working. The employer's plan, which was subject to ERISA, denied benefits on the basis of an exclusion for on-the-job injuries or illnesses." (EBIA Weekly)
Telecommuting for Federal Employees Moving Along at Snail's Pace, Report Finds
Excerpt: "While the percentage of federal employees who telecommute at least once a week has doubled since 1998, the number of employees participating in telework and telecommuting programs remains small, according to an interim report on teleworking from the Office of Personnel Management." (GovExec.com)
Future Shock: Fringe Benefits Binge Unworkable
Excerpt: "It's 2011, the year of Which Company Can Give Its Employees the Most Work/Life Benefits ... What's so wonderful about offering worker-friendly benefits beyond the stereotypical telecommuting, job sharing and flexible hours that everyone has today is that it's a self-perpetuating process: Once you start, it's hard to stop." (Chicago Tribune)
Employee Loyalty pays at Vanguard
Excerpt: "Spend time with workers at the Vanguard Group, the nation's second-largest mutual-fund company, and you begin to understand why people work there-- and keep on working there. They don't stay for the on-site fitness center or in-house dry cleaning and car maintenance, though those services are plenty attractive. The real reasons people stay are more personal and come down to something basic: workers say they feel the company is loyal to them." (Philadelphia Daily News)
The Patients' Bill of Rights: Where It Will Land, Nobody Knows
Excerpt: "In spite of the fact that the bills are practically identical, there is plenty of doubt as to whether the two legislative bodies will be able to resolve their remaining differences in a manner that will also be acceptable to President Bush. Let's take a look at the major provisions of the two bills and the major criticisms of them." (HRHero.com)
Insurance Brokers, Once Rejected, Wooed Back by Harvard Pilgrim Execs
Excerpt: "After shunning insurance brokers for several years, Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare Inc. is now reaching out to them as a means of expanding its business. The move underscores the competition heating up this year as the state's three largest insurers--all finally in the black--plan to unveil new products. And with insurance premiums from the three health plans slated to rise by up to 15 percent in 2002, employers will be looking for brokers to win them the best deal." (Boston Business Journal)
Confidentiality Concerns Do Not Justify Refusal to Furnish Requested Plan Documents
Staib v. Vaughn Indus., Inc. (N.D. Ohio 2001). Excerpt: "[T]he documents requested consisted of 'the plan and related documents.' The employer did not dispute that the documents were subject to disclosure. Rather, it insisted that the documents were proprietary because it had paid to have them prepared. Thus, it argued, the employee should be obligated to keep the documents confidential." (EBIA Weekly)
Grocery Vouchers Issued to Retirees For Life Is ERISA Pension Plan
Musmeci v. Schwegmann Giant Supermarkets, et al. (E.D. La. 2001). Excerpt: "[The issue is] whether a program under which grocery vouchers were provided to former employees upon retirement (and continuing until their death) could be terminated ... In 1985, the majority shareholder of a supermarket chain designed an arrangement to ensure that long-term employees would always 'have food on their tables.' ... Retirees under the program received $216 worth of vouchers each month until they died." (EBIA Weekly)
Paying Employee Benefit Plan Expenses (PDF)
Originally published April, 2001. Excerpt: "This Benefits Perspectives Update examines the implications of the DOL's guidance on paying plan expenses from a trust." (Milliman USA)
Opinion: Stock Market's Bubble Exposed an Options Mirage
Excerpt: "During the stock market's wild run-up not so long ago, compensation consultants could be found touting options as a powerful engine for growth, generating prosperity not only for America's executives but for the nation as a whole. U.S. companies were growing much faster than their German and Japanese rivals, these experts claimed, because our executives got lots of options, and theirs didn't. That argument hasn't been heard a lot lately." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
Holding the Line on Salaries and Benefits
Excerpt: "HR is in a squeeze play. There's pressure to raise (or maintain) salaries to stay competitive. But there's an equal push to cut costs. Salaries and benefits are tempting targets. Here's what companies are doing to hold the line." (Workforce.com)
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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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