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The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Welfare Plans Edition
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September 26, 2001 - 6,325 subscribers
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(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)

House of Representatives Votes to Allow Benefits for District of Columbia Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "The House of Representatives yesterday voted to permit the District to extend health benefits to gay couples for the first time, using the city's $5.3 billion fiscal 2002 budget to wage a fierce debate over recognition of homosexual relationships." (Washington Post)

Analysis: Are 529 Plans Really That Extraordinary?
Excerpt: "This article provides several numeric simulations comparing Section 529 plans with other savings vehicles, and will show the impact of the new tax law on the results." (TIAA-CREF Institute)

How to Manage a Staff with Changed Attitudes After September 11 Tragedy
Excerpt: "Managing employee who are both traumatized and experiencing a sea change in their attitudes toward their work poses immediate and long-term challenges for bosses.... And over the coming months, they must figure out how to foster both teamwork and commitment among those they supervise -- qualities that will be crucial for coping with the deepening economic downturn and fight against terrorism." (CareerJournal.com)

Hospital Spending Drives Largest Health Care Cost Increase in Decade
Excerpt: "Contrary to conventional wisdom, hospital spending, not prescription drugs, accounted for the largest share of increased health care costs in 2000, according to a study by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC) published today.... Overall, health care costs increased 7.2 percent in 2000 ... with inpatient and outpatient hospital care accounting for nearly half, or 47 percent, of the overall increase, according to the study, 'Tracking Health Care Costs.'" (Center for Studying Health System Change)

Opinion: Managed Care Priorities for Reversing the Public Backlash (PDF)
Excerpt: "To reverse the backlash, you have to understand it. Many observers of the battle over patient protection have assumed that public hostility to managed care ('they don't manage and they don't care') was a direct result of the bad experiences suffered by a swelling tide of health plan members. It is not so." (Harris Interactive)

Long-Term Care: the Perfect Storm
Excerpt: "The burgeoning long term care crisis facing our nation has been forged by three powerful forces: a 'perfect storm,' if you will, of demographic, technological, and societal trends that are rapidly accelerating toward a fearful collision. The emotional and economic impact will be felt by millions of Americans for decades to come." (Brian Raftery and Carolyn Kates)

California Online HMO Report Card Rates 17 Healthcare Organizations
Excerpt: "The California Office of the Patient Advocate is pleased to present the first annual HMO Report Card. Please try it out and see how quality counts when choosing an HMO. The quality of medical care and service you get from HMOs is different from plan to plan. Some HMOs and their doctors get good grades. Others don't." (Department of Managed Care, State of California)

(Following items are in both editions of the BenefitsLink Newsletter)


New York PWBA Office Destroyed on September 11 But All Staff Evacuated Safely
Excerpt: "PWBA's New York Regional Office was evacuated safely from their building in the World Trade Center complex (WTC #6). The Regional Office was destroyed but our staff have been relocated to 201 Varick Street, New York, NY 10014. The new telephone number is (212) 337-2228. Additional information will be posted, as it is made available, on this website." (U.S. Department of Labor, Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration)




Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
Benefits Manager for RMH Teleservices
in PA
Benefits Consultant (actuarial) for Veritude A Fidelity Investments Company
in MA



Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!)
First GUST, then EGTRRA, and Finally A Completed Plan Document!?! on October 11, 2001
presented by ASPA

Subscribe to the Retirement Plans Edition, too (click)


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.