| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
September 27, 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)
Bipartisan Consensus Forming on Helping Uninsured; COBRA Subsidies Discussed
Excerpt: "Few people who are eligible actually use their COBRA benefits because premiums tend to be high at a time when the unemployed have little in the way of continuing income. Helping displaced airline workers to pay their COBRA premiums has been a provision of several bills to help that struggling industry. But now lawmakers see it as a potential aid for those in other industries." (Reuters Health via Excite News)
House Approves D.C.'s Law on Rights of Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "The House ended nine years of blocking a District of Columbia domestic partners law today, adopting the measure 226 to 194 despite opposition by most of the Republican leadership. Since Washington's City Council passed it in 1992, Congress has thwarted the measure, which would allow city employees to buy health insurance at group rates for their unmarried partners." (New York Times; free registration required)
GSA Issues 2002 CONUS Per Diem Rates
Excerpt: "Many private employers apply the CONUS rates to their travel reimbursements because the rates reflect variations in business travel expenses in hundreds of locations in the United States. In addition, the CONUS rates indicate the maximum excludable benefit for business travel expenses. As long as an employer's reimbursements do not exceed the CONUS per diem rates set by the GSA ... the reimbursements are not taxable to employees and are deductible by the employer." (Thompson Publishing Group)
OPM Recommends Telecommuting as Way to Help Federal Employees Cope
Excerpt: "Federal agencies should include telecommuting initiatives as part of recovery efforts for federal workers displaced or traumatized by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, the Office of Personnel Management has recommended." (GovExec.com)
Medical, Dental, Prescription Drugs: Ain't Retirement Grand? More Companies Encourage Retirement
Excerpt: "Suddenly, with revenues shrinking and with a recession in full sway, employers are doing everything they can to convince employees to leave. Ironically, though, the approach to losing workers is the same as it was for retaining workers: Offer attractive benefits." (CFO.com)
Northwest Airlines to Provide Relief Package of Benefits for Laid-off Employees
Excerpt: "The package announced today provides base pay for between one and six weeks, depending on how many years the worker has been with Northwest. Also, it provides medical coverage and full travel privileges through Dec. 31." (StarTribune.com)
Employers Today Helping Workers Buy Homes
Excerpt: "Employer-assisted housing programs typically provide assistance through a grant or forgivable loan used to cover a down payment or closing costs. But other programs exist, as well, including savings plans and programs that provide ownership counseling in partnership with local financial institutions." (Washington Times)
Delta Announces Voluntary Job Reduction Programs
Press release. Excerpt: "Delta has developed six voluntary job reduction programs available to non-union Delta employees in the United States and Puerto Rico. These programs are not available to company directors or officers. Delta subsidiaries will develop their own programs. The programs are ..." (PR Newswire via Excite News)
Aetna Makes Special Accommodations For Customers Affected By September 11 Terrorist Attacks
In response to the September 11 terrorist attacks, Aetna has announced that it has extended flexibility, enhanced crisis counseling on site and via telephone, and simplified and accelerated its ability to handle claims processing. Aetna is one of the many insurance companies that has been making special accommodations for its customers affected by the tragedies. (Spencernet)
Analysis: Expanded Mental Health Parity Bill to Be Considered by Senate
Excerpt: "S. 543 ... would go beyond MHPA's prohibitions regarding annual and lifetime limits to include prohibitions on: (1) 'financial requirements' such as deductibles, coinsurance, copayments and other cost sharing and limitations; and (2) 'treatment limitations,' which are defined as 'limitations on the frequency of treatment, number of visits or days of coverage or other limits on the duration or scope of treatment under the plan or coverage.'" (Thompson Publishing Group)
Hospitals, Drugs Cited in Price Hikes
Excerpt: "Larger hospital bills and rising prices for prescription drugs drove last year's large jump in health care costs, according to a private analysis released Wednesday. At the same time, the premiums people pay to carry health insurance are going up even faster than the cost of health care itself, the report by the Center for Studying Health System Change said. The center attributed that rise to the desire of insurance companies for profits after several lean years." (Associated Press via Yahoo! News)
Congress to Boost Funding of Mental Health Care; Vote on Mental Health Parity Bill Uncertain
Excerpt: "The committee heard from a panel of mental health experts, some of whom have spent the two weeks since the attacks treating survivors and family members suffering from mental trauma. The experts warned that children across the country will need counseling in order to properly cope with memories of the events and the fear of future assaults." (Medscape; free registration required)
IRS Extends Through 2002 Relief From Reporting of Nonstatutory Stock Options
In Announcement 2001-92, the Internal Revenue Service extends through the year 2002 the relief from mandatory reporting of compensation resulting from employer-provided nonstatutory stock options on Form W-2. Specifically, the announcement provides that, with respect to W-2 forms issued for the year 2002, the use of Code V-Income from the exercise of nonstatutory stock options, is optional. (Spencernet)
IRS Sets Up E-Mail Address For Businesses With Questions Related To Terrorist Attacks
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it has activated an electronic mailbox to provide assistance and answers to business taxpayers affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks. Businesses can send their questions to the following e-mail address: corp.disaster.relief@irs.gov. (Spencernet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Retirement Plans Analyst | for M&M/MARS in NJ |
| Retirement Plan Services Operations Manager--Cleveland, OH | for KeyCorp in OH |
| Implementation Services - Project Manager | for CitiStreet - A State Street and Citigroup company in MA |
| Communications Consultant | for New York Life Benefit Services, LLC in MA |
| Director, Plan Administration & Sponsored Programs | for United Way in IL |
| Pension Administrator / Consultant | for Accrued Benefit Administrators, Inc. - Santa Barbara in CA |
| Pension Enrollment Manager | for Diversified Investment Advisors in MI |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| What's Washington Doing to Your Benefit Plans? | in MA on October 30, 2001 presented by WEB Massachusetts Metrowest (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| DailyAccess.Com adds Anderson to Management Team (DailyAccess.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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