| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
October 2, 2001 - 6,365 subscribers
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IRS Releases 2001 Version of Publication 968 (Tax Benefits for Adoption)
Excerpt: "[E]mployers can provide adoption assistance benefits that are excludable from income under Code Section 137 (Adoption Assistance Plan). Adoption Assistance Plan benefits may be funded by the employer or by the employee with salary reduction dollars under a cafeteria plan." (EBIA Weekly)
Court Issues Consent Decree Resolving Contempt Action Against Wal-Mart Under ADA
The U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona has approved an amended consent decree that resolves a contempt action against Wal-Mart Stores, which stemmed from the retailer's refusal to hire two hearing-impaired applicants in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The contempt action was filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Arizona Center for Disability Law, which is acting on behalf of the two applicants. (Spencernet)
Analysis: Ninth Circuit Adopts Treating Physician Rule for Disability Cases
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The Ninth Circuit in this opinion joins the Eighth Circuit in adopting the treating physician rule for disability cases. (But the reach of the decision seems confined to disability claims. Indeed, the court distinguished cases that refused to apply the rule to health plan claims because in those cases a treating physician could benefit from claim approval and thus be operating under a conflict of interest.)" (EBIA Weekly)
Court Limits Discovery in Benefits Case Because Court Review Limited to Administrative Record
Ardolino v. Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. (D. Mass. 2001). Excerpt: "In evaluating the insurer's objections, the court agreed that it was limited to reviewing the information considered by the insurer. Since this generally prevented introduction of additional evidence by the plaintiff, the question was whether the plaintiff was also limited in the amount of discovery she was permitted to seek." (EBIA Weekly)
Ninth Circuit Adopts Treating Physician Rule
Excerpt: "In Regula v. Delta Family-Care Disability Survivorship Plan ... the Ninth Circuit in a 2 to 1 decision eroded the abuse-of-discretion review afforded plan fiduciaries. In Regula, the Ninth Circuit held in ERISA disability cases that the one who is effectively given deference is the treating physician, even if the plan fiduciary has had the claimant examined by and relies on the opinion of an Independent Medical Examiner." (McCalla Thompson)
American Airlines to Provide Severance Pay to Laid-Off Workers After All
Excerpt: "In a sudden about-face, American Airlines said it will pay severance to 20,000 employees who will be furloughed because of a decline in air travel since the terrorist hijackings Sept. 11. American ... this week invoked an emergency clause in union contracts that allowed it to waive the normal notice period and severance pay in times of national emergency. Pressure from unions and Congress ... apparently led to the abrupt reversal." (St. Petersburg Times)
Under New Law, Maryland Health Insurers Must Pay for Children's Hearing Aids
Excerpt: "A 'groundbreaking law' intended to increase 'access to treatment for hearing loss in infants' will take effect this week in Maryland, requiring health insurers to cover hearing aids for children, the Washington Post reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Wide-Ranging Health Insurance Laws Take Effect in Connecticut
Excerpt: "'Expanded' health coverage for mammograms, pap smears, colonoscopies and hearing aids for children is included among nearly 160 new laws taking effect in Connecticut on Oct. 1 following approval by the Connecticut Legislature and Gov. John Rowland (R), the AP/Hartford Courant reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Daschle's 'Strong Hopes' for Health Bills Fade
Excerpt: "Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said in an interview with the New York Times that his 'strong hopes' for passing several health care bills this year have faded in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Mental Health Parity Act Requirements Expire September 30, 2001
Excerpt: "The Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) prohibits a group health plan from applying a lower annual dollar limit or a lower aggregate lifetime dollar limit to mental health benefits than it applies to medical/surgical benefits.... [T]he vast majority of group health plans now include provisions consistent with the MHPA requirements ... [but] its requirements will not apply to benefits or services provided on or after September 30, 2001." (EBIA Weekly)
Healthcare Spending in U.S. Increases 7.2 Percent
Excerpt: "In addition, researchers at the Center for Studying Health System Change, the nonpartisan research group in Washington that prepared the report, warned that the sluggish economy and broad trends in the industry portend higher out-of-pocket health costs for consumers." (Washington Post)
Health Insurers Increase Defined Contribution Plans
Excerpt: "Employers stunned by double-digit increases in health insurance premiums are looking for cost-saving alternatives, which has Aetna, among others, venturing into the area of medical savings accounts and defined-contribution plans with a product that wraps a health savings account around a PPO." (American Medical Association)
Low-Wage Workers Prefer Salary Increases Over Health Coverage
Excerpt: " State and federal aid to small companies to make health insurance more available and affordable is unlikely to do much good, experts say, in part because low-wage workers tend to value fatter paychecks over healthcare benefits." (Reuters Health via Excite News)
Thousands in New York Could Lose Health Coverage After September 11 Events
Excerpt: "Families of victims have some options if companies do not continue their health coverage. State, city and federal Medicaid officials have cobbled together disaster health coverage valid for four months for couples with monthly incomes below $1,287 and higher income limits for families with children. The American Red Cross says its emergency help for families of World Trade Center victims can be used to pay health insurance premiums for three months." (New York Times; free registration required)
Be Purposeful When Taking Kids to Work
Excerpt: "Taking children to work on official visiting days or when the baby-sitter doesn't show up is acceptable in many workplaces. But most parents hesitate to bring their offspring to work now and then just because they want to." (Chicago Tribune)
Compilation of Online Resources About EGTRRA
Use this comprehensive compilation by BenefitsLink to locate charts, analysis and source documents pertaining to the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. (BenefitsLink)
What U.S. Airline Executives Stand to Earn
Excerpt: "The pay for top executives in the U.S. airline industry has become a matter of considerable national interest. AMR Corp.'s chief executive, Don Carty, slashed his pay package to zero for the rest of the year following the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. His company owns American Airlines." (Graef Crystal, on Bloomberg.com)
ASPA Files Comments on New Form 5500
Excerpt: "[W]e recommend that the 2001 Form 5500 Series, including all EFAST specifications, be released as soon as possible by making only the changes absolutely essential to clarify the original intent of the questions or comply with law changes." (American Society of Pension Actuaries)
PWBA Proposes To Amend Class Exemption To Allow Plans To Receive Interest-Free Loans
The Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration (PWBA) has issued a proposed amendment to a 1980 prohibited transaction class exemption that would allow employee benefit plans to receive interest-free loans and extensions of credit from related parties, such as employers. Notice of the proposed amendment was published in the September 28 Federal Register. (Spencernet)
EEOC's New York District Office To Resume Partial Operations
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has announced that its New York district office will resume limited operations on Wednesday, October 3, from temporary office space at the agency's Newark area office. The EEOC's New York district office was destroyed in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. (Spencernet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Executive Benefits Associate | for Winged Keel Group in NY |
| COBRA Administrator | for Employee benefits organization specializing in group insurance in MA |
| Executive Benefits Managing Consultants | for Aggressive Growth Compensation and Benefits Consulting Firm in ALL STATES |
| Actuarial Analyst | for Suburban Pittsburgh Actuarial Consulting Firm in PA |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| PRACTICAL STEPS IN IMPLEMENTING RETIREMENT BENEFITS IN RESPONSE TO THE ECONOMIC GROWTH AND TAX RELIEF RECONCILIATION ACT OF 2001 (EGTRRA) | in NY on October 24, 2001 presented by New York Chapter of WEB |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| Acument Securities Selects ExpertPlan To Provide their Brokers with Online Retirement Plan Product (ExpertPlan) |
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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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