October 17, 2001 - 6,428 subscribers Today's sponsor: The BenefitsLink Newsletter (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Whether your market is retirement plans or health and welfare plans, the BenefitsLink Newsletter gives you the opportunity to reach a sophisticated, target audience-- including in-house benefit administrators, HR directors, administration consultants, third-party administrators, trust officers, attorneys, accountants, investment managers and highly-paid employee-owners. The BenefitsLink Newsletter offers a degree of editorial relevance and integrity found nowhere else online. We believe it inspires trust and confidence in our subscribers. (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) HTML Format of Final Regulations on Effect of FMLA on Cafeteria Plans Excerpt: "This document contains final regulations relating to cafeteria plans that reflect changes made by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993. The final regulations provide the public with guidance needed to comply with the Act and affect employees who participate in cafeteria plans.... These regulations are applicable for cafeteria plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2002." (Internal Revenue Service) Treasury Department Issues Final Regulations on Effect of FMLA on Cafeteria Plans (PDF) 13 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains final regulations relating to cafeteria plans that reflect changes made by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (Act). The final regulations provide the public with guidance needed to comply with the Act and affect employees who participate in cafeteria plans.... These regulations are effective October 17, 2001 [and] are applicable for cafeteria plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2002." (Internal Revenue Service) Overview: Final Regs on FMLA Effect on Cafeteria Plans (Scroll down the target page a bit to see the article.) Excerpt: "The final regulations do not include the requirement in the 1995 regulations that an employee who requests the 'catch-up' payment option enter into an advance agreement with the employer. The final rules add flexibility and permit continued coverage." (CCH) Worker Sues Wal-Mart for Cost of Contraceptives Excerpt: "A 22-year-old female Wal-Mart employee alleged in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that the giant retailer discriminates against female workers by excluding contraceptive coverage from its health insurance plan. The case, filed in federal district court in Atlanta, seeks reimbursement for all employees who paid for their own prescription contraceptives during the past 2 years." (USA Today) Workforce Reductions: Strategies in Today's Market Excerpt: "Employers are using various strategies to reduce their workforces. Mass layoffs -- the most immediate and direct solution -- reduce labor expenses over the long haul. However, layoffs are costly in the short run, because severance packages are expensive and remaining employees tend to experience lower morale, which can reduce productivity. Less drastic strategies include attrition: simply waiting for employees to leave and then not hiring replacements." (Watson Wyatt) Bill Pending in Congress on Genetic Discrimination Excerpt: "Genetic discrimination is a complex issue, and congressional discussions are in the early stages. Quick enactment of legislation on such a complex and controversial issue is unlikely, but continued scientific developments and ongoing concerns about health care privacy will likely prompt further interest and discussions." (Watson Wyatt) House of Representatives Panel Laments Health Premium Hikes in Federal Employees' Health Plan Excerpt: "In what has become an annual event, the House Government Reform Subcommittee on the Civil Service Tuesday held a hearing at which members of Congress and representatives of federal unions, the Office of Personnel Management and outside groups complained about the rising costs of health care coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)." (GovExec.com) Sept. 11 Attacks Likely to Fuel Health Insurance Premium Hike Excerpt: "Although analysts have already predicted double-digit increases in health insurance premium rates next year, those estimates 'do not reflect a probable increase' in mental health costs related to the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the New York Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org) Defined Contribution Health Care: the Next Big Idea? Excerpt: "DC health care is actually a convergence of three powerful phenomena: (1) The concept of defining corporate obligations and expenditures for employee health care; (2) The growing recognition that plan participants cannot remain insulated from true health care costs; [and] (3) The robust capability of the Internet and the web to deliver content, transactional services and a growing number of personalized health care choices." (Watson Wyatt) Health Care 'Consumerism' Will Make Workers Pay More Excerpt: "As workers begin the annual process of picking a health insurance provider, they will face a numbing array of options, all of which are designed to cut employers' health care costs while introducing what the industry calls 'consumerism.'The idea: As employees pay more for health care, they will make better decisions about using the system. It's an idea that is sure to be controversial but also may be unavoidable." (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) More Employers May Shift Health Insurance Costs to Employees Excerpt: "A poll of 200 employers reveals that at least part of a projected health insurance premium cost increase of 13.6 percent will be passed on to employees. Watson Wyatt surveyed the employers and found that 70 percent plan to reduce benefits or increase employee co-pays." (insure.com) Economist Faults Managed Health Care Excerpt: "America's managed health care system has failed to deliver on its decade-old promise of low-cost, quality medical care because its economic underpinnings were flawed from the start, according to J.D. Kleinke, medical economist and formerly one of managed care's loudest champions." (The Denver Post) Connecticut Releases HMO Rankings Excerpt: "MedSpan and ConnectiCare topped insurance regulators' rankings Tuesday with the fewest complaints against their health plans last year, while the bulk of gripes were filed against FirstChoice, Health Net and Aetna." (The Hartford Courant) Companies Face Employment, Benefits Issues After Attacks Excerpt: "In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Department of Defense (DOD) has been authorized to call up military reservists. Their mobilization brings up many questions regarding the employment status and benefits of employees called to military service. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) governs the health care and pension benefits of these employees." (Watson Wyatt) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
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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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