| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |  |
October 24, 2001 - 6,463 subscribers
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Handling the Group Medical Rate Increase
Excerpt: "This last year has been a very costly one for health insurance carriers. As a result, the HMO's and insurance companies are proposing significant renewal rate increases. When you combine that with the current economic condition, it creates a difficult problem for employers. However, it is possible to mitigate the increases by doing some planning at least two to three months in advance of the renewal date of the group policy." (Small Business Council of America)
'Tis the Season for Scrooge/ Employers Trimming Costs - Not Trees - This Year
Excerpt: "Holiday bonuses and office parties in December are usually as ubiquitous as pine needles and crumpled wrapping paper on Christmas morning. But the grinch of the corporate world has emerged this year in the form of a looming recession, leading to sagging profits, sour earnings and steep job cuts at companies nationwide." (The [Colorado Springs] Gazette via IFEBP)
Few Remedies On Tap for Claims Denied by Self-funded Health Plans
Excerpt: "This administrator has wide-ranging discretion in determining which claims get paid. The courts will not disturb an administrator's denial of a health care claim unless he has abused its discretion; that is, acted in an 'arbitrary and capricious manner.' This is a very low legal threshold since, as one court explained, 'An arbitrary decision is one made without a rational connection between the known facts and the decision or between the found facts and the evidence.'" (San Antonio Business Journal)
Opinion: Drug Advertising Doesn't Mean Higher Drug Costs
Excerpt: "Many health policy experts believe that direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising by pharmaceutical companies misinforms gullible consumers, encourages drug overconsumption, increases health care costs, strains doctor-patient relationships and undermines the quality of patient care.... Are these criticisms accurate? In some cases, yes.... However, the above-mentioned concerns largely are misdirected." (Institute for Policy Innovation)
ERIC Asks Congress To Provide Plan Sponsors Broader Relief In Wake of Terrorist Attacks
In a recent letter to Congress, the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) asserted that benefit plan sponsors and workers need broader relief from administrative and other legal obligations to respond adequately to disruptions caused by the September 11 terrorist attacks. ERIC sent the letter to leading congressional taxwriters, as well as officials of the Treasury Department, the Department of Labor's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. (Spencernet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Marketing Consultant (Conversion & Case Management) | for WESPAC Plan Services, Inc. in |
| Team Manager, ERISA | for CitiStreet in NJ |
| Pension Plan Consultant (JO#265) | for A Third Party Administration Company In Arkansas in AR |
| Pension Plan Administrator/Analyst | for Abacus Benefit Consultants Inc. in RI |
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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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