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November 30, 2001 - 6,612 subscribers
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California HMO Regulator Ordered Into Federal Court Over $1.1 Million Kaiser Permanente Penalty
Excerpt: "[I]n August the state HMO lobby group, the California Association of Health Plans, won a federal ruling in a separate case that determined federal law pre-empts state law when it comes to federally funded Medicare patients. Using this ruling, Kaiser has now objected to the inclusion of Medicare patients in the [state penalty] case." (The San Francisco Chronicle)
Employer's View That QB Could Not Afford Premiums Does Not Negate Its COBRA Notice Failure
Excerpt: "An employer/plan administrator was assessed $1,020 in statutory penalties by a federal district court in Ohio due to its admitted COBRA notice failure. The court rejected the company's argument that penalties should not be assessed because the qualified beneficiary could not afford the COBRA premiums ..." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Most Say Work Is Bad for Their Health: Study
Excerpt: "Most patients seeking medical attention for a range of concerns feel their work environment is either the direct cause of their health problems or is aggravating pre-existing conditions, study findings show." (Reuters Health via Excite News)
Former First Lady Boosts Mental Health Parity Bill
Excerpt: "Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter and CBS '60 Minutes' host Mike Wallace Thursday urged a House-Senate conference committee to retain a controversial bill that would require health insurance plans to provide parity between benefits for mental illness and other ailments." (Medscape; free registration required)
'Consumer-Driven' Health Policies Shift Decisions To Patients
Excerpt: "Thursday, more than 200 people attended a roundtable discussion sponsored by the Dallas-Fort Worth Business Group on Health to hear about the products and services available from five vendors. It was the coalition of employers' most popular event in recent memory." (The Dallas Morning News)
Health Insurers Develop New Plans
Excerpt: "'I chose the plan because it was much cheaper,' [participant Val Nauth] said. 'But I also like the flexibility. There is a sense of freedom.' Nauth's insurer is Minneapolis-based Definity Health, one of a crop of new companies offering what are called consumer-driven or defined- contribution plans." (Associated Press via Excite News)
Defined Contribution Health Plans: Getting Your Deductibles in a Row
Excerpt: "Caught between double-digit increases in the cost of medical care-- and employer carping over premium hikes-- commercial health insurers have started to push some of the costs back onto workers.... Humana, for one, is experimenting with plan designs that push employees to choose higher deductibles, providing them with plenty of online information to aid their choice." (CFO.com)
Webcast: Trends in Direct-To-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising
Excerpt: "This luncheon briefing discusses results from a nationally representative survey that gauges consumers' responses to drug advertising including their reactions to specific ads. The survey, released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, addresses the public's understanding of the ads, the public's recall on side effect information, and the impact of the ads on prescription drugs requests." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Rise of 'Ask Your Doctor' Ads: a Public Health Concern?
Excerpt: "Since the advertising was first allowed in 1997, the amount that pharmaceutical companies have spent on it has more than tripled to $2.5 billion. With every dollar, the controversy over the benefits and risks of bypassing doctors and going directly to consumers has grown ..." (Christian Science Monitor)
Prescription Drug Trends: a Chartbook Update
Excerpt: "This November 2001 Chartbook updates data from last year's chartbook, including information about prescription drug coverage, expenditures and prices, utilization, drug promotion, and the pharmaceutical industry." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
New Reports Show Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising and Trends in Prescription Drug Spending
Excerpt: "National spending on prescription drugs is the fastest growing segment of health care spending, accounting for 20% of the estimated increase in such spending between 1999 and 2000. Spending on advertising directly to consumers increased nine-fold from $266 million in 1994 to nearly $2.5 billion in 2000, largely due to growth in television advertising ..." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Opinion: Enron Shares Enriched Ken Lay Before Flaming Out
Excerpt: "Enron Corp. shareholders never blinked as Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lay piled up pay -- salary, bonuses, stock grants and options -- that would meet almost any definition of excessive." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)
Long-Term Care Insurance: the Forgotten Planning Tool
(Look for 'PDF Version' button on the target page.) Excerpt: "This article evaluates the importance of long-term care insurance (LTCI) as a financial planning tool. It also suggests that financial professionals should include LTCI in their discussion when advising clients and that LTCI should be viewed as an indispensable part in preserving the total portfolio value." (TIAA-CREF Institute)
Study Finds Potential For Growth In Group Long Term Care Market
Growth in the group long term care market has great potential, according to a study of employer-sponsored long term care insurance plans recently conducted by the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA). The study, Who Buys Long Term Care Insurance in 2000? surveyed 1,108 enrolled employees, 315 nonenrolled employees, and 500 employed individuals age 30 and older from the general population. (Spencernet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Retirement Plan Administrator | for Bank of Louisville in KY |
| Director of Pension Plan Administration/Actuarial | for SDG Consulting in MA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| ExpertPlan Hires Industry Veteran to Lead Sales Team (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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