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December 5, 2001 - 6,718 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)
New Health Plan Design May Raise Expenses for Sickest Workers
Excerpt: "The new plans typically require a family to pay an annual premium of $1,000 to $1,400, slightly lower than the cost of traditional managed care. Families then receive an allowance of $2,000 to $3,000 each year to spend on medical expenses, including drugs. But after they have spent that, they have to cover every cost above that cap, sometimes up to $5,000 or more." (New York Times; free registration required)
Lawmakers Weigh Mental Health Parity Deal
Excerpt: "House and Senate negotiators have begun serious discussions on a compromise that would broaden health insurance coverage for workers with mental illness while limiting the cost to employers. But senior House Republicans and business groups are staunchly opposed to the deal." (New York Times; free registration required)
Several House Members Try for Compromise with Senate on Mental Health Parity Provision Language
Excerpt: "Hoping to expand the 1996 mental health parity law, several lawmakers, amid opposition from House Republicans, have moved to 'strike a deal' on a Senate-passed measure (S 543) attached to the fiscal year 2002 Labor-HHS appropriations bill, CongressDaily reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Legislative Activity on the Benefits Front: December 2001 (PDF)
Excerpt: "The Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations measure (H.R.3061) with expanded mental health 'parity' requirements has cleared the Senate, which now must reach an agreement with House members on a final bill. This issue is a major sticking point in negotiations, because the House version does not contain a mental health parity requirement." (Milliman USA)
Shareholders of Professional Corporation Are "Employees" Under ADA
Wells v. Clackamas Gastroenterology Assoc., P.C. (9th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "The ADA applies to employers with '15 or more employees for each working day in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the current or preceding calendar year.' The Ninth Circuit held that the shareholders of the professional corporation must be counted as employees, and that this professional corporation was therefore subject to the ADA." (EBIA Weekly)
Eleventh Circuit Holds That Former Employee May Sue Under FMLA for Retaliation in Hiring Decision
Smith v. Bellsouth Telecommunications, Inc. (11th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "A former employee who had taken FMLA leaves during his employment applied for re-employment with his former employer. He was not hired, and he sued for a violation of the FMLA, claiming that the employer had retaliated against him for his previous FMLA leaves by failing to rehire him." (EBIA Weekly)
LTV Workers Protest Shut-Down; Retiree Health Benefits At Stake
Excerpt: "The impact on retirees will vary depending on their age and when they retired. Some are eligible for Medicare and risk losing supplemental health-care insurance. Some who are not old enough for Medicare rely entirely on company plans." (The [Pittsburgh] Post-Gazette)
Report: 725,000 in U.S. Lose Health Coverage
Excerpt: "More than 725,000 people who have lost their jobs since the official start of the recession in March 2001 have also lost their health coverage, according to a report released Tuesday by the consumer group Families USA. The figure includes 345,000 workers who lost coverage during September and October, mostly since the September 11 air attacks on New York City and Washington, DC." (Reuters Health via Excite News)
Who Buys Long-Term Care Insurance in the Workplace? (PDF)
Excerpt: "A Study of Employer Long-Term Care Insurance Plans 2000-2001." (Health Insurance Association of America)
Kaiser Questions Huge Fine; Attorney Says Denial of Care Was Medical Decision Made by Others
Excerpt: "The Department of Managed Health Care, the state agency that regulates health maintenance organizations, fined Kaiser [$1.1 million] last year for systemic problems with its emergency care system based on the case of a 74-year-old San Leandro woman ..." (The San Francisco Chronicle)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings (Post Yours!)
| Pension Administrator | for DR Pension Services, LLC, an affiliate of Dorfman-Robbie CPA's, PC in NY |
| Director of Welfare Benefits Consulting | for RSM McGladrey, Inc. in ALL STATES |
| Benefits Counselor | for UCLA in CA |
| (SR)Client Communications Specialist/Defined Contribution Plan Administrator | for Standard Insurance Company in OR |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| 2002 Los Angeles Benefits Conference | in CA on January 31, 2002 presented by IRS and ASPA |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| NuView Systems, Inc. Provides Self-Help Support Online (NuView Systems, Inc.) |
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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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