| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |   |
December 31, 2001 - 6,393 subscribers
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Bush Makes HIPAA Transactions Standards Delay Official
Excerpt: "President Bush signed legislation that delays by one year, until Oct. 16, 2003, the date by which healthcare plans and providers must use standard electronic forms for 10 types of healthcare transactions." (Modern Healthcare)
Health Plan Puts Premium On Hospital Choice
Excerpt: "Health insurers nationwide are beginning to roll out a new benefit plan with lower monthly premiums but higher charges for hospital stays. And those hospital copayments, which could start at $100 per day, would rise depending on which facility the member chooses." (St. Petersburg Times)
Workers to Pay Bigger Slice of Health Care Pie
Excerpt: "U.S. workers are increasingly being asked to foot a larger portion of their medical bills as employers, hit by a recession and double-digit increases in health costs, take more aggressive steps to control expenses." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Court Orders Payments from Plan Providing for Severance Pay Only "Where Applicable"
Kosakow v. New Rochelle Radiology Assoc. (2d Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "[The plaintiff] relied upon a provision in her employer's policy manual that stated that terminated employees will 'receive appropriate severance pay where applicable.' ... The court noted that the 'statement that severance benefits will be paid 'where applicable' is not sufficient to confer upon the administrator the discretion to decide, as a general matter, who receives severance benefits.'" (EBIA Weekly)
Plans' Internal Deadlines for Filing Suit Upheld
Santino v. Provident Life and Accident Ins. Co. (6th Cir. 2001); Alcorn v. Raytheon Co. (D. Mass. 2001). Excerpt: "In both cases the disability plans contained a three-year deadline for filing suit." (EBIA Weekly)
Shareholder-Physician is Employee Under ERISA; State Claims Under Disability Plan Are Preempted
Santino v. Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company (6th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "[W]e hold that a joint shareholder is not precluded from being a 'participant' of an 'employee welfare benefit plan' under ERISA. Because Santino has standing to sue under ERISA as a 'participant' in an 'employee benefit plan,' his state claims are preempted." (FindLaw.com)
Preliminary Time Before Work May Count Towards Minimum Service Requirement Under FMLA
Kosakow v. New Rochelle Radiology Associates, P.C. (2d Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "In order to be eligible for ... FMLA, an employee must work 1250 hours in the twelve months prior to the beginning of his or her medical leave ... Because the [lower] court determined that Kosakow was not entitled to include 38.75 hours she claims she worked during the relevant twelve months by coming in fifteen minutes before her start time each shift, the court held that she failed to reach the 1250 hour requirement." (FindLaw.com)
Change in Shift Did Not Constitute Adverse Employment Action Under FMLA
Hunt v. Rapides Healthcare System, LLC (5th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "Hunt argues that by offering her the night shift position, knowing she would not accept it, the Medical Center 'forced' her to accept the part-time 'pool nurse' job, in retaliation for taking FMLA leave. Hunt argues that the decline in compensation and feeling of demotion resulting from the part-time position left her no alternative to resignation." (FindLaw.com)
Coverage for Most Birth Control Begins Tuesday in Washington State for Insured Health Plans
Excerpt: "Starting Tuesday, most Washington women who have health insurance with prescription coverage will be able to get their birth control pills paid for as well. The state insurance commissioner's new gender-equity rule, which goes into effect on New Year's Day, is expected to extend contraceptive coverage to about 200,000 more women." (HeraldNet via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Census 2000: Geographic Breakdowns of Demographic Data (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "These trends include: many working-age people are approaching retirement age; there will be fewer working-age people to take their place; the United States is becoming diverse in many ways.... This [report] presents geographic breakdowns of data from the 2000 census and provides commentary on some of the implications for employers and other sponsors of benefit plans." (The Segal Company)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
| Qualified Plan Administrator | for Campbells Administration Inc. in CA |
| Senior Pension Administrator | for Mid Atlantic Pension Design & Administration, Inc. in NJ |
| Retirement Plan Specialist | for Tyco International (US) Inc. in FL |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| ERISA 404(a) and 404(c) Compliance Issues | in CA on January 17, 2002 presented by Western Pension and Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter |
Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel (Post Yours!)
| Mike Carlson (Small Business Benefits) |
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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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