| The BenefitsLink Newsletter - Welfare Plans Edition |   |
April 17, 2002 - 6,426 subscribers
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CalPERS Expected To Approve 25% Increase in Health Plan Premiums
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System, the second-largest purchaser of health care behind the federal government, on April 17 is expected to approve a 'historic' 25% increase in health insurance premiums for next year, the San Jose Mercury News reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Democrats Say Bush Revisions Ruin Medical Privacy Rules
Excerpt: "Democratic senators harshly criticized President Bush today for proposing to roll back certain protections for the privacy of medical records, but a Bush administration official defended the White House plan, saying privacy was less important than access to high-quality care." (New York Times; free registration required)
AARP To Launch $10M Campaign To Counter Direct-To-Consumer Drug Advertising
Excerpt: "AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons, hopes to 'prod more people' into inquiring about generic equivalent prescriptions ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Los Angeles Times Examines Roadblocks To Providing Trade-Displaced Workers Health Benefits
Excerpt: "As part of a bill authorizing presidential trade negotiating authority, the Senate Finance Committee in February approved a provision that would offer trade-displaced workers a 75% subsidy to purchase health insurance through COBRA ... A proposal by President Bush and the version of the trade bill passed in the House last December do not contain any health insurance provisions." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Insurer's Interpretation of LTD Policy To Reduce Monthly Benefits Was "Unreasonable"
An insurer's interpretation of a long term disability policy that had the effect of significantly reducing a beneficiary's monthly benefits was 'unreasonable.' This was the ruling of the First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Dandurand v. UNUM Life Insurance Company of America (No. 01-2204). (Spencernet)
Humor: What If 'First Monday' TV Show Tackled ERISA HMO Preemption Case in Supreme Court
Excerpt: "Below please find a dramatic treatment of today's case, using your characters. It really would, I think, make a riveting and dramatic show.... There once was a girl named Melissa; Who tried to get round old ERISA; But pre-emption was such; That she didn't get much; Except for a punch in the kisser." (Slate.msn.com)
Insurer Properly Amended LTD Plan To Reduce Amount, Duration of Benefits: Eighth Circuit
The Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that an insurance company properly amended a long term disability plan to reduce both the amount and the duration of benefits. The ruling came in Ross v. Rail Car America Group Disability Plan and the Canada Life Assurance Company (No. 00-2800). (Spencernet)
Disease Management Plan Unveiled by Managed Care Organization in North Carolina
Excerpt: "MedCost, the state's largest preferred provider organization, is launching a disease management program designed to improve the quality of life for employees and the bottom line for employers.... Bringing disease management on board as an employee benefit is part of a national trend, one attempt to curb increasing health benefit costs." (The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area [N.C.] via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Tax Credits Would More Effectively Help Younger People Purchase Health Coverage, Study Says
Excerpt: "Tax credits for the purchase of health insurance would 'be effective' for young, healthy people but would 'do little to ease the financial burden' for people ages 55 and older -- the age group 'most likely to rely on individual health insurance policies' -- according to a new study published online in Health Affairs..." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Analysis: DOL Guidance on Complying with the ERISA Claims and Appeals Regulation (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "Starting this year, all employee benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) must comply with the claims and appeals regulation issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) in November 2000. Plans affected include most retirement, health and welfare plans sponsored by an employer, union or joint board of trustees." (The Segal Company)
Opinion: Stock Option Accounting 'Reform' Would Gouge Taxpayers, Investors
Excerpt: "Senate Bill 1940, introduced in the U.S. Senate by Carl Levin (D-MI) and John McCain (R-AZ)... [would] raise billions in taxes, because private sector accounting rules would leave companies with little choice but to take a deduction for options based on the lower 'fair value' when they are issued, rather than the higher 'intrinsic value' when exercised." (National Taxpayers Union)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
| Senior Health Benefits Analyst | for The Segal Company in CA |
| Project Coordinator - Client Management | for Transamerica in CA |
| Sr. Benefits Consultant | for Northern Trust Retirement Consulting, L.L.C. in GA |
| Pension Consultant/Administrator | for Wender & Company in OH |
| Daily Valuation Manager | for Growing Employee Benefits Firm in MD |
| TrustMark Resource / Network Administrator | for Growing Employee Benefits Firm in MD |
| Benefits Manager | for Powell, Goldstein, Frazer & Murphy LLP in GA |
| Sales Position: 401(k) Retirement Specialist - California & Nevada! | for Hartford Life Insurance Companies in CA, NV |
| Putnam Regional Manager | for Hartford Life Insurance Companies in CA, MI, NV |
| Paralegal - Employee Benefits | for The Nyhart Co., Inc. in IN |
| Benefits Analyst/Coordinator | for City of Houston in TX |
Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!)
| 2002 Employee Benefits Conference | in IL on May 29, 2002 presented by Illinois CPA Foundation |
| Cross Plan Testing & Compliance | in CA on April 18, 2002 presented by WP&BC Orange County |
Newly Posted Press Releases
| AHI's Benefits Alert Releases New Free Report - "Know Your Notification Obligations" (Alexander Hamilton Institute) |
| Newkirk ePubs - Internet Content Archive and Delivery System for Financial Institutions (Newkirk) |
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Copyright 2002 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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