June 14, 2002 - 6,459 subscribers Today's sponsor: EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Where the best benefits employers find the best candidates Fill your employee benefits job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink. What better place to find qualified candidates? Your help wanted ad will be listed in the BenefitsLink Newsletter (over 19,000 subscriptions to the two editions), will be seen by thousands of candidates who view our listings online, and will be emailed to over 2,900 job-seekers. Click to see how easy it is to place an ad! HHS Announces New Regs for Medicaid Beneficiaries; Protections Similar to Patients' Rights Bills Excerpt: "The Bush administration on June 13 issued new patients' rights protections for Medicaid beneficiaries in managed-care plans, guaranteeing them a grievance process, access to a second opinion and coverage for emergency care, the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org) Wall Street Journal Examines New Marketing Techniques by Drug Companies Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on June 14 reports on a new type of marketing 'quietly' being used by pharmaceutical companies in which 'tailor-made ads are wrapped into the directions and warning labels' given to patients picking up prescriptions at the pharmacy." (KaiserNetwork.org) Vermont Governor Signs Bill Requiring Reporting of Gifts to Doctors by Drug Companies Excerpt: "As expected, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D) on June 13 signed a bill that will require pharmaceutical company representatives to publicly disclose all gifts valued at or above $25, excluding drug samples, given to doctors, hospitals and nursing homes. Vermont is the first state in the nation to pass such legislation, the Burlington Free Press reports ..." (KaiserNetwork.org) House Democrats Unveil $800B Medicare Drug Benefit; House GOP Says Bill Too Costly Excerpt: "As House Democrats unveiled their proposal for a $750 billion to $800 billion, 10-year Medicare prescription drug benefit on June 13, House Republicans said they will send different versions of their Medicare reform package to the Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees next week, CongressDaily reports." (KaiserNetwork.org) Take Your Dog to Work Day Is June 21 Excerpt: "As thousands of companies prepare to participate in the fourth annual Take Your Dog to Work Day on June 21, the San Francisco SPCA is encouraging employers to adopt pet-friendly policies year round." (The San Francisco Chronicle via Society for Human Resource Management) A Fit Worker Tends to Be a Better Worker Excerpt: "While the link between healthy workers and healthy businesses is gaining more attention, a number of wellness indicators show there's still a long way to go to combat inactivity and the myriad of health concerns it spawns." (Buffalo News via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) Industry Study Charts Dental Plan Growth Excerpt: "The number of people signed up for dental benefits is expected to grow by 11% to 194 million by 2005, according to a new industry study." (PLANSPONSOR.com) American Benefits Council Urges Senators Not to Approve New Federally Mandated Health Coverage Excerpt: "On the [Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions] Committee's agenda to be marked up next week, the two proposals would require employer-sponsored health care plans to cover colorectal cancer screening (S. 710) and prescription contraceptive drugs and devices (S. 104) approved by the Food and Drug Administration as well as outpatient contraceptive services." (American Benefits Council) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General (These items appear in both editions of the BenefitsLink Newsletter) Overview: New Guidance on Valuing Stock Options for Nonpublicly and Publicly Traded Stock Excerpt: "The new procedure is effective June 13, 2002.... Pending further guidance, the new procedure provides that a stock option for stock that is publicly traded (that is, an option that is a compensatory stock option as defined in Rev. Proc. 98-34) will be considered properly valued if the valuation method satisfies the standard set forth in Rev. Proc. 2002-13 for stock options that are not compensatory stock options." (Tax.CCHGROUP.com) IRS Rev. Proc. 2002-45: Expansion of Acceptable Valuation Methods for Stock Options (PDF) 8 pages. Excerpt: "Revenue Procedure 2002-13 ... provided guidance on valuing stock options for nonpublicly traded stock and publicly traded stock for purposes of §§ 280G and 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code.... [C]ommentators have suggested that the two valuation methods [provided by that revenue procedure] do not adequately take into account all of the facts and circumstances relevant to the valuation of Compensatory Stock Options in the context of a change in ownership or control." (Internal Revenue Service) Are You Taking Full Advantage of Your Company's ESPP? Excerpt: "Your company may be offering you a great benefit that's even better than options. An employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) enables you to purchase company stock often at a discount from the market price (typically you buy the stock with payroll deductions of up to 15 percent of your paycheck; you decide how much, but there is a $25,000 annual maximum)." (myStockOptions.com; free registration required) FreeERISA.com Now Providing Schedule C Service-Provider Information Online Excerpt: "Schedule 'C' must be completed for plans with 100 or more participants if the plan paid $5,000 or more to any service provider. Note that if the employer paid the service provider directly (not from plan assets) then the expense does not have to be reported on Schedule C. It is important to keep this in mind as many employers pay provider fees directly." (FreeERISA.com; free registration required) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
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Feel free to send this email to friends, colleagues or clients, if you copy or forward this email in its entirety (including this boilerplate part). Copyright 2002 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. Published by: BenefitsLink.com, Inc. https://benefitslink.com/about.html 1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H Winter Park FL 32789 (407) 644-4146 Fax: (407) 644-2151 Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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