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February 12, 2003 - 8,072 subscribers
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(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay your way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
First-Year Consumer-Directed Health Plan Enrollees Reduce Utilization by 11%, Study Finds
Excerpt: "[T]he study provides the first detailed evidence that CDH can have a positive effect on utilization without negatively affecting health of a population. The report is based on claims data from the 835 employees and their families (1,600 individuals) that took part in the firm's CDH pilot project." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)

Insurance Brokers Boost Familiarity With Consumer-Driven Health Plans
Excerpt: "About two-thirds of the members of The Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers, a national organization representing the top 1% of brokers who book 80% of commercial business, offer consumer-driven health plans. But council members also report that these plans represent no more than 10% of their overall business." (BenefitNews.com)

Bethlehem Retirees Shaken by Loss of Health Benefits
Excerpt: "The action will hit union and salaried retired workers alike, erasing life insurance, prescription drug benefits and medical coverage that supplements Medicare or is the only insurance perhaps for those under 65.... Bethlehem Steel picks up 80 percent of drug costs - no small amount considering that many new drugs can cost hundreds of dollars for a month's supply." (The Baltimore Sun)

Union Finds Holes in Federal Tax Credits for Individual Health Coverage
Excerpt: "An estimated 95,000 Bethlehem Steel Corp. retirees and dependents will lose their employer-sponsored health benefits this year. But 23,000 of them may be eligible for federal tax credits that will help them finance continued health coverage. The United Steelworkers of America cautions against too much optimism, however." (PennLive.com)

Opinion: Bankruptcy or Not, Blame ERISA for Canceled Retiree Health Benefits
Excerpt: "[T]he federal law allows companies to unilaterally cancel health benefits that they previously have promised to retirees. Companies need only insert a few technical clauses into the documents that govern their health plans. Given the correct caveats, companies can toss costly retiree health care obligations out the window." (Bill Cahir on PennLive.com)

Insurers Boost Electronic Transactions In Bid to Cut Administrative Costs
Excerpt: "The years of investments health insurers have made in technology expenditures finally may be showing a payoff in terms of reduced administrative expenses. Several large health insurers are citing a reduction in expenses such as claims processing and customer contacts." (Managed Care Week via AISHealth.com)

Debit Card Use May Increase FSA Participation, But Beware Substantiation Requirements
Excerpt: "[E]mployers and third-party administrators must remember not to ignore the usual IRS requirements that apply to all reimbursements, specifically the need for adequate substantiation of expenses. The assumption should be that these requirements apply unless the IRS indicates to the contrary." (Thompson Publishing Group)

Employer May Be Sued for Disclosing Contents of FMLA Request
Doe v. U.S. Postal Service, No. 01-5395 (D.C. Cir., Feb. 7, 2003). Excerpt: "An employee may sue his employer if the contents of his medical certification under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) are disclosed to his coworkers, a federal appeals court ruled Feb. 7." (Thompson Publishing Group)

RICO Claims Raised to Beat ERISA Bar on Punitives
Excerpt: "UnumProvident Corp., the nation's largest disability-income insurer, has been sued hundreds of times by claimants who say benefits were wrongfully cut off. In some cases, plaintiffs' lawyers have hit it big. Last month, a California jury awarded $31.7 million.... In each case, the plaintiff had an individual policy, paying his or her own premiums. But there is no such mother lode for those covered for long-term disability through a group plan with their employer." (Law.com via Yahoo! Finance)

Demoralized Workers Hurt Bottom Line
Excerpt: "Employees at some of America's biggest tech companies are increasingly negative about work, which is damaging the businesses they work for." (The Register)

Draft Materials for HEDIS® 2004 Public Comment
Excerpt: "The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) is releasing this document to elicit feedback on proposed changes to specifications for Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) 2004.... HEDIS® is a set of standardized performance measures designed to ensure that purchasers and consumers can reliably compare the performance of managed care organizations (MCOs)." (National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA))

HIPAA Privacy Regs: Six Steps To Compliance
Excerpt: "As the April 14, 2003 compliance deadline for HIPAA privacy regulations draws ever nearer, a quick compliance readiness self-audit and road map can help you stay on track and make the entire process a lot less overwhelming." (BenefitNews.com)

Senators Hold Hearings on Costs of Medical Malpractice
Excerpt: "Doctors, patients and insurance experts agreed Tuesday that skyrocketing malpractice insurance premiums are to blame for the health care crisis engulfing 12 states and threatening 30 others." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Medical Malpractice Victims Protest Proposed Federal Damage Caps
Excerpt: " Victims of medical mistakes-- including the Wisconsin woman who had both breasts removed after a misdiagnosis of cancer-- came to Capitol Hill Tuesday to protest legislation that would cap at $250,000 damage awards for 'pain and suffering.'" (Reuters Health via Medscape; one-time registration required)

White Paper: Patient Safety, Just Compensation and Medical Liability Reform (PDF)
39 pages. Excerpt: "Solutions that seek to promote an open culture of safety in which errors and injuries are more transparent to patients must embrace dispute-resolution mechanisms that transcend our traditional fault-based system. For the majority of medical malpractice claims, the ethical imperative to hold providers accountable for the quality of care need not depend upon a system that is contentious and counterproductive to establishing a safety culture." (Kaiser Permanente)

U.S. & Canadian Organizations Slam Glaxo Ban on Canadian Pharmacy Sales to U.S. Citizens
Press release. Excerpt: "Escalating the battle against drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline, a coalition of 10 leading American and Canadian healthcare and business organizations has begun a national advertising campaign lambasting the drugmaker for its ban keeping American seniors from accessing its affordable prescription drugs from Canada." (PRNewswire via Yahoo! Finance)

Federal Bill Would Offer Another Insurance Option for Small Businesses
Excerpt: "The Small Business Health Fairness Act would allow national trade organizations to offer health insurance to members. So-called association health plans already exist in many states, but Congress would legalize nationwide plans regulated by the U.S. Department of Labor.... John Garamendi, California insurance commissioner, like his counterparts in most other states, vehemently opposes the association health plan bill." (The Sacramento Bee)

Lawmakers, DOL Secretary Push Association Health Plan Bill
Excerpt: "Labor Secretary Elaine Chao said more workers could get health insurance under a Bush administration plan to let small businesses pool together to buy coverage.... Chao spoke at a Capitol Hill news conference as lawmakers introduced Bush's proposal to let small businesses buy into group health insurance plans anywhere in the country." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Opinion: Association Health Plans Are Bad Plan for a Good Idea
Excerpt: "President Bush and a Republican-controlled Congress seem ready to breathe new life into an old idea, one that could extend affordable health insurance coverage to many more Americans but carries an element of risk. Without careful consideration, the cure could be worse than the disease." (The Buffalo News)

One-Fifth of Small Employers Modified Health Benefits In Response To Higher Costs
Nearly one-fifth (19%) of small employers offering health insurance benefits to their employees modified the benefits in 2002 in response to rising premiums, and the changes often meant higher costs for employees. These are among the findings of The 2002 Small Employer Health Benefits Survey, cosponsored by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Association, and the Consumer Health Education Council. (SpencerNet)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

San Diego Municipal Plan Facing Funding Shortfalls for Pensions, Retiree Health Benefits
Excerpt: "A report to be released today casts fresh doubt on the city of San Diego's ability to pay all of its pension and retiree health care obligations-- including about $1.1 billion in future liabilities not listed on official balance sheets-- without new sources of cash." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Coke to Eliminate Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan
Excerpt: "Coca-Cola will phase out pension benefits for top executives after pressure from investors, The Financial Times reported on its web site. Atlanta-based Coca-Cola's Key Executive Retirement Plan, which was offered only to three top executives, including CEO Douglas Daft, would be phased out." (Atlanta Business Chronicle via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)


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Newly Posted Webcasts
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Changes Ahead: The Private Insurance Market and Employer-Provided Coverage
on January 24, 2003
presented by Families USA
Newly Posted Conferences
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Current Issues With 401(k) Plans
in ALL STATES
March 25, 2003
McKay Hochman

Sarbanes-Oxley Ethics Rules: Impact on Benefits Lawyers
in
February 27, 2003
ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits; Other Organizations

20th Annual Employment Law & Legislative Conference
in DC
March 10, 2003
Society for Human Resource Management

401(k) Plans
in OR
April 1, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

401(k) Plans
in KS
April 8, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

401(k) Plans
in GA
April 22, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

401(k) Plans
in IL
April 29, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
in OR
April 2, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
in GA
April 23, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
in KS
April 9, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

Cafeteria Plans
in IL
April 30, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in OR
April 3, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in KS
April 10, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in GA
April 24, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in IL
May 1, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in OR
April 3, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in KS
April 10, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in GA
April 24, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in IL
May 1, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in OR
April 4, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in KS
April 11, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in GA
April 25, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)

HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in IL
May 2, 2003
Employee Benefits Institute of America LLC (EBIA)


Newly Posted Press Releases
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401(k) Presentation Services of America is Open For Business.
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