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February 27, 2003 - 8,036 subscribers
Today's sponsor: EBIA's HIPAA Portability & Privacy
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
DOL Announces HIPAA Compliance Assistance Program (H-CAP)
Excerpt: "EBSA is announcing its HIPAA Compliance Assistance Program (H-CAP), which is comprised of three strategies, each with an action plan. After identifying problem areas through the project and introducing H-CAP to target these problems, EBSA anticipates that compliance rates will rise." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
DOL Publishes Guide to Notices Required by HIPAA and Other Provisions in Part 7 of ERISA's Title I
Excerpt: "[I]mplementation by group health plans has progressed gradually and that some plans could use additional compliance assistance with respect to the notice requirements of Part 7 of ERISA. This guide includes a chart that summarizes these notice requirements and sample language that may be used by group health plans, issuers, and third party administrators when providing these notices." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Updated: Compliance Assistance for Group Health Plans (Top 15 Tips)
Excerpt: "Following are 15 key compliance considerations for group health plans. Under each is an example of a group health plan provision or practice that would not comply with the above laws and a tip on how to bring the plan into compliance." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Self-Compliance Tool for Part 7 of ERISA: HIPAA and Other Health Care-Related Provisions
Excerpt: "This checklist is a useful self-compliance tool for group health plans, plan sponsors, plan administrators, health insurance issuers, and other parties to determine whether a group health plan is in compliance with the provisions of Part 7 of [ERISA] ... [including provisions added by HIPAA;] the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 (MHPA); the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act of 1996 (Newborns' Act); and the Women's Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 (WHCRA)." (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Weirton Steel Urges Cuts in Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "If Weirton Steel Corp. retirees don't agree to proposed changes in their health care coverage, the West Virginia steelmaker could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation, company officials are warning some 4,600 former workers." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
List of Changes to Health Plans Desired by Weirton Steel
Excerpt: "Weirton Steel Corp. retirees who are 65 or younger are being asked to accept changes to their health care coverage to help the company achieve some $34 million in savings. Under the proposal, retirees would ..." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Employer Can Fund and Deduct Present Value of Retiree Medical Benefits for Current Retirees
Excerpt: "A recent Tax Court decision indicates employers may be able to take a significant tax deduction by pre-funding the present value of their retiree medical liabilities for current retirees. Wells Fargo & Company v. Commissioner of Internal Revenue, 120 T.C. No. 5 (February 13, 2003)." (Deloitte & Touche Human Capital Advisory Services)
Corporate Health Care Cost-Cutting Pushes Generic Drugs Farther into Spotlight
Excerpt: "Despite lingering concerns about their efficacy and continuing efforts by big pharmaceutical companies to block their sale, generic drugs are the growing choice of Americans. About 47 percent of all prescription drugs purchased last year in the United States were generic, up sharply from 34 percent a decade earlier, according to private and government researchers." (Orlando Sentinel via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
The Mammogram Experiment: How Emotions Can Affect High-Stakes Decision-Making by Consumers
Excerpt: "A breast cancer scare that turns out to be a false alarm is cause for relief, but may also trigger delays in future mammogram screenings, according to new Wharton research.... With mammogram error rates estimated to be as high as 20%, the findings could have broad implications for health-care providers and patients ... [T]he decision to schedule a mammogram is just one example of high-stakes decision-making that increasingly is shifting to consumers." (The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania)
Pilot Projects To Use Electronic Systems To Reduce, Report Medical Errors
Excerpt: "A group of health care organizations and pharmacies on Feb. 24 launched a pilot program to allow 200 physicians in the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area to submit prescriptions to local pharmacies online to help reduce the 'alarming number' of medical errors that result from illegible handwriting and preventable adverse prescription drug interactions, the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Spike in Malpractice Premiums Hurting Access to Care, Survey Says
Excerpt: "Physician groups faced an average rate hike of 53.15% in malpractice premiums between 2002 and 2003, forcing many doctors to consider retiring, moving or curtailing patient care services, according to a survey by the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA)." (Reuters Health via Medscape; one-time registration required)
House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee To Consider Medical Malpractice Bill
Excerpt: "The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health on Feb. 27 will hold a hearing on a medical liability reform bill that would place a $250,000 cap on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice lawsuits and would limit attorney fees." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Survey: Americans More Worried About Healthcare Costs Than Terrorist Attacks
Excerpt: "Nearly four in 10 Americans (38%) say they are very worried that the amount they pay for health care services or health insurance will increase, and a similar share (37%) is very worried that their income might not keep up with rising prices over the next six months." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Opinion: Corporate Execs Sharing the Pain? Nah.
Excerpt: "We are on the verge of proxy season, when the multimillion-dollar compensation packages awarded to CEOs of most public companies are published for all to see. (Trust me, they hate that.)" (Steven Syre in The Boston Globe)
CEOs Get Paid an Average $16.5M to Leave, New Study of Severance Packages Shows
Excerpt: "CEOs who departed during 2002 and 2001 received an average golden parachute of $16.5 [million], based on findings in a new, two-part study of termination policy and practice in the S&P 500 by Paul Hodgson, senior research associate at The Corporate Library. But even this figure underestimates the total cost of terminating a CEO's employment." (PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance)
Adobe's Profit Would Have Been Cut by 97% If Stock Options Had Been Expensed
Excerpt: "Adobe, known for its PhotoShop editing and Acrobat document-sharing software, said its 2002 net income would have shrunk to $6.6 million from its reported earnings of $191.4 million if it had used the fair-value method to figure the cost for employee stock options, the company said in a footnote in its annual report." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefits Administrator
for Black Mountain Management Inc.
in NY
Benefits Associate
for Simpson Investment Company
in WA
Pension Specialist
for Northern Trust
in GA
Manager, Manulife Financial US, Group Pensions
for Manulife Financial - Toronto, Canada
in Location Other Than U.S.
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Military Leave/USERRA
on March 3, 2003
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Cross-Tested Plans Specialty Workshop (1/2 day only)
in LA
March 26, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Are You in Compliance With the FLSA's White Collar Exemptions?
in ALL STATES
March 10, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group
HIPAA for Employers: 11th Hour Compliance
in ALL STATES
March 12, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group
Qualified Transportation Benefits
in ALL STATES
March 20, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Labor Department Announces Compliance Assistance Program for ERISA Health Laws
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
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