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March 3, 2003 - 8,066 subscribers
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New! International Foundation Books Available on BenefitsLink. When you have the right resources, you can answer the questions that come your way. Each year, the International Foundation teams with respected authors and publishes books on a variety of topics. Whether you're managing pharmacy benefit costs, designing a cash balance plan or communicating benefits to your employees, the International Foundation is your single source of benefit and compensation information and education.
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Dukakis: Clinton Healthcare Proposal Was Too Complicated But Nixon Got It Right
Excerpt: "In 1971, Nixon proposed a health care program in which all employers would be mandated to provide their employees with health coverage. The plan never received national acceptance but in 1974 was adopted by Hawaii. 'The best health outcomes in America are in Hawaii,' Dukakis said." (The [University of California, Los Angeles] Daily Bruin)
Catholic Charities Sues Portland, Maine; Issue is Failure to Provide Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "Catholic Charities has been threatening the lawsuit for months in a dispute over a city ordinance requiring agencies receiving federal housing and community development money to offer domestic partners the same benefits as spouses. The organization also claims in the lawsuit that federal law regarding employee benefits pre-empts the city from enforcing such an ordinance." (The Portland [Me.] Press Herald)
ERIC Amicus Brief in Support of Disability Plan in Supreme Court Case on 'Treating Physician' Rule (PDF)
20 pages; The Black & Decker Disability Plan v. Nord, No. 02-469 (2003). Excerpt: "Question Presented: Whether the Ninth Circuit erred in holding that an ERISA disability plan administrator's determination of disability is subject to the 'treating physician rule' and, therefore, the plan administrator is required to accept a treating physician's opinion of disability as controlling unless he rebuts that opinion based upon substantial evidence on the record." (ERISA Industry Committee)
FSA Participant Maxes Out Reimbursements; Now Can He Stop Contributions Due To Change In Status?
Excerpt: "Does our health FSA have to permit this type of election change in the future? Answer: Not if you draft your plan documents appropriately." (EBIA Weekly (Question of the Week))
Overview: California Extends Cal-COBRA Coverage
Follow link to one-page PDF document. Excerpt: "Recently, the California Legislature extended the coverage of Cal-COBRA. For Cal-COBRA beneficiaries, the continuation coverage has been lengthen for up to 36 months. This rule takes effect on January 1, 2003 and applies to individuals who begin receiving Cal- COBRA coverage after January 1, 2003." (Winston & Strawn)
Lawyer-Surgeon Taking Aim at Insurers for Malpractice Liability
Excerpt: "Wachsman, who holds licenses to practice medicine in eight states and law in seven, estimates that many malpractice lawsuits stem from cases where patients were misdiagnosed or diagnosed too late by their health maintenance organizations." (AP via Yahoo! News)
Work/Life Programs: Not Just Another Employee Benefit
Excerpt: "[C]ompanies are increasingly realizing the bottom-line benefits of programs designed to help workers balance professional and personal demands. These include an enhanced ability to recruit and retain top talent, reduced absenteeism and health care costs, increased morale and productivity, and improved customer satisfaction and company image." (The CEO Refresher)
Structuring a Defined Contribution Health Program
Excerpt: "The building blocks of a defined contribution health plan include not just dollars and deductibles but choices reflecting your company's goals." (HR Magazine)
Healthcare Costs Reach the Breaking Point for Labor-Management Relations
Excerpt: "This is the first time in more than three decades that GE workers have felt passionate enough about any issue to stage a national strike, one that spread to 48 locations in 23 states, affecting plants that make everything from consumer products to jet engines. The catalyzing issue, in this case, had nothing to do with wages, job cuts, or factory safety. It had to do with fast-rising health costs--and who was going to pay for them." (Fortune.com)
New York Times Examines Health Reimbursement Accounts
Excerpt: "Right now, only about 300,000 to 400,000 people-- less than half of 1 percent of all insured employees-- participate in H.R.A.'s. But this small group is being studied closely by benefits consultants, policy experts and insurance companies." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
House Energy and Commerce Panel Considers Bill That Would Cap Medical Malpractice Awards
Excerpt: "House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee members on Feb. 27 'fiercely debated' a Republican-sponsored bill that would limit jury awards in medical malpractice lawsuits for pain and suffering to $250,000, CongressDaily reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
House, Senate Lawmakers Reintroduce Mental Health Parity Legislation
Excerpt: "House and Senate lawmakers on Feb. 27 reintroduced a bill from the 107th Congress that would expand the Mental Health Parity Act of 1996 to mandate that employers with 50 or more workers could not impose higher out-of-pocket costs for treatment of mental illnesses than for treatment of physical illnesses, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Trial Lawyers' Web Page Details Position on Proposed Federal Cap on Medical Malpractice Recoveries
Excerpt: "ATLA fights to give patients and their families the right to hold the health care industry accountable when patients are killed or injured by malpractice. ATLA believes that limiting patients' access to courts and what they can recover in legitimate malpractice suit ... won't help current victims of malpractice, or deter other health care industry workers from being careful in the future." (Association of Trial Lawyers of America)
Privacy Rules May Limit Clergy Hospital Visits
Excerpt: "In response to the new [HIPAA privacy] rules ... many hospitals are either no longer offering such lists to clergy or tightening access to the lists. And now, unless a patient gives permission to be in the directory in the first place, the hospital will not tell their clergy-- or even their own children-- that they are there." (The [Pittsburgh] Post-Gazette)
Audio Excerpt: Florida Frowns on Canadian Drugs Via Internet
Excerpt: "Americans have traveled to Canada in recent years to buy cheaper prescription drugs. But efforts by an 86-year-old Florida man and other entrepreneurs to act as a middle-man for a Canadian pharmacy pit seniors against the government and one major drugmaker. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.' (Mar. 1, 2003) (National Public Radio)
Consumer Group Says California Malpractice Premiums Rose 450% Despite Law Capping Damage Recovery
Excerpt: "Medical malpractice premiums rose 450% in the thirteen years following passage of California's cap on victim compensation, and decreased 2% in the same time number of years after enactment of insurance rate regulation, according to testimony today by the California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights ..." (The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Commentary: U.S. Health System is Bruised and Broken
Excerpt: "The system seems to work for people who stay insured and never have medical problems, but once they need care or leave a job, they often bump into the barriers that prevent them from receiving care. No wonder the Commonwealth Fund, a New York-based research organization, found that Americans are more dissatisfied with their system than citizens in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom." (AARP)
AAHP Calls Attention to America's Uninsured; Ad Campaign to Appear in Theatres
Press release. Excerpt: "Armed with new data on the growing crisis of America's uninsured and a mandate from the association's Board of Directors to redirect public and political attention to strategies that can be used to address this important issue, the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) [on February 28, 2003] launched an innovative ad campaign in movie theatres across the country." (American Association of Health Plans)
California Doctors Group Joins Boycott of GlaxoSmithKline
Excerpt: "A Marina Del Ray, Calif., physician group has joined a boycott against drug maker GlaxoSmithKline to protest the company's decision to block sales to Canadian wholesalers and pharmacies that resell GSK medications to U.S. patients, the Los Angeles Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
D.C.-Area Employers Salute Reservists, Expand Benefits
Excerpt: "By law, companies must allow reservists to attend military training and guarantee their jobs after tours of duty. But some are going one step further, offering supplemental wages, flexible return policies, extended health benefits and family counseling as well.... Adding benefits has become the easiest way for employers to show their support for the war on terrorism, said Gene Fairbrother, a business consultant for the National Association for the Self-Employed." (Washington Times)
Earnings and Other Compensation Data at BLS: What Users Seek and What BLS Offers
Excerpt: "This article describes the earnings and other compensation data available from BLS, highlighting the differences in the various programs." (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Financial Analyst - Executive Benefits - Deerfield, IL
for Mullin Consulting, Inc.
in IL
Implementations Specialist (Senior)
for Northern Trust Retirement Consulting, L.L.C.
in GA
Benefits Manager
for The First Church of Christ, Scientist
in MA
Health & Welfare Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in OH
Enrolled Actuary
for Invesmart
in KY
Client Service Representative - Employee Benefits
for Black Mountain Management Inc.
in NY
Benefits Writer
for Enwisen, Inc.
in CA
Insurance Compliance Senior Compliance Analyst
for Transamerica - The winning organization
in CA
Pension Administrator
for DeSantiago Pension Consulting, L.L.C.
in AZ
Benefits Manager
for T-Mobile
in WA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Overview of U.S. Mercer National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans
on February 28, 2003
presented by Mercer Human Resource Consulting
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
A Second Look at the Cash Balance Proposed Regulations: What Do They Really Mean?
in ALL STATES
March 13, 2003
ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits; Other Organizations
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
ICMA Retirement Corporation Creates Public Employee Memorial Scholarship Fund To Aid Families Of Fallen Heroes
(ICMA Retirement Corporation)
BenefitsEssentials Explains New HIPAA Privacy Rules
(BenefitsEssentials.com)
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