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March 12, 2003 - 8,066 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Worldwide Employee Benefits Network
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Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) and Cherry Blossoms! Join WEB for the First Annual WEB National Conference featuring William Sweetnam, of the Treasury Department and David Albertson of Employee Benefit News Magazine, along with speakers from the American Benefits Council, DOL, the IRS, and some of the Nation's leading consulting and law firms. During the Conference, the First Annual WEB Benefits Excellence Awards will be presented at a banquet featuring keynote speaker Dallas Salisbury of EBRI. Go to www.webnetwork.org for registration information.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
CalPERS Proposes Health Benefits Program Overhaul
Excerpt: "In a move that could be a road map for workers and employers nationwide coping with soaring hospital costs, CalPERS has proposed a dramatic overhaul of its health benefits program to tie premiums and patients' out-of-pocket fees to the price and quality of care at different hospitals." (The Sacramento Bee via NewsAlert.com)
Do-It-Yourself Medical Testing
Excerpt: "Do-it-yourself medical testing isn't just some crazy scheme for hypochondriacs and penny-pinchers. It can help your doctor to better help you." (Business 2.0)
St. Petersburg Times, Wall Street Journal Examine Ways Consumers Obtain Prescription Drug Discounts
Excerpt: "The St. Petersburg Times on March 9 examined several different pharmacy discount cards that pharmaceutical companies have introduced to help 'cut off' the reimportation of medications from Canada, as well as legislative efforts to impose price controls on prescription drugs." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Waste at Root of Uninsured Crisis, Senators Told
Excerpt: "The U.S. healthcare system is wasting billions of dollars that could be spent expanding access to covered medical care for millions of Americans, economists and policy experts told lawmakers Monday." (Reuters Health via Yahoo! News)
Prepared Testimony at Special Committee on Aging Hearing: America's Ailing Healthcare System
Witnesses: The Honorable Dan Crippen, former Director of the Congressional Budget Office; Len Nichols, Center for Studying Health System Change; Karen Davis, The Commonwealth Fund; Stuart Butler, Heritage Foundation. A video clip of the hearing is at http://aging.senate.gov/hearings.htm (RealAudio format). (U.S. Senate, Special Committee on Aging)
Lobbyists on Both Sides Duel in the Medical Malpractice Damage Recovery Cap Debate
Excerpt: "With the House expected on Thursday to take up legislation imposing a $250,000 cap on 'pain and suffering' awards in malpractice cases, and the Senate planning to tackle medical liability later this month, lobbyists on both sides have been working at a fever pitch." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Benefit Cuts by Employers Can Bring Deductions for Individual Employees
Excerpt: "MEDICAL EXPENSES - These costs, including medical insurance premiums, are deductible only to the extent that they exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income, he noted. Taxpayers may more easily qualify for the deduction if their income is down or if they have to pay a greater share of their insurance costs." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Amendment to Separation Pay Plan Was Not Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Excerpt: "CAMPBELL v. BANKBOSTON (03/07/03 - No. 02-1695, 1st Cir.) A plan administrator was not acting as a fiduciary in amending a severance plan, and employers have the right to amend or end a welfare benefit plan at any time, thus amendment to a Separation Pay Plan was proper under ERISA, and an elimination of an expected (not accrued) benefit was not a violation." (FindLaw.com)
Severance Package Was Not Employee Benefit Plan; State Law Breach of Contract Claim Not Preempted
Winterrowd v. American General Annuity Ins. Co. (9th Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: ... Employers wishing to have their severance arrangements treated as ERISA plans should be aware that resolution of the ERISA plan issue can be very difficult to predict in the case of severance arrangements, particularly those involving one-time lump-sum payments ..." (EBIA Weekly)
Federal Court Enters TRO in Favor of ERISA Plan; Enjoins State Court's Adjudication of Plan's Lien
Administrative Committee v. Hart, No. 03-4001 (C.D. Ill. 2003). Excerpt: "[Group health plan participant Justin] Hart refused to reimburse the Plan to the extent of the Plan's lien, arguing that Illinois' common fund doctrine required the Plan to reduce its lien to pay a share of fees and costs incurred in obtaining the recovery. While Hart's lien adjudication petition was pending in Illinois state court, the Plan filed an action under ERISA ..." (Lawrence & Russell)
Court Properly Dismissed Claims Against Health Care Providers For Fraudulent Medicare Billing
A federal district court properly dismissed a plaintiff's claims under the False Claims Act against two health care providers for improperly billing the Medicare program for home health services. This was the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in Hampton v. Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp., et al. (No. 01-5265). (SpencerNet)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Second Circuit Upholds Trial Court's Denial of Attorney Fees for Successful ERISA Plaintiff
Excerpt: "LEYDA v. ALLIEDSIGNAL, INC. (03/04/03 - No. 02-7408, 02-7496, 2d. Cir.) Appeals and cross-appeals stemming from an ERISA ruling, which denied attorney fees to plaintiff and held that defendant failed to comply with ERISA's disclosure provisions, have no merit and are denied." (FindLaw.com)
Commentary: Rehnquist Court's Fickle Federalism Hobbles Both Congress and the States
Excerpt: "As the [Rush Prudential HMO v. Moran and similar] preemption cases indicate, the Court's commitment to federalism is highly erratic. The Court's conservative majority may use a states' rights argument to strike down national actions, but the same justices may also be unsympathetic to state autonomy if it results in new state initiatives." (The American Prospect)
Plan Administrator Liable for Damages for Inadequate Delivery of SPD
Leyda v. AlliedSignal, Inc. (2d Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "[T]he employer's method of distributing SPDs was not 'reasonably calculated to ensure actual receipt of the SPD by all plan participants,' as required by DOL regulations.... [B]y passing up opportunities to purchase additional coverage, the employee had relied to his detriment on the mistaken belief (caused by the employer's failure to provide him with an SPD) that he had the same level of life insurance coverage as before the acquisition." (EBIA Weekly)
CEO Severance Deals Seem Bad for Business
Excerpt: "Congratulations, you're fired! Now you can walk away with more money than you were getting while working. It sounds like a dream, and to most laid-off workers today, it most certainly would be. But it is a reality for many CEOs. Even in these tough economic times, they are getting fat severance packages when they are shown the door." (AP via Yahoo! News)
Stock Option Vote Nears As Lobbying Effort Grows
Excerpt: "Far from the loud debate on Wall Street and Silicon Valley, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets accounting rules in the U.S., will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to add stock options to its agenda. A project aimed at improving stock option rules will almost inevitably mean a proposal that requires companies to deduct stock option costs from profits, analysts say." (Reuters)
New Option Rule Has Key Backers As Panel Meets
Excerpt: "The group that writes U.S. accounting rules will have an important ally today as it begins considering whether to try again to require companies to count stock options as a business expense. The major accounting firms have reversed their positions from a decade ago and now support expensing options." (Washington Post)
Excerpts from New Book on Accounting For Equity Compensation
The NCEO presents excerpts from its new book Accounting for Equity Compensation. Authored by leading practitioners from Ernst & Young and Frederic W. Cook & Co., the book provides readers with a strong foundation in the financial accounting rules that govern equity compensation programs such as stock options. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contributions Technical Analyst
for Mellon HR Solutions
in NY
Retirement Plan Consultant
for Invesmart
in WA
Operations Manager
for The Glass Freedman Company
in MI
RIS/Pension Administration - Customer Service Representative (CSR)
for Pan-American Life Insurance Company
in LA
Retirement Plan & Benefit Compliance Specialist
for Fortune 500 Durable Goods Manufacturer
in NJ
Corporate Director of Benefits
for Multi Billion-Dollar Food and Beverage Manufacturer
in CA
401(k) Administrator
for Redwood Administrators, Inc.
in NJ
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Pension Focus 2003
in MO
May 8, 2003
Pension Consultants, Inc.
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