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March 27, 2003 - 8,069 subscribers
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IRS Ruling Shows How Foundation Can Award Grants to Employees' Children as Scholarships
Excerpt: "If a private foundation awards educational grants to employees or children of employees of a particular employer who are victims of a qualified disaster as defined in §139 of the Internal Revenue Code, and the educational grants do not satisfy the percentage test of Rev. Proc. 76-47, 1976-2 C.B. 670, are these educational grants treated as scholarships subject to the provisions of §117 and not treated as taxable expenditures under §4945(d)(3)?" (Internal Revenue Service)
Applying the 'Treating Physician' Rule to ERISA Disability Cases: S. Ct. Ruling May Affect Sponsors
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide an ERISA issue in conflict at the appellate level: Whether the 'treating physician rule'-- traditionally only used in the Social Security disability context-- also should apply to ERISA disability cases. Two U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeals recently have said 'yes' ..." (Thompson Publishing Company)
Groom Law Group Files Amicus Curiae Brief in Supreme Court Treating Physician Rule Case
Excerpt: "On behalf of the Bert Bell/Pete Rozelle NFL Player Retirement Plan, Groom Law Group recently filed a brief as amicus curiae on the merits in Nord arguing that the treating physician rule has no role in ERISA." (Groom Law Group)
Lawyers Question Opinion On Domestic Partnership Benefits Relied Upon by North Carolina County
Excerpt: "Seven Durham lawyers gathered in front of the old Durham County Courthouse Tuesday morning to express 'serious doubt' about County Attorney Chuck Kitchen's recent legal opinion against offering health insurance to unmarried partners of county employees." (The [Raleigh, N.C.] News & Observer)
FMLA Certification from Workers Avoids HIPAA Authorization
Excerpt: "When seeking medical certification for an FMLA serious health condition, employers can avoid HIPAA privacy requirements by getting the information directly from employees, rather than tapping into health plan files." (Thompson Publishing Company)
Only Creeps and Weirdos Use Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefit Plans?
Excerpt: "General Motors, a company that gutted many of America's great cities by pressuring local governments to eliminate public transit in the 20th century, is running ads in a local Vancouver paper that calls transit riders 'CREEPS & WEIRDOS." (Boing Boing)
U.S. Health Plans Considering Drug Pricing System Used in Europe, Canada
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on March 26 examines a commonly used practice in Europe and Canada to lower drug costs known as reference pricing or 'therapeutic MAC,' or maximum allowable cost. Therapeutic MAC systems group drugs by the medical conditions they treat, and then health plans decide the maximum amounts they will pay for medicines in each group." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Labor Secretary Chao Leads Roundtable Discussion on AHPs in Minnesota
Excerpt: "Labor Secretary Elaine Chao on March 25 led a small-business roundtable discussion on reducing health care costs in St. Paul, Minn., where she promoted federal legislation that would permit the establishment of association health plans, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Blue Cross Opposes Bill to Exempt AHP Insurers from State Laws and Oversight
Press release. Excerpt: "Minnesota's health care system has long been the envy of the rest of the nation; but a bill in the U.S. Congress could remove Minnesota's coveted health care protections for people in small businesses, while dramatically raising premiums. The legislation ... would allow for the creation of AHPs-- organizations that provide health care coverage for small groups but are exempt from state laws and oversight." (PR Newswire via NewsAlert.com)
Opinion: With Vow Broken, Retirees Steel Themselves For Tough Times
Excerpt: "Bethlehem Steel Corp. made a big promise and didn't keep it. So about 95,000 of its retirees, who for decades worked dirty and dangerous jobs in the company's mills from here to Lehigh, will lose the health and life insurance benefits their union had negotiated and their employer had agreed to provide." (The Baltimore Sun)
Washington State Insurance Commissioner Calls for Mandatory Health Coverage for All Residents
Excerpt: "As a solution to the growing number of Washington residents without health insurance, state Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler is drafting legislation for next year requiring everyone to acquire major medical coverage." (Puget Sound Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Pie in the Sky Universal Health Coverage
Excerpt: "Here's a fairy tale: The Congress passes some magic law, and everyone has all the health services they deserve and can dream of wanting-- at the price to them that they think it is worth (practically nothing), and the national and/or states' economies won't be dragged down by the costs." (Frederick D. Hunt, president of the Society of Professional Benefit Administrators)
Long-Term Care Insurance: Consumer, Business Awareness Translating Into Action
Press release. Excerpt: "The American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI) released a report today that shows consumer and business awareness of the importance of long-term care insurance is now prompting specific action to secure and provide this vital form of insurance protection." (PRNewswire via NewsAlert.com)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Opinion: EDS Chief Executive Bails Out in Style
Excerpt: "When Dick Brown was criticized for a huge pay package last year, he told shareholders of Electronic Data Systems that it was more money than he was worth. He was right, but he didn't give any back." (The Fort Worth [Tex.] Star-Telegram)
Opinion: Executive Pay Sometimes Bloated By Padded Earnings
Excerpt: "It's not just the excessive executive paychecks that are raising eyebrows. It's how those salaries got so big in the first place." (TheDay.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefits Manager (Service Delivery Manager)
for Towers Perrin
in VA
Executive Director
for West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board
in WV
Defined Benefits Sales Executive
for Ceridian
in ALL STATES
Service Specialist
for Principal Financial Group
in MA
401(K) Plan Administrator
for Tofias PC
in MA
Attorney
for Stanton, Hughes, Diana, Cerra, Mariani & Margello, P.C.
in NJ
Investment Specialist
for Tycor Benefit Administrators, Inc.
in PA
Pension Trust Accountant/Director of Administration
for Thomas F. Barrett, Inc.
in MD
401(k) Account Manager
for CNA Trust
in CA
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
National Benefits Conference
in PA
June 6, 2003
The Lloyd Institute
ERISA: A Practitioner's Guide
in DC
May 8, 2003
LexisNexis Mealey Publications & Conferences Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Franklin Templeton Investments Announces New Retirement Sales Campaign
(Franklin Templeton Investments)
CNA Trust Hired as Retirement Plan Provider for Conservative Rabbi Group
(CNA Trust)
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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