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April 22, 2003 - 8,138 subscribers
Today's sponsor: HIPAA Privacy Workbook for Group Health Plans
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
The April 14 HIPAA Deadline Has Come and Gone -- Are You In Compliance? You Can Be! The 325-page HIPAA Privacy Workbook for Group Health Plans is a practical tool that tells you what you need to know and do to comply. It will save you time and money by providing more than 50 model documents tailored for group health plans. Click on the banner for the 33-page table of contents, a sample chapter, and a list of model documents.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Supreme Court to Hear 'Reverse Discrimination' ADEA Case Over Health Benefits
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court said on Monday it would decide whether a federal law barring age bias in the workplace allows for reverse discrimination lawsuits by employees in their 40s who claim older workers are better treated. The high court agreed to hear an appeal by a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp. arguing the law does not allow for such lawsuits." (Reuters via FindLaw.com)
Text of 6th Circuit ADEA Opinion Being Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court
Cline v. General Dynamics Land Systems, Inc., No. 00-3468 (6th Cir., July 22, 2002). (FindLaw.com)
Gephardt to Announce Universal Health Insurance Initiative
Excerpt: "On Wednesday, Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) is to unveil an idea that could make or break his presidential campaign. Speaking in New York City, Gephardt will detail a plan that aims to invigorate the economy and provide health insurance to almost all the 41.2 million Americans without it." (The Los Angeles Times via Newsday.com)
Mistrust Between Doctors, Insurance Companies Feeds Paperwork Logjam
Excerpt: "The system is broken when it takes one administrative worker for every five doctors to get bills paid, executives who run the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization argue.... But the best software programmers in the world can't write enough code to solve the mistrust and stubborn thinking that's keeping health care years behind other industries in the use of technology to lower administrative costs." (The Boston Globe)
Some Say Diversity's Business Case Doesn't Add Up
Excerpt: "Employers spend billions on diversity programs, but there's little evidence of improved business performance, financial results, or accountability. Meanwhile, discrimination cases are on the rise." (Workforce.com)
Overview: More HIPAA Guidance on Transaction Civil Penalties, Complaints, and Privacy
Excerpt: "Notwithstanding HHS's pledge to use cooperation and technical assistance to help covered entities comply with HIPAA regulations, HHS continues to release information with respect to enforcement and complaints. The most recent releases include interim final rules on procedures for imposing civil monetary penalties for violating the uniform transaction and code set rules ..." (Deloitte & Touche Human Capital Advisory Services)
Distributing Privacy Notices
Q: Can covered entities distribute their notices as part of other mailings or distributions? A: Yes. The HIPAA privacy rules provide covered entities with discretion in this area; no special or separate mailings or distributions are required to satisfy the Privacy Rule's notice distribution requirements. (SpencerNet)
Pamphlet for Consumers: Health Privacy -- Know Your Rights (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "As of April 14, 2003, federal law provides some privacy protections for your medical records and gives you the right to see your own records. In order to protect your personal medical records, you need to know what protections and rights you have and what you can do if you believe they have been violated. The information in this brochure is an overview of those rights and protections." (Health Privacy Project)
For Consumers: HIPAA Health Information Privacy Complaint Form (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Entity* that is the subject of this complaint: _______ (*The individual or organization that you believe violated your privacy. This may be an individual health care provider or organization, health plan, or health care clearinghouse)" (Health Privacy Project)
Can Managed Care and Competition Control Medicare Costs?
By Marsha Gold. Excerpt: "Medicare+Choice (M+C) was conceived to bring managed care and competitive forces to bear on Medicare. Ultimately, M+C could not thrive under the conditions of the marketplace and the Balanced Budget Act of 1997. Here I review what went wrong and the lessons from the experience, concluding that M+C is a tool, not a strategy." (Health Affairs)
Editorial Cartoon: Who's Responsible for High Health Costs?
By Roger Schillerstrom. (Modern Healthcare)
Strong Consensus on Need for Universal Healthcare, but That's Where the Agreements End
Excerpt: "Almost exactly a decade after the collapse of President Clinton's universal healthcare plan, the issue is regaining political prominence as medical costs have skyrocketed and states, faced with mounting budget woes, have begun to slash government health programs such as Medicaid." (Modern Healthcare via Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Philadelphia Woman Charged With Staging Death to Collect State Pension Plan's Death Benefit
Excerpt: "Charlotte J. Mears, 52, ... was arraigned Friday before a district justice in Harrisburg on charges including theft and forgery and was released on $25,000 bail, according to the state Attorney General's Office. She could not be reached for comment yesterday. Mears, who retired from the state Liquor Control Board in 1989, admitted creating a phony death certificate on a home computer, prosecutors said." (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
American Airlines CEO Does Damage Control
Excerpt: "The head of American Airlines launched a damage-control offensive yesterday as the carrier's second major labor union sought to throw out its vote approving a cost-cutting agreement that was aimed at staving off bankruptcy." (Washington Post)
Opinion: CEOs You Don't Want in the Cockpit
Excerpt: "It's a good thing that Donald J. Carty, the chairman and chief executive of American Airlines, doesn't also pilot one of its planes. If he did, and if the plane went into an uncontrolled dive and he handled it the same way he's running the company, he'd bail out as the plane fell to earth, drift dreamily down on a golden parachute, land lightly amid the carnage and give himself a nice cash bonus for coming through unscathed." (Washington Post)
Furious, American's Unions Talk of New Votes
Excerpt: "Still fuming over the failure of American Airlines to inform them of its compensation plans for senior management, all three of the company's major unions said yesterday that they would vote again or were considering voting again on $1.62 billion in annual concessions that their members had approved last week." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Sales Design Specialist
for American National Insurance Company
in TX
Director II Client Services
for PFPC
in MD
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans (2 Day Seminar)--offered throughout the country, various dates and locations beginning 6/5-6 through 7/24-25
in CA, CO, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, TX
July 24, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Minneapolis, MN 6/5-6/2003
in MN
June 5, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Los Angeles area 6/12-13/2003
in CA
June 12, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Dallas, TX 6/19-20/2003
in TX
June 19, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Kansas City, MO 6/26-27/2003
in MO
June 26, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Charlotte, NC 7/10-11/2003
in NC
July 10, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Detroit, MI 7/17-18/2003
in MI
July 17, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans--Boston, MA 7/17-18/2003
in MA
July 17, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--St. Louis, MO 6/5-6/2003
in MO
June 5, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans (2 Day Seminar)--offered throughout the country, various dates and locations, beginning 6/5-6 through 7/23-24/2003
in CA, GA, IL, MO, OH, PA, TX, WA
July 23, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--Seattle, WA 6/12-13
in WA
June 12, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--Atlanta, GA 6/19-20
in GA
June 19, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--Houston, TX 6/26-27
in TX
June 26, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--San Francisco, CA 7/10-11
in CA
July 10, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--Philadelphia, PA 7/10-11
in PA
July 10, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--Chicago, IL 7/17-18
in IL
July 17, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans--Cleveland, OH 7/23-24
in OH
July 23, 2003
SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
DataPath announced release of their latest web site, www.hra105.com
(DataPath, Inc.)
Jared Gross Named Special Assistant to PBGC Executive Director
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation)
Labor Dept. Obtains Court Order Restoring Contributions to Participants in Michigan Health and Flexible Spending Plans
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Chicago)
CNA Develops Four-in-One, One-of-a-Kind Approach to Non-Medical Insurance Coverage
(CNA)
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