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June 4, 2003 - 8,276 subscribers
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Vendor Says IRS Ruling Means User is Liable for Debit Card Misuse, Not Third-Party Administrator
Excerpt: "A four-step process approved by the IRS in last month's debit card reimbursement guidance makes the card user ultimately financially responsible for the card's misuse, an executive at a leading debit card vendor told Thompson Publishing Group." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Humana ID Card Doubles as Debit Card
Excerpt: "After IRS paved the way last month with rules governing the administration of debit cards for flexible spending and health reimbursement accounts, Humana has announced the introduction of the first-of-its-kind member ID card that doubles as a debit card." (BenefitNews.com)
How Small Businesses Can Use Cafeteria (Section 125, 'Flex') Plans
Excerpt: "With cafeteria plans, employees can pay for a wide variety of benefits, such as health insurance, child care, care for elderly dependents, or out-of-pocket medical costs, with pre-tax dollars, selecting from among the benefits offered only those benefits which they want. Employers achieve tax savings as well since the employee salary reduction dollars and employer contributions are not taken into account when computing FICA and FUTA taxes." (Attorneys Paula A. Calimafde and Deborah A. Cohn, published by the Small Business Council of America)
GOP Leader Rebuffs Effort to Restore Lost Child Tax Credit
Excerpt: "The House majority leader, Representative Tom DeLay, said today that the House would not consider a Democratic measure to provide an increased tax credit to 6.5 million low-income families who did not receive it in the new tax law." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
ACLU Appeals Domestic Benefits Case to Montana Supreme Court
Excerpt: "The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed briefs before the Supreme Court of Montana on Monday, arguing that denial of domestic partner benefits by the University of Montana violates the state Constitution." (Gay.com / PlanetOut.com Network via Yahoo! News)
Opinion: It's In Employers' Interest That Marriage Continued to Be Privileged
Excerpt: "[C]ohabiting couples have higher rates of illness than married ones. Increasing the number of high-risk individuals in the insurance pool drives up the average premium for everyone. WellPoint, a major insurer, found in a 2001 study of small employers in California that health insurance costs for same-sex couples were 17.1 percent higher than for opposite-sex couples." (Ken Connor of the Family Research Council, published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Plaintiff Failed To Prove That His Termination Violated the ADEA, Ninth Circuit Rules
A plaintiff failed to prove that his former employer's stated reason for his termination was a pretext for discrimination in violation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). This was the ruling of the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Pottenger v. Potlatch Corporation (No. 02-35235). (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Post-Retirement Health Insurance As an Employer-Provided Benefit
Excerpt: "From a legal standpoint, an employer has wide discretion in providing all fringe benefits, including post-retirement health insurance. It is permissible under federal law, for example, to provide insurance benefits on a discriminatory basis.... [But the] biggest obstacle to providing post-retirement health insurance to retirees of a closely held business are contractual restraints imposed by the insurance companies." (Attorney Michael P. Coyne, published by the Small Business Council of America)
Growth of Consumer-Directed Health Plans Could Mean Shrinking Revenues for Insurers
Excerpt: "CDH plans could help employers lower premiums and make employees better health care consumers, but a new study says that few insurers have considered financial ramifications of large-scale adoption of the plans." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Report: Roundtable on Access to Affordable Health Coverage by Women-Owned Businesses (PDF)
129 pages; March 2003. Excerpt: "NWBC recently convened a Roundtable discussion on affordable health care for businesses and their employees. The Roundtable brought together women business owners, business association leaders, issue experts, and public policy makers from across the U.S. to discuss not only the concerns involved in providing affordable health care, but also the most effective solutions that can be considered in the 108th Congress." (National Women's Business Council)
Access to Affordable Health Coverage for Women-Owned Businesses: Key Issues and Policy Options (PDF)
104 pages; April 2003. Excerpt: "This review explores the ability or inability of women business owners and other small business owners to secure affordable health care. Also examined are associated costs and the extent of existing health care coverage for employees. In addition to reviewing the existing state of health care, this report analyzes alternative strategies and proposals that have been put forth to deal with the issues of health care cost and access." (National Women's Business Council)
Unintentional Home Injuries Annually Cost U.S. Employers $38 Billion
Press release. Excerpt: "Employers are spending an average of $280 per employee helping to pay for injuries that employees and their dependents suffer at home. These 'off-the-clock' injuries result in a $38 billion a year financial burden to U.S. employers according to a new study released today by the Home Safety Council." (Business Wire via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Use of Generics Slows Growth in Prescription Drug Spending
Excerpt: "Greater use of generic drugs helped slow growth in outpatient prescription drug spending to 11.3% in the first quarter of 2003, down from 16.9% in the previous quarter, according to pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts ..." (Modern Healthcare)
Canada Fills U.S. Prescriptions Under the Counter
Excerpt: "[B]y helping customers arrange to purchase legal drugs at steep discounts from Canadian pharmacies, compared to the prices at nearby pharmacies, Discount Rx Connection and scores of similar stores around the country are part of a revolution in the American drug market." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Administration Promotes Private Health Plans as Medicare Moneysaver
Excerpt: "Thomas A. Scully, administrator of the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said private plans would provide 'better benefits and lower costs' than the traditional fee-for-service Medicare program. Many economists disagree, and Mr. Scully himself said that the Congressional Budget Office disagreed." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Is a Tax Credit a Tax Cut for the Uninsured? (PDF)
17 pages; outline of presentation. (Mark Pauly, Ph.D., published by the Galen Institute)
Health Insurance Association of America Offers Healthcare Reform Proposal
Excerpt: "The Health Insurance Association of America released a set of recommendations for containing healthcare costs that it said could reduce U.S. healthcare spending by up to $258 billion per year." (Modern Healthcare)
Maryland's Top Health Administrator Working on Universal Healthcare Plan with Governor's Support
Excerpt: "Maryland's top health administrator said yesterday that he is developing a proposal to ensure that all state residents have at least a basic package of health care benefits." (The Baltimore Sun)
New York Times Examines 'Unintended Consequences' of HIPAA Privacy Regs
Excerpt: "The New York Times on June 3 looks at some of the 'unintended consequences' of the medical privacy regulations in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, which were implemented nationwide in April. Under the privacy regulations, hospitals must offer patients written notice of how they use patient medical information and how it can be released ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser mbi
Excerpt: "mbi, revolutionized pre-tax benefits accounts with a swipe of a card. Founded in 1995, mbi was the first to offer a debit-card solution for pre-tax benefit administration of FSAs, HRAs, Transit, Dependent Care and other defined contribution plans. More than 200 Third-Party Administrator's offer the mbi Flex Convenience® card providing over 4000 employers and more than 275,000 employees the advantages of mbi's system. ."
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Under Pressure, Some Companies Paring Executive Comp Packages
Excerpt: "Public companies are responding to enormous pressure from institutional investors, lobbying groups, unions, lawmakers and individuals to cut back on what many see as extravagant executive salary and benefit packages." (BenefitNews.com)
Woe Betide Consultants to Abusive Tax Shelters
Excerpt: "[T]he Treasury and IRS have indicated they are thinking of adding to the so-called 'listed transactions' ... 412(i) policies with springing cash surrender values that only blossom after they are rolled out to the insured participant. Also mentioned in this connection are 419A schemes involving exploitation of the collective bargaining exception available to remove funding of welfare benefits from the restrictive limitations of the Code." (Attorney Alvin D. Lurie, published by the Small Business Council of America)
FedEx to Offer Buyouts to 12% of Workforce; High Pension, Healthcare Costs Cited
Excerpt: "The Memphis, Tennessee-based company said it expects to take a $230 million to $290 million pretax charge to pay for the retirement and severance packages at its largest operating unit, FedEx Express, as higher pension and health-care costs hurt overall profit." (Reuters via the New York Times; one-time registration required)
California Lawmakers Resist Push for Further Federal Regulation of Stock Options
Excerpt: "California lawmakers friendly to high-tech industries are pushing against requiring companies to count stock options against their bottom line, as Congress splits over a perk and form of compensation that some have blamed for aiding corporate abuses. The head of [FASB] said Tuesday the lawmakers were improperly intervening in its work by proposing a three-year delay of such a requirement." (AP via Washington Post)
American Benefits Council Joins High Tech Companies in Supporting Sen. Boxer's Stock Option Bill (PDF)
Excerpt: "As you know, some who seek to require that stock options be expensed in financial statements, such as the FASB, disclaim any obligation to examine the impact on the U.S. economy and its competitiveness. However, you rightly recognize that the rule-making bodies governing accounting for stock options are moving without due process and are failing to consider many important issues." (American Benefits Council)
Some Executives Resigned to Stock Option Expensing
Originally published June 2, 2003. Excerpt: "They don't want to say it is inevitable, but corporate leaders at some Washington [D.C.] area companies that offer stock-option packages are resigning themselves to a future when handing out such incentives to employees and executives will cost them-- and at some companies, cost them big." (Washington Post)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Director Health Policy
for The ERISA Industry Committee (a Washington DC based trade association)
in DC
Business Development
for Havensure, LLC
in ALL STATES
Pension Administrator
for Actuaries Unlimited, Inc.
in CA
ERISA Paralegal
for Sherman & Howard LLC
in CO
Benefits Manager (Service Delivery Manager)
for Towers Perrin
in VA
Health & Welfare Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in Location Other Than U.S.
Manager of Employee Benefits Department
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in CT, MA, NH, RI
Employee Benefits Account Manager
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in CT, MA, NH, RI
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
The ABCs of Cross-Tested Plans
on June 17, 2003
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
New Self-Funding of Health Care Benefits Book Features Companion Web Site
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Two Publications Dissect 2003 Tax Law
(Liberty Publishing, Inc.)
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