June 9, 2003 - 8,276 subscribers Today's sponsor: EBIA's HIPAA Portability & Privacy (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) New HIPAA Privacy Rules! Are Your Health Plans in Compliance? New laws and regulations impose far-reaching requirements on group health plans, employers, plan administrators, and insurers--and EBIA is here to help! Our HIPAA Portability & Privacy manual is the best resource available. Written and edited by top employee benefits attorneys, HIPAA Portability & Privacy has over 900 pages packed with the information you need to bring your group health plans into compliance with all of HIPAA's rules. Click above for details. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) IRS Web Site Has Information on Health Care Tax Credit for Individuals Excerpt: "The IRS's Web site (www.irs.gov) now includes information about the 65 percent Health Coverage Tax Credit (HCTC) for trade-displaced workers and certain individuals receiving pension benefit payments from the PBGC. The Web site information explains who is eligible for the HCTC and how to claim it ... Because the information is geared towards individuals, employers may want to refer those with questions about the HCTC to the Web site." (Deloitte & Touche Human Capital Advisory Services) Medicare Debates Focus on Merits of Private Health Insurers Excerpt: "As Congress begins a politically polarizing debate over prescription drug benefits for the elderly this week, a central issue is whether private health plans can deliver better care, at lower cost, than the traditional Medicare program created 38 years ago." (New York Times; one-time registration required) FAQs on Federal Government FSA Plan May Provide Perspective on Plan Design and Administration Issues Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: We thought these FAQs were interesting, mostly because they apply to what may become the country's largest FSA program (1.8 million employees are eligible to participate).... To the extent that the provisions of the OPM plan provide useful perspectives on how the government handles some tricky design issues, we will address them in future updates of the EBIA Cafeteria Plans manual." (EBIA Weekly) Opinion: the New Senate Child Credit Legislation — What It Does and Does Not Do Excerpt: "On June 5, the Senate passed 94-2 a bill that would restore a child tax credit provision for low-income working families that was dropped in the House-Senate conference on the large tax-cut bill signed May 28. There has been some confusion about the new Senate legislation, which has obscured a few less-attractive aspects of the bill." (Center on Budget Policies and Priorities) Court Rejects Claimant's Attempt to Obtain Information About Other Claimants Who Received Benefits Liston v. UNUM Corporation Officer Severance Plan (1st Cir. 2003). Excerpt: "This case [was] decided under the old DOL claims procedure regulations ... Under [the new DOL claims procedure] rules, the claimant in this case would have had a stronger argument for obtaining information regarding the treatment of other claimants under the plan. In the end, of course, even under the new regulations, arguments will be made about whether other claims are sufficiently similar to be relevant." (EBIA Weekly) Finally Some Healthplan Good News for Small Employers in New York State Excerpt: "The price of health insurance just got cheaper and easier to get for small businesses across the state, but the news is even better for those in the Buffalo region. Premium rates have been cut by an average 17 percent and eligibility guidelines have been expanded for Healthy New York, the two-year-old health insurance program for businesses with 50 or fewer workers." (Business First via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Report: Generic Drugs Excerpt: "In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Brief, David Gross provides basic information about generic drugs, focusing on their contribution to reducing prescription drug costs; the generic drug approval process; evidence on generic drug safety and effectiveness; state laws regarding generic substitution; and provider and consumer attitudes toward generic drugs." (AARP Research) Report: Decision Making In Consumer-Directed Health Plans Excerpt: "In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper, Judith H. Hibbard of the University of Oregon, Joyce Dubow of PPI, and Ellen Peters of Decision Research and the University of Oregon examine what will be required of consumers to effectively navigate [consumer-directed health plans]. The study also explores the types of decision supports that will be needed to assist them." (AARP Research) Report: Prescription Drug Prices in Canada Excerpt: "In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Brief, David Gross compares and contrasts key characteristics of pharmaceutical markets and prescription drug coverage in Canada and the United States ... discusses the key issues raised in critiques of U.S.-Canada prescription drug price comparisons; [and] identifies the factors that may contribute to any real differences in the financial burden of prescription drugs for older consumers." (AARP Research) Gannett/Detroit News Profiles Democratic Presidential Candidates' Health Care Proposals Excerpt: "So far, Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), Rep. Richard Gephardt (Mo.), former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) have proposed universal health care plans that would seek funding through repealing some of President Bush's $1.8 trillion in tax cuts enacted since 2001." (KaiserNetwork.org) Survey Reports Continued Double-Digit Increases In Employers' Medical Plan Costs Medical plan costs continue to increase at double-digit rates, according to the Aon Spring 2003 Health Care Trend Survey. Among the reasons given for the sharp increases are price inflation, deductible leveraging, increasing utilization, technological advances, and cost shifting. (Spencer Benefits Reports) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General New U.S. Tax Breaks May Add Allure to Use of Stock Options Excerpt: "Even as executive stock options were cited as playing a role in some recent corporate scandals, tax changes in the new economic package may make those options even more attractive, experts say. The reason, they say, is that the gap between the top tax rate on ordinary wage and salary income -- 35 percent -- and the rate on capital gains and dividend income -- at 15 percent this year -- will be so large." (Reuters) Backlash Grows Against SERPs Excerpt: "[T]he disclosure that American's parent, AMR Corp., had arranged for special accounts to ensure funding of executive retirement benefits and protect them in the event of bankruptcy helped ignite a chain reaction at the troubled carrier, including the prompt resignation of Chief Executive Donald Carty. The fallout also has cast a new light on the programs, known as SERPs, across corporate America and, experts said, could have a substantial effect on their future." (Chicago Tribune via Hoover's Online) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Defined Benefit Client Account Manager for New York Life Investment Management, LLC in MA Quality Control Analyst for CNA Trust in CA Sales Executive - Third Party Administrator (TPA) for ADP in NJ 401(k) Plan Administrator for Pension Inc. in IA, IL Account Specialist/ Plan Administrator for AMVESCAP Retirement, Inc. in GA Senior Manager for Lawrence Johnson & Associates in CA Pension Administrator for Lawrence Johnson & Associates in CA Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!) Maximizing the Impact of Self-Service Technologies on June 19, 2003 presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Handy Links:
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