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June 17, 2003 - 8,276 subscribers
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Lawmakers Continue Debate Over Medicare Drug Benefit, Role of Private Insurers
Excerpt: "Lawmakers will argue over the adequacy of the proposed drug benefit and whether the bill goes far enough -- or too far -- in encouraging private health plans to compete for coverage of the nation's 40 million elderly and disabled under Medicare." (Washington Post)
Medicare Drug Coverage Nears Senate OK
Excerpt: "The Senate plunged into debate over legislation to provide prescription drug coverage under Medicare on Monday, with passage a virtual certainty and both Republicans and Democrats claiming credit for breaking years of gridlock." (Washington Post)
Conservatives Rip Into Expensive Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage Proposal
Excerpt: "Conservative Medicare reformers yesterday denounced the Senate's prescription-drug bill as a bureaucratic monstrosity that would lead to soaring entitlement costs for taxpayers and federal price controls for pharmaceutical companies." (Washington Times)
Opinion: Medicare Prescription Drug Proposals Show Need for Refresher Course in Economics
Excerpt: "Here's a radical suggestion for President Bush and members of Congress as they move toward adding a prescription drug benefit to Medicare: Pass only what you are willing to pay for." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: the Medicare Momentum
Excerpt: "The main concession by Finance Committee Republicans was to provide essentially equal drug coverage to those who remain in traditional Medicare and to those who join new private plans. That is a huge concession. The Republicans gave up the idea of providing good drug coverage only in the private plans as a tactic to force or entice the elderly out of traditional Medicare." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Can Qualified Beneficiaries Elect COBRA Coverage For Others?
Excerpt: "Yes, but not always.... When election forms are returned, employers need to be assured that the proper qualified beneficiaries have chosen (or rejected) continuation coverage for the right individuals. We'll explain which qualified beneficiaries may make the COBRA election and for whom they may make it." (OnQue Technologies)
Union-Approved GE Contract Might Prompt Other Employers To Shift Healthcare Costs to Employees
Excerpt: "The tentative contract agreement reached on June 16 between General Electric and its two largest unions 'succeeds' in shifting more of GE's rising health care costs to its workers and is 'likely to encourage other large employers seeking similar concessions,' the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
More HMOs Encouraging Use of Diagnostic Tests, Preventive Services To Reduce Future Health Costs
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on June 17 examines how after 'being attacked for years for throwing up obstacles to patients' access to specialists and medical tests,' some managed care networks now 'coax, cajole and nag patients into seeing doctors, filling prescriptions and generally taking better care of themselves.'" (KaiserNetwork.org)
Health Costs Awareness Can Pit Workers Against Each Other
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on June 17 examines how increasing health care costs are beginning to 'set worker against worker,' creating conflicts among employees because 'as they dig deeper into their own pockets, workers are paying more attention to the reasons health care costs are climbing.'" (KaiserNetwork.org)
A World View on Controlling Healthcare Costs
Excerpt: "A June 15th workshop held in San Francisco entitled 'Trade-Offs in Controlling Health Care Costs: What Can California Learn from the World?' was part of the International Health Economics Association's 4th World Congress. It featured London School of Economics Professor Julian Le Grand, author of the recent book 'Health Care and Cost Containment in the European Union.'" (California Health Care Foundation)
Opinion: Loss of State-Mandated Benefits Under AHP Proposal is High Price to Pay
Excerpt: "Business groups argue that state-mandated benefits contribute significantly to rising health costs and make it difficult for many employers, especially small businesses that lack bargaining power, to buy insurance. Benefit mandates from the states, however, provide important consumer protection." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Pending Health Savings Account Bill Is Victory for Consumers
Excerpt: "A bill introduced in the House June 5 seeks to combine employer-funded health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) with flexible spending accounts (FSAs), eliminate the use-it-or-lose-it-feature of FSAs and make the fund portable. The proposed health savings accounts (HSAs) would be combined with high deductible 'health policies' (PPOs) to pay for health-related goods and services." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Opinion: House Bill Changes Name of MSAs But Not Substance, Would Expand Their Use
Excerpt: "On Tuesday, June 17, after considering legislation to establish a Medicare drug benefit, the House Ways and Means Committee plans to also consider H.R. 2351 -- proposed tax legislation to establish 'Health Savings Accounts.' Despite the slightly different name and the placement in a separate section of the Internal Revenue Code, these new Health Savings Accounts are virtually identical to Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs)." (Center on Budget Policies and Priorities)
Maine OKs Nation's First Universal Health Plan
Excerpt: "The Maine Legislature on Friday approved the nation's first health plan that provides medical care for all state residents.... The bold move to expand health coverage in Maine -- a notoriously poor state -- comes at a time when many cash-strapped states are talking about paring back medical coverage, or are struggling to hold on to what they have." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Working Paper: the Effects of Private Insurance on Measures of Health
Excerpt: "In this paper we investigate whether the presence of private insurance leads to improved health status.... [T]he effect of private insurance on health may be larger than previously estimated. As for policy, expanding coverage to the uninsured should result in substantial health improvement. By conjecture, this is likely to reduce the need for health care when individuals retire and enter Medicare, potentially leading to savings." (Avi Dor, Joseph Sudano, David W. Baker, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research)
Commentary: As Medical Research Marches On, Will Healthcare Spending Keep Pace?
Excerpt: "The administration's support for medical research, a position shared by Democrats, all but guarantees more breakthroughs in the future. So here's my question: Will the 90 million Americans who get their health insurance from the government be able to afford these expensive new treatments in the years to come?" (Charles Stein in the Boston Globe)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Send in the Lawyers: New Breed of ERISA Litigators Arrives on Scene
Excerpt: "Suddenly the horizon is filled with fiduciary breach lawsuits brought against big name 401(k) plan sponsors, with new cases popping up as older ones are settled. A new and more aggressive kind of lawyer is spearheading litigation for millions of dollars in claims by 401(k) participants." (DCNews.com)
Federal Government Solicits Proposals by 6/30/2003 for Pension and Welfare Benefit Research Projects
Excerpt: "The Office of Policy and Research (OPR) of the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is requesting proposals for research projects concerning private employment-based pension, health, and other benefits. To be eligible, proposed projects must relate to employee benefits programs or correlated public policy and cost $25,000 or less. Projects must not involve original survey data collection, but should involve new research, rather than research already in progress." (CCH Pension and Benefits News)
Overview: New Proposed Reliance Regs on ISOs Would Address Current Issues and Practices
Excerpt: "The current proposed regs retain some of the rules from the '84 proposed regs and expand upon them in other cases to reflect current issues and practices. The new proposed regs also make some changes to existing final regs under Code Sec. 421 and Code Sec. 424. The proposed regs would apply 180 days after publication of final regs. Taxpayers may rely on the proposed regs for any ISO granted after June 9, 2003." (RIA Tax News)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Actuarial Assistant
for American Express Tax & Business Services
in IL
Retirement and Actuarial Systems Analyst
for Watson Wyatt Worldwide
in DC, MA
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Announcing the Formation of Ault International Medical Management; New Comprehensive Care Management Program Takes "AIMM" at Healthcare Costs and Quality
(Ault International Medical Management, LLC)
Transamerica Retirement Services Introduces Free Annual Retirement Plan Reviews
(Transamerica Retirement Services)
Washington Business Group on Health Launches Institute to Address Obesity’s Enormous Toll on Corporate America
(Washington Business Group on Health)
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