| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
July 24, 2003 - 8,417 subscribers
Today's sponsor: FreeERISA.com
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Instant access to millions of benefit filings with FreeERISA.com FreeERISA.com provides instant access to millions of employee benefit filings from around the country, as well as numerous articles and databases specifically geared towards people in the pension and welfare markets. FreeERISA.com also provides on-demand documents retrieval at a variety of government agencies. Get the information you need - fast!
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
CBO Says Allowing Reimportation Unlikely To Reduce U.S. Spending on Prescription Drugs
Excerpt: "The prescription drug reimportation provisions in the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) likely would not reduce medication costs in the United States, according to an analysis of the two bills released July 22 by the Congressional Budget Office, CongressDaily reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Pharmaceutical Industry Funds Christian Group Opposition to Drug Reimportation Bill
Excerpt: "The Traditional Values Coalition, a Christian advocacy group that represents 43,000 churches, received 'behind-the scenes help' from the pharmaceutical industry in a campaign against abortion and prescription drug reimportation legislation, the Washington Post reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Medicare Conferees Meet With Bush, Pledge To Have Final Bill This Fall
Excerpt: "President Bush on July 23 told members of the House-Senate Medicare conference committee that he wants them to quickly craft a compromise, the New York Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Medical Errors Reporting Bill Advances in Senate
Excerpt: "A bill that would set up a voluntary, nonpunitive system for medical-errors reporting was approved 20-0 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee [on July 23, 2003]." (Modern Healthcare)
Overview: DOL Proposes Changes to Your COBRA Notices
Excerpt: "The rules, once finalized, will be effective January 1, 2004 for calendar year plans. Some of the highlights include new model notices for the initial notice and the election notice, additional guidance on the timing of notices, two new notice requirements, and additional guidance on qualified beneficiary notices." (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
Overview of Employer Benevolent Funds
Excerpt: "Recent events and legislation have sparked tremendous interest in employer benevolent funds, which help employees who are victims of natural disasters, national emergencies, financial hardships or family crises. Because the funds must adhere to strict rules to maintain tax-exempt status, their major concern is determining whether workers requesting aid qualify." (Journal of Accountancy)
Survey: Health Plans for State Government Employees in 2002
Excerpt: "State employee health plans provided coverage for 3.4 million state government employees in 2002. The Kaiser/HRET Survey: 2002 State Employee Health Plans finds that premiums for state employee health plans increased 12.8% in 2002, similar to national averages." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
How to Tame Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "In 2002 the average national increase was 12.7%, up from 4.8% in 1999. And there's no end in sight. Here are some steps CPAs can advise clients and employers to take to minimize these increases." (Journal of Accountancy)
Drug Ads Pressuring Doctors To Prescribe Certain Medications, AMA Official Says
Excerpt: "Many doctors feel they are under pressure to prescribe certain medications because patients, who have seen a treatment advertised on television, ask for them, Dr. Nancy Nielsen, speaker of the American Medical Association's House of Delegates, told members of the Senate Special Committee on Aging on July 22, the Hartford Courant reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Older Workers Staying In the Labor Force
Excerpt: "A recent labor market trend is that more and more older people are remaining in the labor force. By the end of 2002, the share of those between the ages of 55 and 64 who were in the labor force-- either working or unemployed-- rose to 62.9%, its highest level during the post-war era." (Economic Policy Institute)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Sr. Contract Analyst
for MetLife
in NY
Compliance Analyst - Intermediate
for Wachovia Corporation
in MN
Compensation Associate - Dallas
for PricewaterhouseCoopers
in TX
Retirement Plan Senior Consultant
for Tofias PC
in MA
ESOP/401k Plan Administrator
for Crowe Chizek
in IL
Compliance Analyst Senior-03-0015579
for Wachovia Corporation
in MN
Salesperson - Tampa, FL, Baltimore, MD and other locations
for Acclaris
in FL, MD
Retirement Plan Consultant
for Principal Financial Group
in IA
Pension Administrator
for Benetech, Inc.
in CA, DC, GA, VA
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs: What are the Consequences?
on July 22, 2003
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Federalism and Health Policy Forum
on July 22, 2003
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Who's An Employee? Speaker: S. Derrin Watson, Esq.
in FL
August 12, 2003
ASPA Benefits Council (ABC) of North Florida
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
GAO Adds PBGC's Single Employer Pension Insurance Program to High Risk List
(U.S. Government Accounting Office)
Statement of Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao On GAO Action Regarding Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
(U.S. Department of Labor)
Labor Department Testifies On Oversight of the Thrift Savings Plan
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2003 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: