August 6, 2003 - 8,429 subscribers Today's sponsor: BeneCom Associates, LLC (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) BeneCom Associates, LLC, for one-stop benefit communications Since 1992, BeneCom has produced benefit communications, including enrollment materials, SPDs, benefit statements, newsletters and more, for companies large and small, nationwide. So if you've been looking for an independent benefit communications specialist, look no further. Click above for more information, or give us a call at (860) 674-2626, Ext. 11, or (770) 461-5559. We're here to help. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Jobless Get Health Plan Price Break Excerpt: "Unemployed Coloradans who have lost jobs because of foreign competition can get a big price break on health insurance starting this month. A federal tax credit that gives some laid-off workers up to 65 percent off monthly health insurance premiums took effect Aug. 1. The credit lasts for up to two years and covers those out-of-work and their families." (Denver Post Online) Wall Street Journal Examines Effect of ERISA on Employee Lawsuits Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal examines employee concerns about the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, which has 'hamstrung employees' ability to sue over disputes involving their employer-sponsored health care coverage' and other benefits." (KaiserNetwork.org) Healthcare Costs Are Key Issue in Big 3 Automakers' Union Negotations Excerpt: "The outcome of the talks will be closely scrutinized. UAW contracts with automakers often set trends for wage and benefits packages between other unions and manufacturers. Wall Street is looking for signs that U.S. automakers and the UAW can find creative ways to lower costs, improve productivity and stem their market-share losses." (USA Today) Lower Medical Cost Hikes Not a First-Quarter Blip, But a Sustainable Trend, Insurers Say Excerpt: "[N]ow that most publicly traded insurers have reported financial results for the second quarter, it appears that the lower annual increases in medical costs may be here to stay, at least for a while." (Managed Care Week via AISHealth.com) Report: Federal Government Should Require Health Plans to Cover Cost of All Recommended Vaccines Excerpt: "The federal government should require all private and public health plans to cover government-recommended immunizations, subsidize related costs for health plans and provide vouchers to the uninsured to obtain vaccinations, according to a report released Aug. 5 by the Institute of Medicine, the New York Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org) Opinion: On Health Care, 'Radical' May Be the Right Prescription Excerpt: "Sorry, Joe, but you've got it all wrong. That's dour Joe Lieberman I'm talking about, and what he got wrong was his assertion this week that Americans will run away from anything that is radical, smacks of big government or entails a tax increase." (Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post) Opinion: No Service Without Shirt, Shoes and Health Insurance Excerpt: "Last week Sen. John Edwards became the first presidential candidate in U.S. history to propose solving the problem of the uninsured by making health insurance mandatory. Although his proposed health care mandate is limited to children and young people -- all those under the age of 21 -- it offers the most promising way forward for eventually covering all 41 million uninsured Americans, and it marks a major turning point in our nation's health care debate." (Ted Halstead and Laurie Rubiner in the Washington Post) Opinion: Why the Media Oversells Medical 'Breakthroughs' Excerpt: "Good journalism is supposed to shine light into dark corners, not help sell this or that new drug or treatment. One of the sorriest examples of the latter involves the way journalists covered high-dose chemotherapy for breast cancer ... [W]e in the media helped sell a pricey, unproven, vile treatment to some of the most vulnerable readers imaginable.... [H]igh-dose chemotherapy was hugely profitable." (Washington Post) State Health Plans Cover More Workers Than Private Plans But Suffer the Same Cost Problems State employee health benefits differ in many ways from health benefits for all firms nationally, but they are similar in their recent inability to prevent double-digit cost increases, according to just-released Kaiser/HRET Survey: 2002 State Employee Health Plans. The Kaiser Family Foundation and the Health Research and Educational Trust conducted the survey, which covers approximately 3.4 million state workers. (Spencer Benefits Reports) American Association of Health Plans, Debit-Card Vendor Form Partnership Excerpt: "The American Association of Health Plans' (AAHP) vendor affinity program, AAHP Solutions, has formed a 'strategic alliance' with mbi, a Waltham, Mass.-based provider of medical debit cards, aimed at fostering consumer-directed health (CDH) plans." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com) A Fight for Free Access to Taxpayer-Funded Medical Research Excerpt: "[T]he vast majority of the 50,000 to 60,000 research articles published each year as a result of federally funded science ends up in the hands of for-profit publishers-- the largest of them based overseas-- that charge as much as $50 to view the results of a single study online." (Washington Post) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Opinion: Pay to U.S. Directors Reveals Back-Scratching Excerpt: "Things are looking up for outside directors. In the 1920s, at each board meeting a director could expect to find a $20 gold piece sitting on the table by his seat. Today, he can expect to receive just about $20,000 for each meeting." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com) Online: HayGroup's 'The Executive Edition' for Second Quarter 2003 13 pages. Articles include "Valuation: The Critical Stock Option Controversy," "Post-Employment Consulting Agreements: Are They Appropriate?", and "Share Utilization in Option Awards." (HayGroup) Overview: IRS Publishes Final Regulations on Section 419A '10 or More Employer Plans' (PDF) Excerpt: "Most recently, the Service proposed and issued regulations that seem intended to articulate in a relatively comprehensive manner and codify its litigation position on this issue. The regulations were issued under the Treasury Department's explicit statutory authority (section 419A(i)) to promulgate regulations carrying out the purpose of section 419 and 419A and have been carefully positioned by the government ..." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan) Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C. Excerpt: "Lawyers in the Employee Benefits & Compensation practice section of Phoenix-based law firm Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, P.L.C. regularly assist business clients with issues arising under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, COBRA, FMLA, and other laws affecting employee benefits. We have experience in a wide range of matters, including qualified retirement plans, health and welfare plans, fiduciary counseling, ERISA litigation and government proceedings, and corporate transactions." Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Defined Benefit Client Account Manager for New York Life Investment Management, LLC in MA Retirement Services Senior Administrator for Dubuque Bank and Trust Company in IA Benefit Administrator for National Benefit Alliance in UT Sales Assistant for The Pension Alliance of Boston, LLC in MA 401(k) Administrator for Lorraine Dorsa & Associates, Inc. in FL Pension Consultant for Qualified Benefits in CA Employee Benefit Administrator for National Advisors Trust Company in KS Newly Posted Webcasts (Post Yours!) 457 Plans After The Final Regulations on August 28, 2003 presented by SunGard Corbel Newly Posted Conferences (Post Yours!) Cross-Tested Plans Specialty Workshop in AZ, CA, CO, GA, IL, IN, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, NE, NY, OH, PA, TX, WA, WI October 23, 2003 SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans in CA, GA, IL, MO, OH, PA, TX, WA October 9, 2003 SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of Qualified Plans in CA, CO, MA, MI, MN, MO, NC, TX October 2, 2003 SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans in IL October 9, 2003 SunGard Corbel Construction Industry Benefits Conference in NV September 8, 2003 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Fundamentals of Money Management in PA September 22, 2003 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans 22nd Annual ISCEBS Employee Benefit Symposium in AZ September 14, 2003 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Certificate Series Program in CA September 12, 2003 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Essentials of Public Sector Benefits Administration in WI October 20, 2003 International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans Newly Posted Press Releases (Post Yours!) Educational Opportunities Available In September and October of 2003 (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans) Nationwide Financial to Allow Plan Sponsors to Offer 401(k) Investment Choice Beyond Selected Fund Line-Up (Nationwide Financial(SM)) Handy Links:
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