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August 20, 2003 - 8,445 subscribers
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HMOs Again Ask Judge To Dismiss Class Action
Excerpt: "The managed-care industry asked a judge for a second time Tuesday to throw out a lawsuit by 600,000 doctors across the nation who say they are routinely cheated on payments for their services." (AP via the Tallahassee [Fla.] Democrat)

McDonnell Douglas Settles ERISA Section 510 Lawsuit for $36 Million
Millsap v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., No. 94-CV-633-H(M) (N.D. Okla. 5/28/03), appeal granted No. 03-702 (10th Cir. 7/14/03). Excerpt: "[The trial court] found that McDonnell Douglas closed its Tulsa plant in order to avoid paying employee benefits, a violation of ERISA Section 510.... [A] unique aspect of the settlement is that it was conditioned on the Tenth Circuit's accepting an appeal filed by McDonnell Douglas on the issue of whether back pay may be recovered under ERISA." (EBIA Weekly)

General Motors Counts Cost of Soaring Healthcare Bills
Excerpt: "Few Chevrolet drivers would guess that the single biggest cost of making their car was medical care for retired workers. But General Motors, manufacturer of Chevys as well as Buicks, Cadillacs and Pontiacs, spends more on healthcare for pensioners than it does on steel." (Financial Times via Yahoo! News)

Medicare Bill's Chances Are Waning
Excerpt: "The likelihood a Medicare prescription drug bill will pass this year is waning with the hot August weather, collapsing under the weight of party politics, complex and confusing language and a groundswell of senior unhappiness." (United Press International)

As Health Plan Sponsor, What Is Your ERISA Fiduciary Duty To Beneficiaries?
Excerpt: "Whether a person acts as a fiduciary under ERISA when administering COBRA will be decided in each case, taking into consideration the amount of decision-making authority the person has, how much he or she knows about the operations of the benefits plan, and to what extent the person has authority to act on behalf of the plan." (OnQue Technologies Inc.)

Court Applies One-Year Statute of Limitations to COBRA Claim
Harvey v. Mingo Logan Coal Co., 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13575 (S.D. W. Va. 2003). Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Although the court in this case applied a one-year statute of limitations to the employee's COBRA claim, plan administrators should not rely on this result when assessing the risk of liability for COBRA violations. This case was in West Virginia; longer limitation periods have been applied in other jurisdictions." (EBIA Weekly)

Court Holds Plan's Insurer May Be Sued on ERISA Benefit Claim
Penrose v. Hartford Life and Accident Ins. Co. (N.D. Ill. 2003). Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The result in this case would have been more satisfying had the court identified some basis for the insurer's liability other than the fact that there was nobody else to sue." (EBIA Weekly)

Beneficiary Was Not Entitled To Interest On Reinstated LTD Benefits, Eleventh Circuit Rules
ERISA did not authorize a beneficiary's lawsuit seeking to recover interest on reinstated long term disability benefits. This was the ruling of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Flint v. ABB, Inc., et al. (No. 02-15029). (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Health Benefit Cuts Aim to Prolong Life of Ohio Pension System's Health Fund
Excerpt: "Among the changes in the system's health plan for 2004 are 50 percent increases in health-care deductible, out-of-pocket and office-visit costs, and price increases for prescription benefits and spousal coverage." (The Columbus [Oh.] Dispatch via NewsAlert.com)

Editorials, Opinion Pieces Examine Debate Over Single-Payer Health System
Excerpt: "Several recent editorials and opinion pieces have examined a proposal introduced last week by the Physicians for a National Health Program under which the federal government would become the single payer for health insurance in the United States to provide universal coverage for U.S. residents." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Eli Lilly Leads Lobbying Effort Against Generic Provision in Medicare Bills
Excerpt: "Indianapolis-based drug maker Eli Lilly is lobbying lawmakers to reconsider a provision in both the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) that aims to address rising drug costs by encouraging generic drug makers to challenge brand-name drug companies' patents, the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Most Employers Exceed Statutory Minimums In Providing Benefits To Reservists Called To Active Duty
Three-fourths of U.S. employers that responded to a recent survey go beyond the statutory minimum for providing health coverage to reservist/employees who have been called to active duty. This is one of the results of a second quarter 2003 study by Buck Consultants. The survey included responses from 423 organizations from across the U.S., representing all sizes of employers--from the smallest to those with more than 10,000 employees. (Spencer Benefits Reports)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Sales Position -- 401(k) Recordkeeping & Related Services
for The Ross Companies New York, New York
in ALL STATES, CT, DC, DE, MA, MD, NJ, NY, PA

Pension Administrator
for Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP
in MN

Actuary
for Lurie Besikof Lapidus & Company, LLP
in MN

Retirement Plan Administrator
for American Pension Services, Inc.
in FL

Bi-lingual Customer Service Representative
for Great-West Healthcare
in AZ

Senior Benefits Consultant
for Prestigious national employee benefits brokerage/consulting firm
in IL

Pension Analyst
for Coble Pension Group, L.L.C.
in AZ
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)

SWBA/IRS 14th Annual Conference
in TX
October 15, 2003
IRS & SouthWest Benefits Assoc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)

The Newport Group Chooses ASC for Compliance Testing
(ASC - Actuarial Systems Corporation)

Department of Labor, IRS and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation Extend Deadline for Annual Reports Following Power Blackout
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration)

IRS Offers Weekly Electronic Newsletter for Tax Professionals
(Internal Revenue Service)


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