August 20, 2003 - 8,445 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) 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 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) Handy Links:
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