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September 3, 2003 - 8,445 subscribers
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Wall Street Journal Examines Debit Cards Linked to Flexible Spending Accounts
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on Sept. 2 examined the use of debit cards with flexible spending accounts, which allow employees to set aside pre-tax earnings for medical expenses not covered by health insurance." (KaiserNetwork.org)
HIPAA-Covered Entities Face Overkill on Business Associate Requirements
Excerpt: "Some anxious organizations demand business associate contracts when it's clearly not required ... It's almost comical because typically organizations complain about being over-regulated and fight additional mandates. This thorn is pricking the side of all kinds of covered and noncovered entities, which are being asked for business associate contracts not required by HIPAA, says [attorney Brian] Annulis, who is with Michael Best & Friedrich." (Report on Patient Privacy via AISHealth.com)
Text of DOL Amicus Brief on ERISA Preemption of Claim for Relief Under State Anti-Subrogation Rule
Arana v. Ochsner Health Plan, Inc., No. 01-30922 (brief to 5th Cir. filed on April 10, 2003). Excerpt: "[Plaintiff] Arana filed a class action in Louisiana state court, on behalf of himself and a class of similarly situated persons, seeking a declaratory judgment that [the defendant managed care health provider] was prohibited from enforcing the subrogation provisions by a provision of Louisiana insurance law." (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor)
Newspapers Examine Debate Surrounding Reimportation of U.S.-Made Medications from Canada
Excerpt: "The Washington Post on Sept. 1 examined the 'fervor' surrounding the efforts of Reps. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) to promote a measure to allow U.S. residents to purchase U.S. made drugs from other nations." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Manufacturer Uses Unique Consumer-Directed Health Plan Design to Bridge Salary Gaps
Excerpt: "To ensure that its new CDH plan doesn't appeal to only highly compensated employees, Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation ties maximum out-of-pocket expenses to employee salary levels." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Mandatory Employer-Paid Health Care Bill No Slam Dunk In Sacramento
Excerpt: "With the impending recall and only nine days remaining in this year's legislative session, a sprint is on to pass Senate Bill 2, a bill that would mandate employer-sponsored health care in California. Despite the late date, California lawmakers have yet to consider the bill. And it's not clear if Gov. Gray Davis will sign it if it reaches his desk. But SB2 has opponents worried, while supporters say the bill has a good chance of passing." (Contra Costa Times via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Shortage of Adult Day Services in Most U.S. Counties
Excerpt: "Are there enough adult day service programs in the United States? Are they financially healthy? What kind of services do they offer? These are a few of the questions raised -- and answered -- by an RWJF-funded National Study of Adult Day Services, the first of its kind." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Workaholics Aren't Just Richer -- They're Happier
Excerpt: "Maybe what we need is less life and more work. Before I'm accused of toadying up to the boss-- What, me leave the office early? But my jacket was still on the chair!-- I'd like to make one thing clear. This view is based on the latest scientific research." (Matthew Lynn on Bloomberg.com)
Health Care Costs To Continue To Climb At Double-Digit Rates In 2004
Employers' health care costs will continue to rise at double-digit rates in 2004, according to the results of a national survey of more than 90 U.S. health insurers, HMOs, and third party administrators recently released by Buck Consultants. Buck's tenth National Health Care Trend Survey predicts that many employers will be raising the share of health care costs paid by their employees. (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Becoming Oldest-Old: Evidence from Historical U.S. Data (PDF)
44 pages; working paper. Excerpt: "We find that up to one-fifth of the increase between 1900 and 1999 in the probability of a 65 year old surviving to age 85 may be attributable to early life conditions." (Dora L. Costa and Joanna Lahey; made available by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Social Security Reform and the Exchange of Bequests for Elder Care (PDF)
37 pages; working paper. Executive summary at http://www.bc.edu/centers/crr/papers/summary/wp_2003-12.pdf (Meta Brown; made available by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
CEO Pay Far from Being Scaled Back
Excerpt: "MCI is putting a cap on what its executives can earn without approval of shareholders and Schering-Plough Corp. is suspending bonuses and perks as it slashes costs. But that doesn't mean the rest of Corporate America is reining in compensation at the top." (Reuters via Washington Post)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for Great West Life & Annuity
in CA, TN, TX
Sr. Benefit Consultant - NY Metro Region
for Buck Consultants a Mellon Financial Company
in NY
Sr. Health & Welfare Consultant/Claims Administration
for Buck Consultants a Mellon Financial Company
in NY
Health and Welfare Benefits Analyst
for A leading mid-atlantic employee benefits consulting firm
in MD
Pension Administrator
for Thomas, Doll & Company, CPAs
in CA
Benefits Manager
for CP Ships - Tampa, FL
in FL
Accounting Manager - Benefits
for Union Bank of California
in CA
Benefits Analyst
for Sun Healthcare Group
in CA
Handy Links:
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- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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