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September 8, 2003 - 8,548 subscribers
Today's sponsor: EBIA's HIPAA Portability & Privacy
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HIPAA Privacy! Are Your Health Plans in Compliance? New laws and regulations impose far-reaching requirements on group health plans, employers, plan administrators, and insurers-- and EBIA is here to help! EBIA's HIPAA Portability & Privacy manual is the best resource available. Written and edited by top employee benefits attorneys, HIPAA Portability & Privacy has over 950 pages packed with information and sample documents to help bring your group health plans into compliance with HIPAA's rules. Click above for details.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Overview: OTC Drugs Reimbursable By Health FSA and HRA Plans
Excerpt: "Some practitioners have questioned whether a change in benefit elections can be made due to the new IRS position. Proposed Regulation 1.125-4(f) provides that participants in a health FSA offered through a cafeteria plan cannot change elections for the health FSA due to cost or coverage changes. Therefore, mid-year election changes for health FSAs are not permitted as a result of the Revenue Ruling." (SunGard Corbel)
Overview: Health Plan Reimbursements Okayed for Over-the-Counter Drugs (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In reversing its previous position, the IRS emphasizes that dietary supplements are not eligible for the same tax-favored treatment. Although employees generally will welcome the ruling, employer-sponsored plans are cautioned about administering such a provision, particularly with regard to substantiation requirements." (Milliman USA)
The ROI of On-Site Child Care Centers
Excerpt: "Companies that offer extended hours for on-site child care centers can reap large returns -- a potential five-year return on investment (ROI) of 100 percent -- according to a new study by consulting firm Circadian Technologies Inc." (SmartPros)
Free Health Care Disappearing for Retired Public Employees
Excerpt: "All five of Ohio's public employee pension funds are following national trends by increasing health care costs for retirees next year, some significantly." (The [Cleveland] Plain Dealer)
Analysis: MSA Expansion Included in House-Passed Medicare Bill
Excerpt: "H.R. 2596, the Health Savings and Affordability Act of 2003, creates two new kinds of savings accounts for health care expenses, including a broad expansion of medical savings accounts (MSAs). The bill, sponsored by House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., passed June 26 in a 237-191 vote, mostly along party lines." (BenefitNews.com)
Public Support Grows for Federal Legislation To Provide Health Insurance
Excerpt: "An increasing number of Americans think Congress should pass legislation to provide health insurance to people who now lack it, but most remain unwilling to pay higher taxes to address the problem. So say researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health ..." (Houston Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Medicare Debate Splits GOP
Audio report. Excerpt: "Congress appears no closer to a deal on new Medicare legislation. Lawmakers have been trying to reconcile their positions on issues from prescription drug benefits to rural health care. But in addition to differences with Democrats, Republicans -- who control both the House and the Senate -- have been unable to agree among themselves." (National Public Radio)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
How to Reignite the Culture Wars
Excerpt: "By ruling out moral disapproval as a permissible basis for legislation, [Justice Anthony] Kennedy, in the eyes of liberal activists and social conservatives alike, made it more likely that lower courts will come to recognize a constitutional right to gay marriage. If this happens ... conservative activists hope and expect that many Americans will finally be roused to take political action." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Older Workers Are Thriving Despite Recent Hard Times
Excerpt: "Without fanfare, older workers -- the ones seemingly left behind by the dot.com boom -- are turning out to be the only group thriving in the jobless recovery." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Counsel-ERISA
for American Express
in MN
Sr. 401(k) Plan Administrator
for KB Pension Services, Inc.
in FL
ERISA Support Specialist
for BISYS Retirement Services
in MN
Pension Administrator
for Pension, Inc.
in IA
Principal Administrative Analyst
for UC Office of the President
in CA
Benefits Case Manager
for Pension Professionals of America LLC
in AZ
Senior Trust Accounting / Balancing
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
IRS Will Target 401(k) Plans in Upcoming Auditing Campaign: Learn More About the Program
in ALL STATES
September 25, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
Catching Up with the New 401(k) Regulations
in ALL STATES
September 23, 2003
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Learning From the Big Guys: HIPAA Privacy Lessons for Group Health Plans
in ALL STATES
October 7, 2003
American Bar Association Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Workscape Expands Outsourced Benefits Service Capabilities with Acquisition of CallConnect
(Workscape)
Dyatech Corporate Restructuring
(Dyatech, LLC)
Schwab Introduces Retirement Plan Investment Advice at No Additional Cost
(Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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