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September 10, 2003 - 8,548 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
“Employer Healthcare Choices” Audio Conference Wednesday, September 17, 2003 * 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET Learn how to make informed decisions about the latest healthcare options available today and what choices may be available tomorrow! This interactive audio conference will feature an expert analysis of the results from the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Annual Employer Survey®, followed by a discussion of the latest consumer-directed healthcare plan options. Register today to learn how to make the best healthcare choice for your company.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
2003 Employer Health Benefits Survey
Excerpt: "The survey, which is traditionally released each Fall, tracks trends in employer health insurance coverage, the cost of that coverage, and other topical health insurance issues. Findings are based on a nationally representative survey of public and private employers, including those who respond to the full survey and those who indicate only whether or not they provide health coverage. Firms surveyed range in size from three to more than 300,000 employees." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Medicare Conference Committee Agrees on Prescription Drug Discount Cards for Elderly
Excerpt: "In a small but potentially significant step, House and Senate negotiators voted today to help elderly people buy prescription drugs with discount cards endorsed by the federal government." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Many Employers Adding New Costs to Family Health Coverage
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on Sept. 9 looks at efforts by some companies to curb double-digit health care cost increases by 'sharply' raising premium rates for employers' dependent health coverage, adopting incentives to encourage employees' spouses to leave their health plans and refusing to cover spouses who work for companies with similar health plans." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Employees Paying Ever-Bigger Share for Health Care
Excerpt: "People in employer-sponsored health plans are paying 48 percent more out of their own pockets for care than they did three years ago, according to an authoritative new study, and the cost will be even higher next year." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
California Legislature Likely To Consider Bill Requiring Employers To Provider Healthcare Coverage
Excerpt: "The California Legislature, which adjourns Sept. 12, this week will likely consider a bill (SB 2) that would require many employers in the state to provide employees with health insurance or pay into a state fund that would provide coverage, the Contra Costa Times reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
California Pay-or-Play Health Insurance Bill Still Brewing
Excerpt: "As lawmakers face a frenetic week before adjourning for the year on Friday, legislation is being crafted that for the first time would require California employers to purchase health insurance for 2.5 million uninsured workers and families." (Los Angeles Times via the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Opinion: Small Employers Deserve a Break Under California Mandatory Healthcare Bill
Excerpt: "This week, SB2 is likely to be sent to the governor, extending health insurance benefits to as many as 1 million uninsured workers and their families by requiring every business with more than 20 employees to pay for coverage.... Is it fair to force a struggling 25-employee dry cleaner to pay $100,000 for health coverage? Who benefits if that new expense causes the business owner to close shop or lay off workers?" (Bruce G. Bodaken on SFGate.com)
Overview: First Private Letter Ruling on Health Reimbursement Arrangements
Excerpt: "The PLR, which is applicable only to the taxpayer who requested it, does not add any significant new legal ground to the rules governing HRAs. However, it brings up two interesting design issues ..." (The Segal Company)
The Scramble of the Uninsured for Healthcare
Excerpt: "Uninsured patients postpone or forgo preventive care and treatment to avoid bills they cannot pay, which places them at higher risk for hospitalization for chronic conditions and discovery of late-stage cancer. And when they do get treatment, it is often through emergency facilities ..." (Washington Post)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Courts Stress Importance of SPDs
Excerpt: "Both cases hinge on the employers' efforts to provide information to employees concerning their benefits plans: Both plans allowed inconsistencies to exist between their SPDs and plan documents that created confusion and made it unclear what employees would receive. And both had a common reliance on the primacy of plan documents over an SPD. In the end, that reliance (or lack thereof) proved to be pivotal." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Businesses Strained By Reservist Extension
Audio report. Excerpt: "The Army orders some 20,000 military reservists to extend their tours of duty in Iraq to a full year -- months longer than expected. The change requires a juggling act from employers back home, who are filling reservists' civilian jobs while they're away. NPR's Michele Norris talks with retired Lt. Col. Courtney Wheeler, an ombudsman for the Employer Support Group for the Guard and Reserve." (National Public Radio)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Part-time Seminar Leader/Presenter
for Havensure LLC
in AR, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, MA, MD, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, UT, VA, WA, WI
Conversion Manager
for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
in CA
Client Relationship Manager
for Charles Schwab & Co., Inc.
in AZ, CA, OH
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Medicare Changes and the Impact on Retiree Medical Benefits
in CT
October 7, 2003
The Stamford Chapter of the Worldwide Employee Benefits Network
Servicing the Small Employer Market
in DC
October 27, 2003
Institute for International Research
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
New Research Illuminates Prevalence and Effects of Consumer-Driven Health Plans
(AcademyHealth)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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