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October 3, 2003 - 8,548 subscribers
Today's sponsor: EBIA's COBRA: The Developing Law
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GAO Report: Health Insurance-- Federal and State Laws Affecting Coverage by Small Businesses
63 pages. Excerpt: "GAO was asked to summarize current federal and state requirements for health coverage offered by small businesses, including mandated benefits, premium-setting requirements, and requirements regarding availability of coverage.' Summary at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d031133high.pdf (U.S. General Accounting Office)
Senate To Consider Bill That Would Bar Discrimination Based on Genetic Testing
Excerpt: "The Senate is 'poised to pass' a bill (S 1053) that would prohibit employers and insurance companies from discriminating against people based on their genetic histories, the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Overview: DOL Pushes Back Deadline for Complying with COBRA Notice Rules
Excerpt: "Sponsors of group health plans should discuss with their legal counsel what good-faith compliance efforts should be made between now and the effective date of the final rules. Plans may wish to use the proposed model forms, but should make sure they contain all of the information listed in the regulation itself and any additional information that the plan deems appropriate." (The Segal Company)
Fewer Companies Plan Worker Cost-cutting Measures For Next Year
Press release. Excerpt: "The survey found that only 18 percent of the respondents expect to require employees to pay a greater share of benefit costs next year, compared to more than half (56 percent) that did so over the past 12 months." (Watson Wyatt)
Employers Winding Down Benefit Cutbacks
Excerpt: "Employers are winding down three years of aggressive cost-cutting campaigns that have hit their workers squarely in the wallet, a new survey says." (AP via New York Times; one-time registration required)
Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Approves Long-Term Care Coverage for Veterans
Excerpt: "The Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee on Tuesday by unanimous voice vote approved a bill (S 1156) to extend long-term care services for veterans and authorize funds for several health care facilities, according to CongressDaily Markup Reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
How States Are Responding to the Challenge of Financing Health Care for Retirees
Link to 35-page report dated September 2003. Excerpt: "Confronted with rising health care costs, budget deficits, and an overall downturn in the economy, this report describes how states are responding to the challenge of financing health care for retirees ... This study ... captures information on retiree health programs offered by state governments, including benefits, premiums, recent program changes and modifications expected in the future." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Colorado Insurer Launches First 'Bare-Bones' Health Plan in State
Excerpt: "Grand Junction, Colo.-based Rocky Mountain Health Plans on Wednesday launched the first 'bare-bones' health plan available to small businesses in the state, the Denver Post reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
More Health Plans Creating Programs To Promote Generic Drug Use
Excerpt: "The Hartford Courant on Thursday looks at managed care plans' new 'aggressive approach[es]' to encourage enrollees to use generic drugs rather than their brand-name equivalents." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Plan Sponsors Covering Prescription Drugs Purchased Abroad Should Talk to Lawyers
Excerpt: "In two public letters issued in 2003 ... the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has stated its position that 'virtually every' shipment of prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies to consumers in the U.S. violates the Federal Food, Drug Cosmetic Act (FFDCA).... Plan sponsors contemplating arrangements that would cover drugs that are reimported from Canada or other foreign countries should review the issue carefully with legal counsel prior to adopting such a policy." (The Segal Company)
White Paper: the Cost of California's Health Insurance Act of 2003
Excerpt: "Where possible, employers will react to HIA by shifting costs onto workers in the form of lower wages. In the case of the least skilled workers, however, wage shifting is simply not an option.... [D]ue to the California minimum wage, employers will be unable to shift the cost of the mandate onto 550,000 employees. These employees are at risk of losing their jobs, either through labor force cuts or competition from more experienced workers attracted by the new benefits." (Employment Policies Institute)
Survey: 64 Percent of California Employers Support Use of Law to Require Healthcare Coverage
Excerpt: "The Institute for Labor & Employment (ILE) at the University of California released a study that found that 64% of state businesses support a requirement that employers either provide health care for workers or pay a fee into a state fund to cover the uninsured. The new data contradicts statements made by the State Chamber of Commerce in opposition to SB 2." (The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Workers' Health Insurance Bill Benefits Argued in California
Excerpt: "One of the most controversial bills awaiting action by California Governor Gray Davis, would require businesses to provide health insurance for their employees. The California Chamber of Commerce calls the measure a job killer, and says it would drive companies out of the state. But public health advocates say it's about time more businesses ponied up for their workers' health insurance." (KPBS via the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights)
Study: California Law Would Extend Healthcare Coverage to 1 Million (PDF)
Excerpt: "SB 2 would extend employment-based coverage to more than 1 million otherwise uninsured adults and children, providing them with the type of coverage already enjoyed by six in 10 nonelderly Californians. It requires employers and employees to share in the cost of coverage for a moderate benefits package." (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research)
Health Challenges Facing the Nation
Excerpt: "Diane Rowland, executive vice president of the Kaiser Family Foundation and executive director of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, testified to the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress on how health insurance coverage and the uninsured population remains one of the nation's most pressing health care challenges." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)
Upstate New York Employer Provides Retirees with One-Time Check for Health Expenses
Excerpt: "[C]orporate headquarters became aware of the trend towards increasing health care costs. 'We had a good year and have also been watching health care costs rise for a couple of years now,' said Lori Johnson, director of corporate communications for Cargill, Inc. 'The people who got the largest payments from us were those with the lowest pension plans and the highest health care costs ...'" (The Ithaca [N.Y.] Journal)
Vitamins for Elderly Can Save on Healthcare Costs
Excerpt: "Want to save health care dollars? Give vitamins to the elderly, a study published on Thursday suggests." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
Group of Medicare Negotiators Reportedly Reach Compromise on Drug Coverage for Dual-Eligibles
Excerpt: "A 'core group' of the negotiators charged with reconciling the House and Senate Medicare bills (HR 1 and S 1) has tentatively agreed to provide a Medicare drug benefit to beneficiaries who are also eligible for Medicaid, the Wall Street Journal reports ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)
GOP Group Pushes Prescription Drug Coverage In Ads
Excerpt: "A group of Republican House and Senate members is taking an unusual step of launching an advertising campaign to press the GOP to fulfill one of President Bush's campaign promises." (USA Today)
15% of CEOs Rate Health Care Plans Below Industry Standards
Although 36% of chief executive officers rate their company's health care plan as excellent, or above industry standards, 15% rate their plans as fair, or below industry standards, according to research by PricewaterhouseCoopers. According to the company's Trendsetter Barometer, 46% of CEOs rate their health care plan as good, or in line with industry standards. (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
The Multiemployer Fund Office of the 21st Century: Are You Ready? (PDF)
Excerpt: "Multiemployer funds that are reluctant to make full use of a Web site for communications because participants do not have access to computers at work should recognize that this situation is no longer likely to be the obstacle it was even a few years ago.... Technology can improve participant services as well as communications. Two examples are discussed below ..." (The Segal Company)
GAO: Common Standards and Improved Coordination Needed for Insurance Regulation
53 pages. Excerpt: "Market conduct regulation--oversight of insurance company practices such as selling and underwriting policies--is the responsibility of the same state agencies that oversee insurance companies' financial solvency. Unlike financial regulation, however, with its nationwide standards that allow for coordination among state regulators, no generally accepted standards exist for market conduct regulation.' Summary at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d03433high.pdf (U.S. General Accounting Office)
Overview: 5500 Filing Deadlines Postponed for Plans Directly Affected by Hurricane Isabel
Excerpt: "The Department of Labor, the Internal Revenue Service and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation have postponed the deadline for Form 5500 (and 5500EZ) filings that would otherwise have been due on or between September 18 and November 18, 2003, for employers and plan administrators directly affected by Hurricane Isabel." (The Segal Company)
No Assurance on Life Insurance
Excerpt: "The life insurance industry continues to take it on the chin in the nation's capital. Life insurers have suffered a series of defeats this year that affect how individual investors, corporate executives and companies use life-insurance products, such as annuities and split-dollar insurance arrangements." (The Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
COLI Amendment to Pension Bill Leads to Another Senate Finance Committee Markup
Excerpt: "A controversial amendment addressing corporate-owned life insurance policies (COLI) in a pension reform bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) has led SFC Chairman Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, to call for a special markup of the provision." (CCH Tax Newsletter)
Rising Stock Market Resurrects Stock Option Profits
Excerpt: "After several years of tough luck, employee stock options are yielding jackpots again as some high-tech workers cash in on greater investor optimism about the Web's moneymaking potential." (AP via Bradenton.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Operations Manager
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA
Account Executive
for Principal Financial Group
in GA
Marketing Consultant
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA
Pension Administration Manager
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA
DC/401K Client Relationship Managers and Compliance Test Specialists
for Management Recruiters of Wildwood
in MO
Benefits Representative
for Nationwide Credit, Inc.
in GA
Investment Management Consultant
for Management Recruiters of Wildwood
in PA
Actuarial Consultant/Relationship Manager
for Management Recruiters of Wildwood
in CA, CT, DC, GA, IL, MA, MI, NC, NY, PA, TX, WI
Pension/401 (k) Administrator
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA
Benefits Analyst
for NFP Benefits
in TX
Intermediate Compliance Analyst (03-0015565)
for Wachovia Corporation
in MN
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
ERISA Fiduciary Responsibilities and New IRS Regulations for 401(k) Plans
in MA
October 30, 2003
MA Chapter-National Institute of Pension Administrators
12th Annual National Employee Health Benefits Conference in Tampa
in FL
January 22, 2004
Employers Health Conferences
HIPAA Compliance for Employers: Covered Entity Status and the Requirements for Plan Amendment and Certification
in ALL STATES
October 28, 2003
WEDI SNIP (Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange-Strategic National Implementation Process)
HIPAA Compliance for Employers: Plan Administration
in ALL STATES
December 9, 2003
WEDI SNIP (Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange-Strategic National Implementation Process)
Annual Fall Employee Benefits Law and Practice Update
in ALL STATES
November 6, 2003
ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Marshall & Ilsley Trust Company N.A. Selected As Preferred Provider By NFP Securities Inc. For 401(k) Open Architecture Program
(Marshall & Ilsley Trust Company N.A.)
Health Insurance Markets Dominated by Fewer, Larger Insurers
(AcademyHealth)
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