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October 9, 2003 - 8,548 subscribers
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Troubleshooting Problems in Qualified Domestic Relations Orders Audio Conference, Wednesday, October 22, 2003 * 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET Being able to anticipate problems – and knowing how to resolve them – are the keys to efficient QDRO administration. To learn or understand better how to spot and resolve problems in QDRO administration, please join Thompson Publishing Group and veteran QDRO specialists Joseph Adams and Judy Mester of Deloitte & Touche LLP for this interactive audio conference.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
DOL's Proposed Model Election Notice of COBRA Continuation Coverage Rights, in Word Format
From the DOL web site; for use by single-employer health plans. Excerpt: "Dear: [Enter Name of Employee, Spouse, Dependent Children, as appropriate] This notice contains important information about your right to continue your health care coverage in the [enter name of group health plan] (the Plan)." (U.S. Department of Labor)
DOL's Proposed Model General Notice of COBRA Continuation Coverage Rights, in Word Format
From the DOL web site; for use by single-employer health plans. (U.S. Department of Labor)
House Rejects Medicare Drug Plan Means-Testing
Excerpt: "House conservatives sought unsuccessfully this week to convince the House to endorse cutting the cost of a Medicare prescription-drug benefit by requiring wealthy seniors to pay more of their own drug costs." (Washington Times)
Opinion: the Drug Importation Mob
Excerpt: "Genuine Medicare reform ... is being poisoned to death by politicians who want to give the mob and media what it has been yowling for these past months, importation legislation that reduces the prices and profits of drug and biotech firms." (Robert Goldberg in the Washington Times)
Overview: California Passes Employer Mandate for Health Insurance Coverage
Excerpt: "The ERISA issues are not clear. The gray area is whether the State or Federal government has the right to regulate health insurance benefits -- a matter that will likely be resolved by the courts. The legislature was well aware of the ERISA issues and passed a companion study bill that they hoped would clarify that even self-funded and insured employers would need to comply with SB2. We are researching this issue currently and will provide updates as answers become available." (Watson Wyatt)
AP: Weirton Steel Retirees May Lose "Pensions"
Excerpt: "Despite warnings that lack of cooperation could lead to bankruptcy, many retirees balked at the request to help cover the cost of health insurance with a $200 monthly deduction from their pension checks. About 65 percent voluntarily agreed to the plan, but the company -- partly in fear of litigation -- decided not to impose the change unilaterally on the holdouts." (AP via New York Times; one-time registration required)
Fraud, Misrepresentation Claims Based on Inducement To Purchase ERISA Health Insurance Not Preempted
Excerpt: "A company's state law claims against a health insurer for fraud and misrepresentation were not preempted by ERISA because they were based on the insurer's inducement to the company to purchase the plan, and were not based on plan administration or interpretation, according to a U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans (CA-5)." (CCH News and Information Library)
Opinion: Don't Blame Wal-Mart for the Wal-Mart Economy
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal led its Sept. 30 issue with a well-reported article about how the retailing giant controls health-care costs. 'Wal-Mart makes new hourly workers wait six months to sign up for its benefits plan and doesn't cover retirees at all.' It won't pay for flu shots, child vaccinations, or contraception, which many other firms cover. By keeping deductibles high, Wal-Mart manages to spend 30 percent less per employee on health care than its competitors." (Daniel Gross on Slate.com)
Disease Management: a Leap of Faith to Lower-Cost, Higher-Quality Health Care
Excerpt: "Despite high expectations, evidence of both disease management and case management programs' success in controlling costs and improving quality remains limited." (The Center for Studying Health System Change)
Opinion: Playing Mind Games with Mental Health Parity
Excerpt: "Mental health parity is back as an important issue in Congress. The idea is to have the government require employers to pay for treating mental conditions the same way they pay for treating physical diseases. This approach sounds like a boon for people with psychiatric illness, but it's not. It would end up restricting care for the most desperately ill patients." (Sally Satel, M.D., Keith Humphreys, published by the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research)
As Drug Benefits Fall, Workers Need a Strategy
Excerpt: "There are ways for employees to keep some of their prescription costs in check, if they are willing to do a little legwork and to be flexible. For instance, they can switch to generic brands, buy in bulk and search the Internet for the lowest prices. But, most important, they should carefully review and compare the drug coverage in all the health plan offerings." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Analysis: Liability for Benefit Claims Based on Plan SPD (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Two recent court cases illustrate the importance of providing accurate SPDs to plan participants and their beneficiaries, regardless of whether the SPD includes disclaimer language. In light of these cases, described more fully in this Update, a plan sponsor may wish to review its summary plan descriptions to ensure accuracy and completeness." (Dechert LLP)
Option: the Stock Option Expensing Advocates Do Indeed Understand
Excerpt: "Silicon Valley hates the idea, and argues that options are extremely important (true), that a requirement that options be expensed would cause a cut back on grants to lower level employees (possibly true), and that because no good way to value employee options exists the whole expense 'em enterprise will turn into an unholy mess (absolutely true).... Public employees have no interest in helping the private sector, and are ... entrenched capitalists through their pension funds." (James V. DeLong on TechCentralStation.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Applied Plan Administrators, Inc.
in MI
Administration Department Supervisor
for Retirement Plan Administration and ERISA Specialists
in IL
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Strategic Advisor to Financial Industry Expands, Add Services
(The McHenry Group)
412i Company Offers Free Prototype 412i Plans!
(The412iCompany)
Northern Capital Trust Selects MasteryPOINT for Online Guidance Solution
(MasteryPOINT Financial Technologies)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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