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October 21, 2003 - 8,548 subscribers
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“How to Conduct Successful Workplace Investigations” A 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference – Tuesday, November 11, 2003 * 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time During this 90-minute interactive presentation, specialists in the field of workplace investigations will cover important topics such as: the proper role of the investigators in conducting internal investigations and the standards applicable to internal investigations, confidentiality, appropriate investigative procedures and more. Register today!
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Compromise Calls for U.S. to Guarantee Medicare Drug Benefit
Excerpt: "House and Senate negotiators said on Monday that they had reached a tentative agreement on one of the most important issues in the Medicare bill. Under the agreement, the government would guarantee the availability of prescription drug benefits in any market where private insurers failed to do so." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Connecticut Enacts Medical Savings Account Legislation
Excerpt: "Legislation making Connecticut the 49th state to allow medical savings accounts (MSAs) as a health insurance option was signed into law this summer by Gov. John Rowland (R)." (Thompson Publishing Group)
IRS Provides Criteria for Use of Electronic Receipts and Expense Reports Under an 'Accountable Plan' (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "Issue: Whether an employer's expense reimbursement arrangement for deductible travel and entertainment expenses, which includes new procedures for the use of electronic receipts and expense reports, is an accountable plan under § 6 (a)(2)(A) and (c) of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder." (Internal Revenue Service)
Audio Report: Telemedicine is a Success for Navajos
Excerpt: "The isolated and cash-poor Navajo reservation in Arizona relies on real-time video-conferences for its medical expertise. Telemedicine connects specialists in urban areas to rural clinics on the reservation, which is too remote for traditional methods of treatment. The technology is winning fans among patients and doctors alike. Hear Daniel Kraker of Arizona Public Radio." (National Public Radio)
Home Exercise Equipment for Treating Obesity May Be a Deductible Medical Expense
IRS Information Letter 2003-0202 (Sept. 30, 2003). Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This is the first written IRS guidance that we have seen regarding home exercise equipment as a medical expense. For those considering whether such expenses are reimbursable under a health FSA, this Information Letter is interesting even though it provides only general guidance and is not binding on the IRS." (EBIA)
Overview: 2004 Mileage Rate for Transportation to Obtain Medical Care
Excerpt: "The IRS has announced that the standard mileage rate for use of an automobile to obtain medical care (as described in Code Section 213) will increase from $0.12 to $0.14 per mile for 2004. Health FSAs that reimburse participants for transportation expenses incurred in obtaining medical care will be subject to the new rate." (EBIA)
Appeals Court Awards More Than $200,000 In Attorney's Fees in COBRA Coverage Case
Excerpt: "Geissal v. Moore Medical was an important COBRA lawsuit that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1998, the Court ruled unanimously that an employer could not deny continuation coverage to an eligible beneficiary simply because he was covered under another group health plan prior to electing COBRA coverage. The parties have been wrangling over damages and attorney's fees ever since." (OnQue Technologies, Inc.)
Fight Against Fat Goes on the Offensive in the Workplace
Excerpt: "By one estimate, obesity-related conditions cost organizations $12 billion a year. Companies are putting diet and exercise plans in place to combat the trend." (Workforce.com; one-time registration required)
Insurance Disputes Might Leave Patients Covering More Health Costs
Excerpt: "While in the past, doctors' and hospitals' 'threats' to end contracts with certain health plans mostly amounted to 'negotiation tactic[s],' recently many doctors and hospitals are 'leaving offers on the table' and 'betting that their patients will pick different health plans or pay out-of-pocket for services,' the Chicago Tribune reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Anthem To Begin Encouraging Members To Use Generic, Rather Than Brand-Name, Medications
Excerpt: "Health insurer Anthem this month began offering many of its 11.7 million members coupons to encourage them to switch from brand-name to generic drugs in an effort to cut costs, the AP/Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
FDA Director Criticizes Bill That Would Allow Purchase of U.S.-Made Drugs From Foreign Nations
Excerpt: "During a speech Monday at the National Press Club, FDA Commissioner Dr. Mark McClellan 'stepped up the agency's rhetoric' against efforts to allow the purchase of prescription drugs from Canada and other industrialized nations, the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Washington Post Examines Internet-Sales of Prescription Drugs
Excerpt: "The Washington Post on Tuesday continued a five-day series, titled 'Pharmaceutical Roulette,' that focuses on prescription drug safety issues in the United States. Summaries of articles in the series published on Tuesday appear below." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Eli Lilly Moves To Limit Prescription Drug Sales To Canada To Combat Reimportation
Excerpt: "Eli Lilly has limited prescription drug sales to Canadian pharmacies as part of an effort by U.S. pharmaceutical companies to prevent reimportation of their products from Canada, the AP/Newark Star-Ledger reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Market Size in Innovation: Theory and Evidence From the Pharmaceutical Industry
Working paper. Excerpt: "This paper investigates the effect of (potential) market size on entry of new drugs and pharmaceutical innovation. Focusing on exogenous changes driven by U.S. demographic trends, we find that a 1 percent increase in the potential market size for a drug category leads to a 4 to 6 percent increase in the number of new drugs in that category." (Daron Acemoglu, Joshua Linn)
Opinion: Universal Coverage Is Within Reach, If the Pain Is Shared Equitably
Excerpt: "These problems of cost and access are inextricably connected. It's easy to see how rising costs translate into reduced coverage. But the reverse is also true. The growing number of Americans without insurance means that doctors and hospitals have to provide more uncompensated care that must be subsidized by the premiums of those with insurance." (Ronald Brownstein in the Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Presidential Race Paced By Heatlhcare Fears
Excerpt: "With concerns about rising costs and the growing number of uninsured, health care will be a key issue among voters in next year's presidential election, Democratic and Republican pollsters said yesterday." (Newsday)
Survey: Americans Back Universal Heathcare Over Tax Containment
Excerpt: "Eight in 10 Americans said it is more important to provide universal healthcare than to contain taxes, according to a new ABC News-Washington Post poll." (Modern Healthcare)
Pass the Tums: a Way To Transform the U.S. Health System?
The average salary for benefit managers in 2003 was $78,080, according to the biennial employee benefit managers survey conducted by Spencer Benefits Reports, a division of Aspen Publishers. Spencer Benefits Reports' 2003 benefit managers survey also asked employee benefit managers about departmental structure, budgets, and problems. (SpencerNet)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Married In Canada? What's a Plan Sponsor To Do?
Excerpt: "All the experts agree that, in light of the changes in Canadian law, plan sponsors should review all benefit plans and employment policies." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Survey: How Are Your Benefits Holding Up?
Excerpt: "[E]mployees appear to have mixed feelings about their medical and retirement benefits. They see their benefits as worse than they used to be and unlikely to improve much in the near term. And a significant percentage say they might be willing to change jobs to find better benefits once the economy recovers." (Business Week)
GAO Report: Challenges Remain in Combating Abusive Tax Shelters
Excerpt: "Abusive shelters have been promoted by some accounting firms, law firms, and investment banks. Investors in these abusive shelters range from large and small corporations to wealthy individuals.... As of mid-August 2003, IRS had listed 27 kinds of abusive tax shelter transactions ... Although IRS documents outline an overall strategy for combating abusive shelters, IRS has generally not yet defined long-term performance goals ... and the measures it would use to track progress ..." (U.S. General Accounting Office)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Health & Welfare Manager - Employer Benefits Consulting
for PricewaterhouseCoopers
in NY
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Growing Professional Employer Organization
in FL
Marketing Pension Specialist
for Benefit Equity, Inc.
in CA
Director of 401k Recordkeeping
for ADP Retirement Services
in NJ
Compliance Specialist
for ADP Retirement Services
in NJ
Newly Posted Webcasts
(Post Yours!)
Health FSAs and Over-the-Counter Drugs
on October 27, 2003
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America, LLC (EBIA)
Health FSAs and Over-the-Counter Drugs
on October 28, 2003
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America, LLC (EBIA)
Health FSAs and Over-the-Counter Drugs
on October 29, 2003
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America, LLC (EBIA)
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
How to Conduct Successful Workplace Investigations
in ALL STATES
November 11, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
Martin E. Segal Receives John L. Lewis Award
(The Segal Company)
ICC Plan Solutions Rolls Out 2 New Investment Education Features
(ICC Plan Solutions)
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