| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 31, 2003 - 8,609 subscribers
Today's sponsor: EBIA's Tax Savings Calculator
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Announcing EBIA's Tax Savings Calculator! EBIA's new Tax Savings Calculator is the first of its kind--a "must have" tool for every employer that sponsors a cafeteria plan or transportation plan and for anyone else that designs or administers plans. This powerful, easy-to-use tool allows employees to estimate their federal tax savings that arise from making a wide variety of pre-tax salary reductions, and it also compares DCAP vs. DCTC savings. For details, please click above!
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Canadian Coalition: Joint Effort Helps Get Cheaper Drugs to U.S.
Excerpt: "In the latest challenge to a U.S. crackdown on the purchase of foreign prescription drugs, six large Canadian pharmacies have joined forces to help U.S. cities and states buy cheaper medications from north of the border. The so-called Super Six Canadian Pharmacies, which collectively serve more than 1 million U.S. customers, say their combined resources will ensure that any U.S. state or city that wants Canadian drugs can get them." (Detroit Free Press)
Federal Lawmakers Are Negotiating Import of Prescription Drugs
Excerpt: "House and Senate negotiators say they are seriously discussing proposals to allow imports of less expensive prescription drugs from Canada, as well as a plan to give the Food and Drug Administration more money and more authority to police the market." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Medicare Drug Plan Rapped by Researchers Who Say 'Windfall' Profits Could Accrue for Some
Excerpt: "Two Boston University researchers warn in a study that drug manufacturers would reap a 'windfall' of $139 million in new profits over eight years under the Medicare prescription benefit that is being negotiated in Congress. The benefit would soak up 61.1 percent of federal spending on new drug purchases and cut deeply into funds available for benefits to seniors, according to a study to be published today by Deborah Socolar and Alan Sager." (The Boston Globe)
No Deal Reached on Health Savings Accounts Under Medicare Bill
Excerpt: "[T]he issue is very important to House Republicans, who received a briefing Thursday on the status of the negotiations from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas, R-Calif., and House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin, R-La. Rep. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, said the absence of the health savings accounts in a final bill could jeopardize its passage in the House ..." (Washington Post)
Medicare Pact on PPOs Aimed at Rural Elderly
Excerpt: "Congressional negotiators struggling to reconcile House and Senate bills to redesign Medicare have tentatively agreed to create a $12 billion fund, not envisioned in either measure, that would allow the government to pay private health plans extra money to enroll elderly patients in regions where managed care is scarce." (Washington Post)
California Legislator's Bill Would Prohibit Sending Confidential Health Information Offshore
Excerpt: "Following news that a Pakistani medical transcriber threatened to post UCSF Medical Center patient records online unless she received more money, a state senator said she will introduce legislation barring all California hospitals from allowing medical data to leave the country." (SFGate.com)
Facts from EBRI: Flexible Spending Accounts (PDF)
2 pages. (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Are Health Plans Required to Provide Special Enrollment Rights for Newly-Acquired Stepchildren?
Excerpt: "The answer depends on whether your plan provides coverage for stepchildren as dependents. (This will be determined by the insurance contract issued by your plan insurer.)" (EBIA Weekly (Question of the Week))
New High-Deductible Health Plans Cut Premiums, But Total Costs Are Tricky
Excerpt: "Here's how consumer-driven health plans work: Your plan has a high deductible-- say, $2,000 a year. You also get an annual allowance from your employer toward that deductible-- say $1,000. If you don't spend all your allowance on medical care, you carry over the unused balance to the next year." (USA Today)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Tax Court: Golden Parachute Payments Found In Post-Acquisition Employment Agreements
Excerpt: "Payments made to senior managers under employment agreements were contingent upon a change of company ownership and thus considered parachute payments even though the agreements had been entered into after the company acquisition occurred, according to the U.S. Tax Court ..." (CCH News & Information Library)
Accounting Board To Finalize FASB Disclosure Exposure Draft; Revisions In Measurement
The cost of complying with the new Exposure Draft is considered to be modest in relation to the benefits derived by financial statement users. The FASB 'believes that most, if not all, of the information should be available through the plan sponsor's investment management systems, internal processes, and actuarial valuations. (SpencerNet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Columbus Retirement Administrators, Inc.
in OH
Newly Posted Conferences
(Post Yours!)
Penalty-Free Ways to Fix Your Pension Plan Problems (Hear IRS Officials Tell You How)
in ALL STATES
November 13, 2003
Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)
A Strictly Enforced Trading Deadline Will Not Threaten Retirement Plans
(401kHelpCenter.com, LLC)
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2003 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: