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December 18, 2003 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: EBIA's HIPAA Portability & Privacy
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
HIPAA Privacy! Are Your Health Plans in Compliance? New laws and regulations impose far-reaching requirements on group health plans, employers, plan administrators, and insurers-- and EBIA is here to help! EBIA's HIPAA Portability & Privacy manual is the best resource available. Written and edited by top employee benefits attorneys, HIPAA Portability & Privacy has over 950 pages packed with information and sample documents to help bring your group health plans into compliance with HIPAA's rules. Click above for details.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Joint Economic Committee Says Income Tax Exclusion for Healthcare Benefits Distorts Insurance Market (PDF)
1 page press release. Excerpt: "'We can't preserve the status quo for another 60 years. We must give greater consideration to alternatives to employer-paid group health plans and expand the use of Consumer-Driven Health Care options such as Health Savings Accounts,' said Chairman [Robert F.] Bennett." (U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee)
Text of Joint Economic Committee White Paper on Effect of Tax Exclusion on Health Insurance Market (PDF)
8 pages. (U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee)
State of the Welfare Plan TPA Industry and Forecast for 2004
Excerpt: "Many insurance companies have jumped back from the much-shrunken role they had been left in employee health plans. They are currently 'buying business' by giving special bonus commissions to place a client with an insurance company rather than self-funding, and/or charging prices for their health coverage that seem artificially low. Many TPAs are feeling the pain from that 'subsidized' competition. However, it is just another passing fad." (Society of Professional Benefit Administrators)
U.S. Workers Feel Burn of Long Hours, Less Leisure
Excerpt: "More employees are resisting companies' demands for longer hours on the job, the 24/7 pace of business that means operations never cease, and the surrender of leisure time to work because of new technology such as cell phones and e-mail." (USA Today)
Opinion: Here Are the Culprits Behind Rising Healthcare Costs
Excerpt: "It is no secret to Americans that healthcare costs are soaring. But some of the causes of this escalation are startling. For example: Drug companies spend roughly as much on advertising and promotion-- $20 billion a year-- as they do on research and development of new drugs." (Christian Science Monitor)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
FAQs Regarding New NYSE Rules on Stockholder Approval for Equity Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "The New York Stock Exchange's new rules on stockholder approval for equity compensation plans (303A(8)) became effective on June 30, 2003. Since then, the Exchange has received numerous inquiries from listed companies and their representatives regarding the interpretation and application of the new rules. To assist our listed companies, the Exchange has prepared the attached responses to the most frequently asked questions ('FAQ') ..." (New York Stock Exchange)
Will Stock Options Expensing Cost the U.S. Jobs?
Excerpt: "[F]orget about the arcane accounting technicalities that have dominated the debate so far. In the face of growing concern about sluggish job growth and outsourcing to Asia, tech executives have settled on a far more potent strategy: They're playing the jobs card. Make us expense options, they warn, and the already worrisome leaching of tech positions abroad will only accelerate ..." (Business Week)
Newly Posted Events
Employee Privacy and Employer Oversight: Striking the Balance -- A 90-Minute Interactive Audio Conference
Nationwide on January 22, 2004
presented by Thompson Publishing Group
Southeast Benefits Conference (SEBC) Annual Fly-In
in Georgia on April 28, 2004
presented by Southern Employee Benefits Conference
Southern Employee Benefits Conference (SEBC) Annual Educational Conference
in Virginia on September 29, 2004
presented by Southern Employee Benefits Conference
Scope of ERISA Preemption of State HMO Liability Statutes
Nationwide on January 15, 2004
presented by American Health Lawyers Association
Newly Posted Press Releases
Swerdlin & Company Is An A+ Employer!
(Swerdlin & Company)
Hassle-Free Cafeteria Plan Administration Is Now Available
(Swerdlin & Company)
Online Communication Benefits Olympus
(Benefit Software Inc.)
“One Step” Program to Simplify Retirement Decisions for 401(k) Participants
(The Vanguard Group)
The ESOP Association and University of Pennsylvania Announce Employee Ownership Leadership Program
(ESOP Association)
Cash Balance Pension Plans: The Best of Both Worlds?
(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
ERISA Pension Analyst / Paralegal / Plan Administrator
for Retirement Plan Administration and ERISA Specialists
in IL
Account Manager-Client Service
for BenefitStreet
in CA
Retirement Services Implementation Specialist
for ADP Retirement Services
in NJ
Sales & Service Specialist
for Principal Financial Group
in AZ
Institutional Trust Consultant
for BB&T (Branch Banking & Trust Co.)
in GA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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