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January 14, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
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Little Rhody vs. the A-Bomb: Rhode Island Ponders Buying Drugs From Canada
Excerpt: "The secretary of state on Tuesday urged Rhode Island to join several cities and states that have plans to buy pr*scription drugs from Canada, despite a federal prohibition on importing them." (AP via Washington Post)
UAL Vies to Cut Retiree Medical Benefits
Excerpt: "UAL Corp. plans to seek bankruptcy-court approval to reduce the health insurance benefits of retired UAL workers, sources said, marking a major development in the carrier's Chapter 11 proceedings." (Rocky Mountain News)
Large Firms' Retiree Health Benefits Before Medicare Reform: 2003 Survey Results
Excerpt: "This survey of large, private-sector employers offering retiree health benefits in 2003 provides a detailed baseline of private retiree health plans on the eve of the most sweeping changes to Medicare since its enactment.... Nearly half of surveyed employers have capped their contributions to health coverage for retirees over age 65. Before passage of the new Medicare legislation, 20 percent said that they are likely to eliminate benefits for future retirees within three years." (Health Affairs)
15 Predictions for Consumer-Directed Healthcare in 2004
Excerpt: "It's been only a month since President Bush cleared the way for tax-exempt health savings accounts (HSAs), but industry experts agree the new law has already provided the CDH movement with a colossal push." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Overview: Divorce Terms Made Husband Waive Rights In ERISA Life Insurance Plan
Excerpt: "A husband and wife expressly waived their rights to each other's life insurance policy as part of their divorce, including insurance that was governed under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Court of Appeals of Michigan ruled." (Thompson Publishing Group)
Overview: DOL Publishes Compliance Guide For Qualified Medical Child Support Orders
Excerpt: "The Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) has recently published a Compliance Assistance Guide to help employers, plan sponsors, service providers, and state officials understand federal laws that regulate qualified medical child support orders and National Medical Support Notices." (OnQue Technologies, Inc.)
Attracting and Retaining Disease Management Participants: a Checklist
Excerpt: "Why is it that some people who need a disease management (DM) program don't participate? Interviews with executives at health plans and organizations involved in DM helped create the following checklist of actions that can be taken to achieve maximum participation in DM programs." (Healthplan via Medscape; one-time registration required)
Decision Time for Recognizing New Medicare Act's Effects
3 pages; takes into account the Jan. 12, 2004 FASB Staff Position. Excerpt: "A new FASB Staff Position allows companies to recognize or defer recognizing the effects of the pr*scription-drug provisions of the new Medicare Act in 2003 financial statements. Disclosures are required for either election. Companies will need to quickly analyze how the Act could affect their financial statements, including whether they are able to make the estimates needed for recognition." (KPMG via Financial Executives International)
As Obesity Spreads, Employers and Insurers Question Gastric Bypass Surgery Coverage
Excerpt: "As obesity among Americans rapidly approaches epidemic status, pressure is mounting on payers, both private and public, to cover bariatric surgical procedures aimed at encouraging weight loss. But the high cost of these treatments and concerns over side effects have made employers and insurers wary of approving the procedures." (Managed Care Week via AISHealth.com)
Pfizer Moves to Try to Stop Drugs From Canada
Excerpt: "Pfizer is stepping up its efforts to stop exports of low-price pr*scription drugs from Canada to the United States by imposing new restrictions on sales to Canadian drug wholesalers." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations
Excerpt: "Lack of health insurance causes roughly 18,000 unnecessary deaths every year in the United States.... To help policy-makers, elected officials, and others judge and compare proposals to extend coverage to the nation's 43 million uninsured, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies offers a set of guiding principles and a checklist in a new report, Insuring America's Health: Principles and Recommendations." (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies)
Opinion: Our Healthcare System is Broken
Excerpt: "Businesses large and small are drowning in health-care costs, and their solution by and large is to pass the buck to cash-strapped employees. In Southern California, about 70,000 supermarket workers have been striking for several months as their employers seek to shoulder them with a greater share of medical expenses." (David Lazarus on SFGate.com)
Democrats See a New Urgency in Health Care
Excerpt: "Ten years after the political collapse of President Bill Clinton's health plan, the Democratic Party's presidential candidates are proposing, once again, major new programs for guaranteed, affordable health insurance, setting the stage for one of the starker contrasts with President Bush in the general election campaign." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Bookmark: Key Indicators
Excerpt: "Applicable Federal Rates; PBGC Interest Rates; Social Security Key Items; Social Security Covered Compensation; Maximum PBGC Guaranteed Benefit; Medicare Amounts; Key IRS Interest Rates; Key Maximums; Consumer Price Index (CPI)" (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)
Newspaper Sues Hospital System For Information on Ex-CEO's Retirement Package
Excerpt: "The Charlotte Observer is suing Carolinas HealthCare System in an effort to gain details about the compensation package given chief executive Harry Nurkin when he retired unexpectedly in 2002." (WSOCtv.com)
Newly Posted Events
Florida West Coast Employee Benefits Council
in Florida on January 14, 2004
presented by ASPA (American Society of Pension Actuaries)
The Entrepreneur's Workshop on Equity Compensation
Nationwide on January 27, 2004
presented by Beyster Institute
The ESOP Solution for Private Companies
Nationwide on February 18, 2004
presented by Beyster Institute
Critical Issues in Establishing Employee Ownership
Nationwide on March 9, 2004
presented by Beyster Institute
New Visions in Employee Ownership
Nationwide on April 28, 2004
presented by Beyster Institute
IRA Basics Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on October 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRAs: Comparing Roth and Traditional IRAs Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on February 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRAs: Comparing Roth and Traditional IRAs Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on August 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRAs: Conversions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 1, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRAs: Conversions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on July 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRAs: Conversions Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on October 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Basic Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 6, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
IRA Basics Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on July 6, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Institute President, Senior Economist Discuss Comparisons of Mutual Fund, Pension Plan Fee Levels
Nationwide on January 6, 2004
presented by Investment Company Institute
Newly Posted Press Releases
Year-Round Tax/Financial Planning Could Mean More Savings: Use A Calendar To Keep Tabs On Critical Financial And Tax Considerations
(Deloitte)
Technical Answer Group, Inc. -TAG- Launches New Actuarial Division
(Technical Answer Group, Inc. (TAG))
Continued Growth: Alliance Benefit Group Builds On Already Successful 2003
(Alliance Benefit Group)
Benefit Advisors Network Welcomes Corporate Benefit Strategies
(Benefit Advisors Network)
Survey Reveals Only 11.9% Of Plan Sponsors Are Satisfied With Plan Communications
(Metrics Partners)
Metrics Partners Releases Updated Corporate Website
(Metrics Partners)
Educational Programs Offered in February and March 2004
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Product Director, Defined Benefits
for Merrill Lynch, Retirement Group
in NJ
Administrative Assistant
for Suburban Philadelphia Pension Firm
in PA
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