| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
January 28, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: ActiveHIPAA
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
HIPAA Help Is Close At Hand! The ActiveHIPAA package provides sample HIPAA privacy and security policies, forms, training videos, and an interactive CD-ROM digital library containing over 150 customizable documents. Includes a Quick Reference Guide to facilitate a "gap" analysis and a 10-Step Action Plan. Co-authored by Karen E. Glover of Preston Gates & Ellis LLP and Michael W. Hubbard of Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell and Jernigan, LLP.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Safeway CEO Finds Himself At Center of Labor Dispute Over Employees' Share of Healthcare Costs
Excerpt: "Both sides see the dispute, in which workers are being asked to assume a greater share of health care costs, as pivotal. The grocery chains say they need union concessions to compete against nonunion encroachment from rivals such as Wal-Mart. The unions say the supermarket industry is one of the last bastions for middle-class workers to be able to support their families with jobs that cannot be exported overseas." (SFGate.com)
Drug Price Fight Heats Up
Excerpt: "The ink on the new Medicare overhaul law is barely dry, but already those who want to change it to get a better handle on the price of pr*scription drugs -- and those who want to leave it alone -- are making their respective cases." (Reuters Health via Medscape.com; one-time registration required)
Statutory Penalties Upheld for Defective COBRA Election Notice
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: ... [P]lan administrators should not be lulled into believing that COBRA notice violations are likely to result in only minimal liability. Other courts have not been so lenient--penalties generally have ranged from five to 50 dollars per day. Second, in calculating the penalty amount, the court used 44 days as the deadline for providing the employee's election notice--[it's unclear] whether the proper election notice period is 14 or 44 days." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
Benefit Denial Overruled Because Plan Failed to Consult Medical Expert About Benefit Appeal
Excerpt: "The result in this case would have been even clearer under the DOL's new claims procedure regulations, which require that group health plan appeals involving medical judgment (including determinations of medical necessity) be decided in consultation with a medical expert." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
2003 Segal Survey of Health and Welfare Benefits at Large Law Firms: Summary of Findings (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The survey collected detailed information on benefits by employment category (non-legal and paralegal staff, associates, senior attorneys and partners). This report summarizes the survey findings." (The Segal Company)
What's on the Regulatory Agenda for Group Health Plan Mandates?
Excerpt: "Federal government agencies have recently published their semi-annual regulatory agendas. These agendas are the agencies' 'to do' lists and show the regulations that the agencies expect to review or develop. Following is a list of items that DOL, HHS, and EEOC are working on that fall within the scope of our Group Health Plan Mandates manual." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
How Well Do Parents With Young Children Combine Work and Family Life?
Working paper. Excerpt: "This study examines trends in labor force involvement, household structure, and some activities that may complicate the efforts of parents with young children to balance work and family life. Next I consider whether employer policies mitigate or exacerbate these difficulties and, since the policies adopted in the United States diverge dramatically from those in many other industrialized countries, provide some international comparisons ..." (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
DALBAR Cites Standards, Shortcomings for Benefit Plan Sponsor Web Sites
Excerpt: "DALBAR Inc. has recently published its DC Plan Sponsor Web Site Benchmarks report, outlining what the Boston-based firm found to be the most prevalent Web site features, as well as the areas needing the most improvement in its review of plan sponsor Web sites across the industry." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
For Executive Comp, Restricted Stock Is In, Options Are Out
Excerpt: "Restricted stock is hot; stock options are not. Microsoft and Amazon.com--leaders in the stock option revolution of the last decade--have both switched from broad-based stock option plans to restricted stock plans. Restricted stock is also the new darling of executive compensation." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Overview: the Final Split-Dollar Regulations
Excerpt: "In its explanation the Treasury Department expressly declined to address the issue of whether the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 applies to split-dollar arrangements, noting that the interpretation and administration of the act fall within SEC jurisdiction. As a result of the uncertainty CPAs should advise public companies to discontinue payments under split-dollar arrangements for directors and officers until the SEC addresses the issue, if ever." (Journal of Accountancy)
Sears Pares Benefits Program
Excerpt: "Sears, Roebuck and Co. is cutting compensation and benefit programs, announcing plans to reduce bonuses, curtail stock option grants and phase out pension plans for younger staffers." (Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan Policy (CAPPP) – Pension and Health Part II
in New Mexico on April 1, 2004
presented by International Foundation (of Employee Benefit Plans, or IFEBP)
Investments Institute
in Arizona on April 28, 2004
presented by International Foundation (of Employee Benefit Plans, or IFEBP)
Health Savings Accounts: A New Option for Consumer-Directed Health Plans
Nationwide on February 12, 2004
presented by International Foundation (of Employee Benefit Plans, or IFEBP)
50th Annual Employee Benefits Conference
in Louisiana on September 19, 2004
presented by International Foundation (of Employee Benefit Plans, or IFEBP)
In Search of Retirement Security: The Changing Mix of Social Insurance, Employee Benefits, and Personal Responsibility
Nationwide on January 23, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Required Minimum Distribution Rules
Nationwide on February 1, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Participant Loans - Working with the Final Regulations
Nationwide on February 12, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Plan Freezes, Terminations, and Mergers
Nationwide on March 18, 2004
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Made in America 2004, The Inaugural 2004 Taft Hartley Benefits Summit
in Nevada on February 18, 2004
presented by Financial Research Associates
Newly Posted Press Releases
Employees Anticipate Comfortable Retirements, but Lack Investment Confidence and Discipline, Hewitt Study Shows
(Hewitt Associates LLC)
High-Tech Global Compensation Survey
(Culpepper and Associates, Inc.)
FreeERISA.com Launches New Premium Service with Specialized access to Pension and Benefits Data, Including a Mutual Fund Finder.
(FreeERISA.com)
Broker-Carrier Market Share Database
(FreeERISA.com)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Implementation and Processing Services Manager
for Ceridian
in FL
Benefits Lawyer/Corporate Generalist
for Welch's
in MA
Retirement Specialist
for Nationwide Retirement Solution, a Nationwide Financial company
in AL, AZ, CA, FL
Defined Contribution Administrator/Consultant
for Pension Consulting Firm
in NJ
Asset Liability Analyst: Retirement Advisory Platform
for SEI Investments
in PA
Trust Administrator
for Hancock Bank
in MS
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 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: