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January 30, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
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Administration Says Medicare Drug Bill to Cost One-Third More Than Earlier Estimate
Excerpt: "The Bush administration said on Thursday that the new Medicare law offering pr*scription drug benefits and private health plans to the elderly would cost at least $530 billion over 10 years, or one-third more than the price tag used when Congress passed the legislation two months ago." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Washington Times Coverage: Medicare Drug Plan Balloons
Excerpt: "[T]he Medicare number promises to be a bigger problem as the budget debate unfolds. Some Republicans in the House only voted for the bill after being promised the costs wouldn't exceed $400 billion -- something dozens of taxpayer-advocacy and policy-analysis groups said was inevitable." (Washington Times)
Opinion: Patient Rage-- Consumers March to the Walls Healthcare Castle
Excerpt: "For years, the public-policy debate has so obsessed over 'Medicare,' 'pr*scription-drug benefit' and 'the uninsured' that one might think the whole country was either enrolled in Medicare, or not insured.... But here's the biggest explosion, yet to go off: Patient rage. Some analysts argue that corporations producing single-digit profits can't possibly cover double-digit health-cost inflation. So they are taking employee premiums higher for more or less flat coverage." (OpinionJournal.com)
Opinion: Health Insurance Access Is Back On America's Agenda
Excerpt: "Now more than ever, the problem of the uninsured must be addressed without delay. That is the unified message being delivered by politicians, special interest groups, voters and academics across America." (American Medical Association)
It's Time To Care About Healthcare Ratings Data
Excerpt: "More employee health plans are offering members access to quality ratings from groups such as employer coalition Leapfrog Group, and health-care 'report cards' to help choose hospitals and doctors within a network." (The Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
Pr*scription Drugs: Recent Trends in Utilization, Expenditures, and Coverage
Excerpt: "Pr*scription drug costs, which rose by 15.7 percent in 2001, are the fastest rising component of medical expenditures and accounted for 16.7 percent of the total increase in health care spending that year. Americans spent more than $140 billion on pr*scription drugs in 2001--or about 10 percent of the nation's health bill, approximately the same level noted in 1960.' Info about ordering the full-text version is at http://www.ebri.org/store/ebriib.htm (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Opinion: PhRMA Follies
Excerpt: "Is it illegal? No. Is it unethical? By the standards of Congress, probably not. Nevertheless, rumors -- and his office insists that they are still only rumors -- that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America has offered Rep. W.J. 'Billy' Tauzin (R-La.) an unusually large sum to become its president are making many queasy this week." (Washington Post)
Lawmakers Say FDA Failing To Get Tough on Misleading Pr*scription Drug Ad Claims
Excerpt: "A congressional report compiled at the request of Representative Henry A. Waxman, a Democrat from California, documented 24 advertising enforcement letters issued by the FDA last year, down from 27 in 2002. The number of letters has dropped precipitously during the Bush administration. In 2000, the last year of the Clinton administration, the FDA issued 82 letters." (Boston Globe)
Fidelity Crafting Hybrid Medical Savings Plan
Excerpt: "Concerned that most employees are not saving nearly enough to fund out-of-pocket medical expenses after they retire, Fidelity Investments has launched a campaign aimed at convincing Congress to create the medical savings equivalent of the 401(k)." (BenefitNews.com)
Long-Term Care Insurance Gains Prominence
Excerpt: "Long-term care insurance, which pays for custodial care, home care, or nursing home care for periods longer than a year, is a relatively new component of the employee benefits picture that has grown in prominence." (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Federal Reports Show Continued Benefits Cost Increases
Excerpt: "Employee benefit cost jumps once again outpaced salary increases during the last quarter of 2003, reports the Labor Department, noting benefits represent the half of total compensation costs." (BenefitNews.com)
Newly Posted Events
The Potential Implications of HSAs on Plan Design, Delivery, and Funding
Nationwide on January 28, 2004
presented by Hewitt Associates LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Employee Benefits Sales Representative
for Great-West Healthcare
in CA, CT, NY, WA
Consulting Actuary
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Pension Administrator
for The National Advisory Group, Inc./Pension Consulting Services, Inc.
in PA
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Privately Held Benefit Consulting & Actuarial Firm
in IL
Director of Compensation and Benefits
for We have been hired as the recruiter of choice for an Atlanta firm
in GA
Actuarial Student
for Harbridge Consulting Group
in NY
Retirement Trust Relationship Manager
for Reliance Trust Company
in GA
Marketing Consultant
for Principal Financial Group
in CA
Marketing Specialist
for Principal Financial Group
in IN
Regional Wholesaler
for Principal Financial Group
in CA
Sales Representative-Retirement
for Principal Financial Group
in NY
Consulting Pension Actuary
for InDemand Staffing of St. Louis, Inc.
in CA, MN
Plan Service Team Analyst
for ICMA Retirement Corporation
in DC
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