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February 24, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
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Are Your Health Plans in Compliance? HIPAA imposes far-reaching privacy requirements on health plans, plan administrators, and insurers--and EBIA is here to help! Our HIPAA Portability & Privacy manual is the best and most reasonably-priced resource for HIPAA privacy compliance. The manual is also the best resource on HIPAA portability (special enrollments, PCEs, certificates of creditable coverage, and nondiscrimination)! For more information, visit www.ebia.com.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Supermarket Strike In California Could Have National Impact
Excerpt: "In California, the union characterizes the dispute as an epic battle to save employer-provided health care. If the companies get their way in trimming coverage, leaders of the United Food and Commercial Workers say, all employers will take it as a cue to do the same." (Knight Ridder Tribune via Jewish World Review)
Grocery Strike Talks Continue
Excerpt: "The companies want all workers to start contributing toward their healthcare coverage and have proposed a two-tier system that would pay new hires less. The union contends that the demands would, among other things, make quality healthcare coverage virtually unaffordable for its members." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Overview: Covered Employee's Medicare Entitlement Often Not COBRA Second Qualifying Event
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: For years, despite conflicting interpretations by others, our COBRA manual has taken the position expressed in this IRS ruling. We have several comments about the ruling...." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA))
Young Workers Seek Jobs with Flexibility, Career Growth
Excerpt: "For many young workers, what makes a job hot is more about flexibility and freedom than ladder-climbing and cold cash. Members of so-called Generation Y, many of whom are now 16 to 24 years old, have very different ideas than their parents about what they want to do in the workplace." (Workforce.com)
Overview: No Retroactive Form 1099 Reporting For FSA, HRA Debit Card Transactions
The IRS has clarified that Form 1099 reporting is not required for payments made prior to Jan. 1, 2003, to medical care providers through the use of debit, credit, and stored-value cards for IRC Sec. 125 flexible spending accounts (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) under IRC Sec 106. The information appears in IRS Notice 2004-16. (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Administration Not Likely to Allow States to Pool Purchasing Power for Drugs
Excerpt: "The Bush administration has threatened a Michigan and Vermont program that jointly negotiates lower pr*scription drug prices from pharmaceutical companies, Gov. Jennifer Granholm said Monday. The two states were the first to pool their resources for buying drugs under the Medicaid program, which provides health care to poor people." (Detroit Free Press)
Medicare Drug Discount Cards Available Soon
Excerpt: "As part of the Medicare reform legislation enacted in December, Medicare drug discount cards will soon be available from a variety of pr*scription drug vendors [e.g., drug manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), insurers, and retail store chains]. Over 100 vendors have applied to Medicare to sponsor these discount cards. In this Alert, we describe the discount card program and the implications for employers with retiree health plans providing drug coverage." (Aon Consulting)
Lack of Pr*scription Coverage Among the Under 65: a Symptom of Underinsurance (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Findings from this study indicate that lacking drug benefits is a form of underinsurance: nonelderly adults who have health insurance but no drug benefit are at risk for high out-of-pocket costs and burdensome medical bills-- the kinds of problems typically observed among uninsured populations." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Employer Coalition's Standards for Hospitals Hard to Meet
Press release. Excerpt: "While the Leapfrog Group's ambitious campaign to improve patient safety in hospitals has sparked national awareness, few hospitals are close to meeting the group's standards for computerized pr*scriptions, specially trained intensive care unit (ICU) physicians and volume thresholds for certain high-risk procedures, according to a study released today by the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC)." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
President of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees Wary of HSAs
Excerpt: "We continue to be concerned about the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM's) repeated advocacy for adding controversial, new Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP)." (Via FactCheckers.org)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
An Employer's Guide to Employee Benefits, 2004 Edition (PDF)
170 pages; written by Stephen A. Brunn, Wendy W. Citron and Carolyn S. Nestingen. Excerpt: "This Guide will discuss employee benefit plans, including both pension (i.e., retirement) and welfare (i.e., health, disability, death) benefit plans.... Originally published in 1995, this book has proven itself to be a useful tool for employers as they design benefit plans intended to attract and retain quality employees in a competitive marketplace." (Briggs and Morgan, P.A. and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development)
Rules Governing Executive Compensation In Rare State of Flux
By Abigail B. Pancoast and Stephen W. Skonieczny. (Dechert LLP)
Text of Proposed Revenue Procedure for Safe Harbor in Applying Student FICA Exemption (PDF)
10 pages; Notice 2004-12. Excerpt: "This notice contains a proposed revenue procedure providing a safe harbor that certain institutions of higher education, and certain affiliated organizations can use in applying the exception for services performed by a student provided under § 3121(b)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code (student FICA exception)." (Internal Revenue Service)
Text of Proposed Regulation on Definition of 'Student,' 'School' for Purposes of FICA Exemption (PDF)
37 pages. Excerpt: "This document contains proposed regulations that provide guidance regarding the meaning of 'school, college, or university' and 'student' for purposes of the student FICA exception under sections 3121(b)(10) and 3306(c)(10)(B) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code)." (Internal Revenue Service)
Occupational Employment Projections to 2012
Excerpt: "This article discusses a number of aspects of the projections along with related information: changes in the structure of employment at the major occupational group level; the detailed occupations that are projected to grow fastest as well as those with the largest numerical increases and decreases, along with their current educational and training requirements and earnings; and the total job openings projected to occur ... and the net replacement needs ..." (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Overview: IASB Issues Rule on Expensing Stock Options
Excerpt: "Although IFRS 2 will not apply to U.S. companies [that are not following international accounting standards], the Financial Accounting Standards Board is expected to propose a similar rule in March. The fact the IASB has now issued IFRS 2 puts additional pressure on the FASB to act on this issue." (Deloitte's Human Capital Advisory Services)
Newly Posted Events
WEB Excellence in Benefits Awards Banquet
in Virginia on April 22, 2004
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)
The 2004 Clinic – The Changing World of Employee Benefits
in California on April 26, 2004
presented by Society of Financial Service Professionals
The 2004 Clinic – The Changing World of Employee Benefits
in Connecticut on May 3, 2004
presented by Society of Financial Service Professionals
Newly Posted Press Releases
Janice Wegesin To Host An All-New McKay Hochman E-Seminar:“Overview of Form 5500”
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)
APSCREEN Provides Free Searches On National Sex Offender Registry Website
(APSCREEN)
Labor Department To Recover $80,000 for Retirees Of Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, New York, N.Y.)
Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
(Post Yours!)
Patrick J. Haraden (Longfellow Financial, LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Assistant General Counsel
for General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the UMC
in IL
Manager, Compliance Testing
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
Defined Benefit Specialist
for Primary Consulting, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Plan & Tax Reporting Manager
for The Vanguard Group
in PA
New Business Representative
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Retirement Services Specialist
for Doherty Employment Group
in MN
Pension Administrator
for Snyder Cohn
in MD
Administrator
for T.P.A. Consulting Firm
in PA
Pension Administrator
for The Weiss Group, Inc.
in IL
Implementation Consultant - Defined Contribution
for AIG VALIC
in TX
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