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March 3, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Retiree Benefit Cutbacks Threaten Recovery of United Airlines
Excerpt: "At the same time United Airlines is trumpeting to Wall Street that employee morale has never been better, workers say the move by management to curtail retiree benefits has ruined their trust in the company." (Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
Overview: Medicare Subsidies for Employer-Sponsored Retiree Drug Coverage (PDF)
At pp. 5-6 of 6-page document. Excerpt: "[E]mployers who currently sponsor pres.cription drug coverage for retirees should begin to examine the potential effect of the Medicare changes on their plans and plan members. This will involve understanding the effects of the different options on the costs borne by the plan sponsor and by retirees; the sustainability of the resulting plans; and members' access to quality pres.cription drugs." (Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company)
Welfare Plan Update (PDF)
4 pages. Articles include 'IRS Ruling on Medicare Eligibility Following COBRA-Qualifying Event of Termination of Employment/Reduction in Hours'; 'Tax-Free Subsidy for Pres.cription Drug Coverage For Retirees'; 'Health Savings Accounts'; 'Extension of Mental Health Parity Act'; 'Coverage for Over-The-Counter Medication In A Health FSA." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Court: Catholic Group Must Cover Birth Control
Excerpt: "The California Supreme Court rules that the Catholic Charities group must provide employees with health plans that include birth control coverage. The court rules the group is not covered by exemptions for religious organizations, because it provides secular services. NPR's Richard Gonzales reports." (National Public Radio)
Captive Insurance Structures Gain Savings for Employers
Excerpt: "More employers are likely to give captive insurance structures a second look, now that the Labor Department has relaxed restrictions on captives and a new study from Towers Perrin ... shows such structures can produce savings of more than 20%." (BenefitNews.com)
Retiree Health Care Plan Trends
At pp. 12-18 of 28-page document; click on 'PDF Version' button on target page. (TIAA-CREF Institute)
Opinion: HSAs Are Medicare's Hidden Bonanza
Excerpt: "After millions in campaign contributions, an insurance magnate's 10-year lobbying campaign finally pays off." (MotherJones.com)
ERISA Analysis of California Mandatory Health Insurance Law, S.B. 2
Excerpt: "The new legislation may be challenged in the courts along two lines: A state lawsuit might claim that the fee is actually a tax that did not receive the required two-thirds majority vote in the legislature; or a federal lawsuit might claim the measure violates the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), a federal law pre-empting states from regulating employer benefit plans." (California HealthCare Foundation)
Panel Dispels Common Consumer-Driven Health Myths, Touts Early Results
Excerpt: "Contrary to critics who argue that consumer-driven health plans appeal only to the young and healthy, some plans seem to attract older and far sicker consumers, according to an official from Minneapolis-based Definity Health." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Inquiry Finds Sharp Increase in Health Insurance Schemes
Excerpt: "Federal investigators said Tuesday that they had found a sharp increase in health insurance scams by unlicensed companies that offer cheap coverage, collect millions of dollars in premiums from consumers and small businesses, but then refuse to pay claims." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Grocery Strike Settlement is Death Knell for Employer-Provided Healthcare Coverage
Excerpt: "This transformation of the health care system will be extremely unstable and intolerable. It cannot last long. It will become clear to all that we will need to shift our abundant health care resources into an equitable, affordable system of social insurance." (Physicians for a National Healthcare Program)
Long-Term Care Insurance: a Golden Opportunity
Excerpt: "Emerging demographics, new legislation, and budget shortfalls have converged to create unprecedented long-term care insurance opportunities for both U.S. insurers and consumers." (LOMA)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Impact of Same Sex Marriages on Qualified Plans and Employee Benefits
Excerpt: "Emerson has written that the Minutemen at the Concord Bridge 'fired the shot heard 'round the world.' Now, more than 200 years later, another small band of Massachusetts residents, this time a majority of the State Supreme Judicial Court, has fired another shot ..." (Attorney Sherwin P. Simmons, published by Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America; one-time registration required)
Employer, Take Note: We're Goin' to the Chapel
Excerpt: "A court decision means employers may be required to provide full spousal benefits to g.ay couples." (CFO.com)
Tech Industry Begins Stock Options Lobbying Blitz
Excerpt: "The technology industry is flying in Silicon Valley executives to Washington today to launch a critical round of lobbying to forestall looming rules on stock-option accounting that could subtract billions from corporate profits." ([San Jose] Mercury News)
Overview: IASB Issues Final Standard on Share-Based Payment (PDF)
Excerpt: "The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on February 19, 2004 issued its much anticipated International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) on accounting for equity-based compensation (EBC), referred to as 'IFRS 2 Share-based Payment'.... The IASB's final standard becomes effective on a 'modified retroactive' basis beginning on January 1, 2005, and with few exceptions, will apply broadly to all types of EBC transactions with employees and nonemployees." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
SunGard Corbel Advanced Pension Conference
in Florida on February 9, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Kaiser Conversations on Health with AARP CEO Bill Novelli
Nationwide on March 3, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Newly Posted Press Releases
PSCA President David Wray Urges Senate Banking Committee To Insure That The SEC Preserves A Level Playing Field For All Investors Under Proposed Hard Close Rule
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))
Evolution Benefits and drugstore.com Offer First Paperless Debit Card Substantiation Process for FSA-Eligible and Non-Eligible OTC Medications
(Evolution Benefits)
Segal's New York Communications Practice Wins Award
(The Segal Company)
IRS Commissioner Mark W. Everson to address National Press Club luncheon March 15
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
California Senator Debra Bowen to Speak March 9th on the New California Identity Theft Prevention, Data Security and Confidentiality of Social Security Numbers Laws
(Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Los Angeles Chapter)
Council urges Senate Banking panel to take up alternatives to SEC's 'hard 4:00 p.m. rule' for mutual fund trades
(American Benefits Council)
Rising Number of Companies Considering Alternative Financing for Employee Benefits
(Towers Perrin)
Association and Verizon Reach Agreement on "Golden Parachutes" Proxy
(Association of BellTel Retirees Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Employee Benefits Account Manager
for The Protector Group Insurance Agency, Inc.
in MA
Retirement Benefits Specialist
for Kaleida Health
in NY
Benefits Specialist
for Ralcorp Holdings
in MO
DC/401k Benefits Administrator
for Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company
in FL
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