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March 26, 2004 - 8,783 subscribers
Today's sponsor: CBI’s 2nd Annual Disease Management Summit for Employers, Providers and Health Plans

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)

Al Lewis and Warren Todd to speak at CBI's Disease Management Summit!
CBI’s 2nd Annual Disease Management Summit for Employers, Providers
and Health Plans: Improve Productivity and Outcomes While Reducing
Absenteeism and Healthcare Costs, April 22-23, 2004 in Washington D.C.
The Summit features employers and healthcare strategists who will
present innovative strategies to evaluate and implement disease
management programs. Through in-depth case studies, speakers and
healthcare strategists will present financial and clinical outcomes
that have effectively managed health care costs, decreased absenteeism
and improved productivity for employees with chronic conditions.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
The Status of the Medicare Part A and Part B Trust Funds: the Trustees' 2004 Annual Report
Nice summary. (AARP Bulletin)

Federal Lawmakers Voice Doubts About HSAs for Federal Government Employees
Excerpt: "Health savings accounts are being made available to federal employees who are younger than 65 and have health plans with high deductibles.... Several lawmakers said they were concerned that the new option would draw large numbers of federal employees away from the standard FEHBP offerings - a phenomenon known as 'adverse selection' - which could weaken the federal program for those participants who do not or cannot start a health savings account." (GovExec.com)

Reimported Pres.cription Drugs From Canada Are Safe, Report for N.H. Governor Says
Excerpt: "New Hampshire officials have prepared a report for Gov. Craig Benson (R) that indicates U.S.-manufactured pres.cription drugs reimported from Canada are safe, state Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen said on Wednesday, the Manchester Union Leader reports ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Fewer Employers Switching Health Insurers to Save Costs
Excerpt: "A new survey of 449 employers by Watson Wyatt (http://www.watsonwyatt.com/) and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH, http://www.wbgh.com/) finds that the percentage switching plan providers to curb costs has dropped drastically." (BenefitNews.com)

HSAs and the HIPAA Privacy Rules: the Clash of the Acronyms (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The focus of this legal alert will be on an issue that has received little discussion-- the impact of the HIPAA privacy rules on the operation and design of HSAs." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)

28 Companies Are Selected to Provide Drug Discounts
Excerpt: "The Bush administration announced Thursday that it had selected 28 companies to provide drug discount cards to the elderly, and it said the benefits of such cards should reverse a tide of criticism from Democrats who have been denouncing the new Medicare law for three months." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Doctor 'Scorecards' Proposed as Healthcare Cost Containment Measure
Excerpt: "In one of the most ambitious efforts yet to provide health-care quality ratings for consumers, 28 large employers, including Sprint Corp., Lowe's Cos., BellSouth Corp., J.C. Penney Co. and Morgan Stanley are teaming up to develop 'scorecards' to help employees choose doctors based on how well they care for patients -- and how cost-efficient they are." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of Notice 2004-28: IRS Identifies Frivolous Arguments About Compensatory Stock Options (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service is aware that certain promoters are advising taxpayers to take highly questionable, and in most cases meritless, positions, described below, on current and amended returns regarding income or alternative minimum tax ('AMT') due upon the exercise of nonstatutory or statutory stock options. This Notice alerts taxpayers that the Service intends to challenge such positions and will treat them as frivolous in appropriate cases." (Internal Revenue Service)

Tyco Shareholders Vote Down Limits on Executive Pay
Excerpt: "The proposal to hold executive salaries and bonuses to a maximum of $1 million each per year and to limit other compensation drew only about 5 percent of the votes. The board opposed it, saying the move would hurt Tyco's ability to attract top talent." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Opinion: the Socialsecurityandmedicare Muddle
Excerpt: "It has become standard practice among privatizers to talk as if there is some program called Socialsecurityandmedicare. They hope to use scary numbers about future medical costs to panic us into abandoning a retirement program that's actually in pretty good shape." (Paul Krugman in the New York Times; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Events

Coverage – It Doesn't Get More Fundamental
Nationwide on April 20, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Fair is Fair, But Complicated - Nondiscrimination Testing
in Florida on May 11, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Administrative Slip-Ups and Solutions
in California on April 22, 2004
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter

2004 Spring Conference
in California on May 20, 2004
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter

Consumer-Directed Pharmacy Benefits
in Nevada on June 28, 2004
presented by International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC)

Certificate Series in Health Care Cost Management
in Wisconsin on June 28, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Essentials of Multiemployer Trust Fund Administration
in Wisconsin on June 7, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Trustees and Administrators Institutes
in Nevada on June 14, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Benefit Plan Professionals Institute
in Nevada on June 14, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Certificate Series in Health Benefit Plan Basics
in Wisconsin on June 22, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Certificate Series in Choice-Based Benefits
in Wisconsin on June 24, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases

David W. Johnston Joins BEMAS Software, Inc. as Director of Sales
(BEMAS Software, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Senior Pension Administrator
for Retirement Alliance, Inc.
in NH

Pension Consultants/Administrators
for Pension Management Consultants, Inc.
in NY

Employee Benefits Attorney
for Leading Business Law Firm in Mid-Atlantic Region
in PA

Employee Benefits Tax Manager or Heavy Senior
for Deloitte
in NC

Employee Benefits Regional Sales Manager
for Omni Employee Benefit Consultants, LLC
in FL

Operations Specialist
for PenCal Administrators, Inc.
in CA

Benefits Manager (Service Delivery Manager)
for Towers Perrin
in VA

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