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April 30, 2004 - 8805 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The Center for Business Intelligence (CBI)

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

Learn Strategies to Stem the Rising Cost of Healthcare
CBI’s 3rd Employer Summit on Managing Healthcare Costs and Quality,
May 17-18, 2004 in New York, NY.
With healthcare costs rising at an alarming rate, employers are under
pressure to come up with a solution while still offering employees
quality healthcare coverage. Employers have tried consumer-driven
healthcare and cost-shifting with mixed success. The time has come to
discuss alternatives and evaluate healthcare benefit plan design to
promote cost savings and quality of care.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Government Web Site Shows Varation in Drug Prices
Excerpt: "When the Web site began working at 1:35 p.m., Medicare officials released a blizzard of detailed data not previously available to the public. By entering a ZIP code and the names of specific drugs, consumers can learn the prices charged at local pharmacies or through the mail." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Trends and Indicators in the Changing Health Care Marketplace, 2004 Update
Excerpt: "Trends and Indicators in the Changing Health Care Marketplace, 2004 Update (April 2004) presents information on key trends in the health care marketplace of interest to policymakers, public interest groups, the media, and industry analysts and leaders.' Click on any of the 'sections' listed in the right-hand menu bar on the target page. (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Four HSA News Events Get Deafening Silence from the National Media (PDF)
At page 4 of 6-page document. Excerpt: "The federal government of the United States, the largest employer with an insured population, announced that HSAs will be offered to all Federal employees next year. The Washington Post was the only newspaper to provide coverage ..." (The HSA Insider)

Letters to EEOC Supporting ADEA Ruling (PDF)
21 pages; includes letters from American Benefits Council, AFL-CIO, America's Health Insurance Plans. (Via American Benefits Council)

Reimporting U.S.-Made Pres.cription Drugs From Abroad Will Not Lower Spending Much, CBO Says
Excerpt: "Allowing the reimportation of lower-cost, U.S.-made pres.cription drugs from other nations would have 'little impact' on drug spending in the United States, according to an issue brief released Thursday by the Congressional Budget Office, CongressDaily reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

European Patients Lobby EC to Ease Ban on Drug Ads
Excerpt: "The Web is triggering a debate on drug advertising in Europe, where tight restrictions prevent companies from any consumer advertising 10 years after such ad bans were lifted in the U.S." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Drug Ads Provide Mixed Blessing
Excerpt: "The direct-to-consumer ad (DTCA) offers a seductive pitch in clever or attractive packages, pushing drug brand names with as much vigor as a pitch for soap or cereal. Although 70 percent of the doctors surveyed thought the ads could help educate patients or stimulate discussion during a consultation, just 40 percent said they had a positive effect on either patient or doctor." (Washington Times)

Employer Improperly Denied Preauthorization For Reconstructive Leg Surgery
An employer improperly refused to grant preauthorization for reconstructive surgery on an employee's leg. This was the ruling of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Shaw v. The McFarland Clinic, P.C. (Nos. 02-3897 and 03-1167). (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Welcome to new BenefitsLink advertiser LifeStart Wellness Network/Health IQ Diagnostics LLC
Excerpt: "LifeStart Wellness Network Inc. is a health and wellness company founded in 1992. We provide Health Risk Assessments, Fitness Evaluations, Biometric and Blood Screenings, Flu Shots, Workshops and Wellness Education. LifeStart created Health IQ Diagnostics LLC to supply companies with a cost-effective, turn-key solution that rewards employees with financial incentives for maintaining good health, improving their annual health scores, ."

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Employment Costs Mount, Benefits Jump
Excerpt: "Benefit costs advanced 2.4 percent - the largest three-month rise since a 2.7 percent leap in the third quarter of 1982 -- after a 1.4 percent increase in the fourth quarter. A Labor Department official said first quarter's gain was largely due to a rise in payments by companies to defined benefit pension plans." (Reuters via New York Times; one-time registration required)

Opinion: How Much Longer Will We Be Conned by 'Talent'?
Excerpt: "The idea that some people are just too special to be valued precisely has become so deeply ingrained in our economy that we scarcely think about it anymore. In 2003, the chairman and chief executive officer of McDonald's Corp., James Cantalupo, took home $7.95 million in pay.... But the number is still large, and it implies that Cantalupo couldn't simply be replaced with some cheaper model -- that he was more like a Rembrandt than a corporate employee." (Michael Lewis on Bloomberg.com)

The Plight of the Self-Employed
Excerpt: "Hundreds of thousands of Americans have started their own businesses since the technology crash and the last recession. Many report that they are happy being self-employed, but they are struggling with health insurance costs, diminished incomes and mounds of unexpected paperwork. NPR's Laura Sydell reports." (National Public Radio)

Selected Historical Benefit Statistics: 1974, 1978 and 2003 (PDF)
2 pages. See also http://www.ebri.org/policyforums/may2004/ (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

ERISA at 30: Where Is the Employer-Sponsored System Going? (PDF)
9 pages; after-dinner speech presented April 14, 2004. See also http://www.ebri.org/policyforums/may2004/ (Dallas L. Salisbury of the Employee Benefit Research Institute)

Newly Posted Press Releases

Two Newkirk Entries Receive Four Awards in ACPHC Contest
(Newkirk)

DataPath,Inc. to Serve as Health Savings Account Administrator to the State of Arkansas
(DataPath, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Benefits Analyst
for Edward Hospital & Health Services
in IL

Enrolled Actuary Position
for Baltimore Based Pension and Profit Sharing Consulting Firm
in MD

Account Executive Director
for Principal Financial Group
in NY

OmniPlus Systems Administration Manager
for NADA Retirement Administrator's Inc
in VA

Conversion Manager
for Professional Capital Services, LLC
in PA

Exclusive Care Plan Manager
for County of Riverside
in CA

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