If the headlines in this newsletter aren't clickable for you,
please use the online, clickable version at:
https://benefitslink.com/2004/2004_06_09_welfare.html
(click or copy-and-paste the above address into your web browser)

BenefitsLink
Welfare Plans
Newsletter		To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

June 9, 2004 - 8876 subscribers
Today's sponsor: The National Underwriter Company

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

National Underwriter publications in the BenefitsLink Bookstore!
The National Underwriter Company is regarded as one of the premiere
publishers of professional references. A leader in publications and
online services in the areas of Financial Planning, Employee Benefits &
Retirement Planning as well as Life & Health and Risk Management since
1897.
Now through June 18th get 50% off the list price of a selected list of
titles before any tax and shipping charges. Click above to see sale items.

(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Text of Rev. Rul. 2004-55: Income Tax Treatment of Long-Term and Short-Term Disability Payments (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Under the Amended Plan, the employee's election to pay for the cost of long-term disability coverage on an after-tax basis is irrevocable once the plan year begins and must be made prior to the beginning of the plan year in which the election becomes effective. The employee has the ability to make a new irrevocable election for each plan year prior to the beginning of that plan year." (Internal Revenue Service)

Dallas Morning News Looks at New Texas Health Plans That Offer Reduced Coverage for Lower Premiums
Excerpt: "In 2003, Texas became one of eight states that allow insurers to be exempt from state mandates regarding coverage. The Texas Department of Insurance so far has approved 20 such plans, including those offered by UniCare, Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas and Humana." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Tracking Health Care Costs: Trends Turn Downward In 2003
Excerpt: "Health care spending per privately insured person increased 7.4 percent in 2003. While lower than the 2002 increase, it still outpaced growth in the overall economy by a margin that exceeds the historical average. The trend for drug spending decelerated the most." (Health Affairs)

Professor Offers Pres.cription for Healthcare
Excerpt: "[Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter] argues for redefining healthcare competition on the level of specific diseases and treatments, rather than on the level of health plans, networks, or hospital groups. 'The wrong kinds of competition have made a mess of the American healthcare system,' contend Porter and his coauthor, Elizabeth Olmsted Teisberg of the University of Virginia. 'The right kind of competition can straighten it out.'" (Boston Globe)

Private Long-Term Care Insurance: the Medicaid Interaction
Excerpt: "What happens when the costs of long term care services exceed one's insurance benefit, available income, and assets? Presumably the Medicaid program is then available to finance services. Or is it?" (AARP Research)

Medicare Drug Card Enrollments Top 3 Million
Excerpt: "More than 3 million Americans have signed up for Medicare drug discount cards, but confusion persists, a Senate panel was told Tuesday." (AP via Yahoo! News)

Adults Received Only About Half of Recommended Medical Care, With Potential Serious Outcomes
Adults received on average 55% of the recommended care for their medical conditions, and the quality of care varied substantially by condition, according to the results of a study recently released by the RAND Corporation. The Community Quality Index Study reviewed the extent to which recommended care was provided to a sample of the population for 30 acute and chronic medical conditions. These medical conditions represent the leading causes of death and disability and major reasons to seek care. (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Practitioners Discuss ERISA Litigation Strategies At ALI-ABA Conference
Excerpt: "[Robert N. Eccles, of O'Melveny and Myers, L.L.P.] pointed out that many courts have obliged fiduciaries to make joint and several restitution ... Additionally, the Ninth Circuit has held that an employer can commit a breach of fiduciary duty with regard to misstatements made by its human resource personnel if the misstatements are made as a result of the human resource personnel being kept out of the information loop by the employer." (CCH News & Information Library)

Germany To Allow Same-Sex Marriages
Excerpt: "G.ay couples have been able to register their relationships since 2001, but the new laws will grant them almost all of the same rights as married heterose.xuals. In addition to tax benefits, g.ay and les.bian couples will inherit pensions and property from their partners if they die." (Guardian Unlimited)

Text of American Benefits Council's 10-Year Plan for Benefit Security (PDF)
129 pages. Excerpt: "In each of the four areas that the strategic plan addresses -- future retirement systems, future health care systems for active employees, future retiree health and long-term care systems and future stock plans -- we have set forth a vision statement that directly explains the opportunities and expectations for the main stakeholders in the system." (American Benefits Council)

Newly Posted Events

Complying with HIPAA's Security Rules
Nationwide on June 15, 2004
presented by Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP

Cross-Tested Plans Workshop
Nationwide on August 19, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel

Plugged In - Even If You Build It, They Don't Always Come - Motivating Participants to Use Retirement Planning Tools
Nationwide on June 17, 2004
presented by PLANSPONSOR

Reversing a Supersized Epidemic: Policy Options For Dealing With Obesity
Nationwide on June 7, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation

Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop
Nationwide on August 20, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Newly Posted Press Releases

ERISA Advisory Council to Hold First Meeting of 2004
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

U.S. Labor Department Settles Suit Against Alabama Firm and Plan Officials Over Delinquent Employee Contributions
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

Council Unveils Long-Term Strategic Plan With Goals, Recommendations for Preserving Employee Benefits
(American Benefits Council)

SEC and NASD Release Joint Staff Report on Broker-Dealer Sales of Variable Insurance Products
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)

Treasury Issues Guidance On Withholding Tax Treatment Of Cross Border Pension Distributions
(U.S. Department of Treasury)

Sharp Benefits, Inc. and BCG Terminal Funding Company have merged
(BCG Terminal Funding Company)

SunGard Corbel Acquires SBPA Systems, Inc.
(Capstone Partners)

Eldercare Responsibilities Strain Careers, Marriages, SeniorBridge Family Study Shows
(SeniorBridge Family)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Account Executive
for Transamerica
in DC

Retirement Account Manager
for Charles W. Cammack Associates, Inc.
in NJ, NY

Senior Benefits Administrator
for Sodexho
in MD

Consulting Associate
for McCready and Keene, Inc.
in IN

Consultant Assistant
for Associated Pension Consultants
in CA

Client Transition Administrator
for PennRock Financial Advisors, N.A.
in PA

Handy Links:
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.

Published by:

BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151

Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.

Housekeeping: