BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter for July 20, 2004

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July 20, 2004

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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)

Healthcare Fails to Register in Campaigns
Excerpt: "Many experts predicted that the issue of health insurance would be a key to the 2004 presidential race. Coping with the problem of 44 million uninsured Americans was supposed to be a major issue, but it hasn't been so far. NPR's Julie Rovner reports." (National Public Radio)

Sweetnam: HSA Guidance Is Coming
Excerpt: "Treasury Benefits Tax Counsel Bill Sweetnam said ... that the next round of HSA guidance is 'peeking around the door' [and] will answer a lot of the remaining 'nuts and bolts' questions about HSAs – IRA-type health-care accounts that can be established to pay for qualified medical expenses of eligible individuals – and that it will be the last round of HSA guidance the Treasury Department plans to issue in the immediate future." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

FORTUNE 500 Employers Urge HSA/HRA/FSA Stacking; Treasury Guidance Expected Soon
Excerpt: "A key element of the proposed plan, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2006, is the contribution of unused HRA funds. At the end of each year, HRA dollars would be contributed into the HSA and become real dollars in an employee's HSA. HRAs typically are unfunded, notational (virtual) accounts that are accessible only when claims are filed. An employee's $1,000 HRA, for example, represents an employer's promise to pay expenses up to that amount." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)

Health Care's Paper Trail is Costly Route
Excerpt: "Based on tech's impact on other industries, John Chambers, CEO of Internet titan Cisco Systems, says technology could cut health care costs by at least 25% -- and improve care." (USA Today via BCBSHealthIssues.com)

GAO Report: National Strategy Needed to Speed Implementation of Healthcare Information Technology
16 pages. Excerpt: "Health care is an information-intensive industry that remains highly fragmented and inefficient. Hence, the uses of information technology (IT)-- in delivering clinical care, performing administrative functions, and supporting the public health infrastructure-- have the potential to yield both cost savings and improvements in the care itself." (U.S. General Accounting Office)

Officials Bring Case for Health Information Technology to Congress
Excerpt: "While federal agencies are working toward establishing electronic health records, implementing government data standards would speed adoption, officials told the House Government Reform Technology Subcommittee on Wednesday ..." (iHealthBeat.com; one-time registration required)

Corporate Profits Resurrect Luxury Incentive Travel
Excerpt: "More companies are reviving luxury travel incentives for top performers. Following terrorism and recession in 2001, employers scaled back or eliminated incentive travel." (USA Today)

Coverage of Key Colorectal Cancer Screening Tests Is Common but Not Universal
26 pages. Excerpt: "Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States. Its mortality can be reduced through early detection and treatment.... Congress is considering legislation that would require coverage of the tests for screening purposes among all private health insurance plans.' Executive summary is online at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d04713high.pdf (U.S. General Accounting Office)

Opinion: Obesity and 'Public Health'?
Excerpt: "Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says, 'Obesity is a critical public health problem in our country.' Wrong. Obesity is a problem for many people, but it is not a public health problem. By calling it one, however, Thompson can promise that we, the taxpayers, will pay for everyone's diet programs, stomach surgery, and behavioral counseling. Get out your wallet." (David Boaz published by the Cato Institute)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of Rev. Rul. 2004-87: Golden Parachute Rules During Bankruptcy (PDF)
8 pages. (Internal Revenue Service)

Guidance Provided on Application of Golden Parachute Rule in Bankruptcy
Excerpt: "The IRS has provided four fact situations to address whether there is a change in ownership or control pursuant to the acquisition of corporate stock by creditors in a bankruptcy reorganization for purposes of the exemption to the golden parachute rules under Code Secs. 280G(b)(5)(A)(ii) and 4999." (CCH News & Information Library)

Text of Social Security Number Privacy Bill as Reported by Subcommittee (PDF)
50 pages. Excerpt: "This Act may be cited as the 'Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2004.'" (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security)

Report of Subcommittee on Social Security Privacy Bill, H.R. 2971 (PDF)
30 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he bill would prevent private sector employers and those providing employee benefits from displaying an individual's full or partial SSN on any identification card or tag issued to the employee or an employee's family member." (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security)

Big Severance Packages Mark Recent Deals
Excerpt: "Sizable severance packages are alive and well, even after the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and despite a tepid economy. As proof, just look at the payouts that several top executives are poised to receive following a few recent high-profile deals." (CFO.com)

Showdown Over Stock Options Comes to House
Excerpt: "A showdown pitting donor-rich Silicon Valley against key regulators and big investors comes to the floor of the House, which is moving to block a proposed requirement that companies deduct from their profits the cost of stock options." (AP via New York Times; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Press Releases

EBIA Allows Public Access to Cafeteria / 401(k) Plan Tax Savings Calculator
(Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings

Manager, Employer Compliance
for Writers Guild Industry Health & Pension Fund
in CA

Associate Manager, Healthcare Sales Training
for Great-West Healthcare, a division of Great-West Life & Annuity
in CO

Handy Links:

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