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July 26, 2004
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Report Warns Against Overregulating Health Care
Excerpt: "In a sweeping report on the U.S. health care market, antitrust officials with the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission said imposing too many rules and regulations could hobble competition and ultimately be bad for consumers." (Reuters via Yahoo! News)

Full Text of 'Improving Health Care: a Dose of Competition' (PDF)
361 pages (not a typo!) Excerpt: "The Report addresses two basic questions. First, what is the current role of competition in health care, and how can it be enhanced to increase consumer welfare? Second, how has, and how should, antitrust enforcement work to protect existing and potential competition in health care?" (Federal Trade Commission; Department of Justice)

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Discusses Administration's Health IT Plan, E-Prescribing
Excerpt: "Encouraging doctors to electronically prescribe drugs could 'save time and money and improve patient safety and the quality of care,' but there are 'many barriers' standing in the way of implementing new prescription methods, according to testimony presented Thursday at a meeting of the House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health, CongressDaily reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Termination of 'Lifetime' Benefits Was Not a Fiduciary Breach
Excerpt: "The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming a lower court's ruling, found welfare benefits described as 'lifetime' benefits can be revoked if the plan documents allow for such changes." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Overview: Supreme Court Rulings Helpful To Health Plan Sponsors (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "In Aetna Health Inc. v. Davila, the Court held that ERISA preempts actions for damages under the Texas Health Care Liability Act brought by individuals enrolled for HMO coverage under employer-sponsored health plans. Separately, the Supreme Court declined to review two federal appeals court rulings that an employer could bring an action to enforce subrogation rights in an ERISA plan to recover medical expenses paid by the plan from an individual's personal injury settlement." (Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions)

Understanding Underwriting Secrets Makes for Successful Health Plan Renewals Negotiations
Excerpt: "Heading into open enrollment season, benefit professionals need to engage in educated discussions with health plan carriers about the inevitable rate increase. Plan sponsors must understand how new rates are developed in order to conduct successful negotiations. Here is a simple formula for determining a reasonable annual rate increase for carriers that use a group's own experience to set rates." (BenefitNews.com)

Preliminary Observations on Efforts to Enforce Prohibitions on Personal Importation of Drugs
26 pages. Excerpt: "[T]here is growing concern about the safety of the drugs and the lawfulness of shipping the drugs into the United States through international mail and private carriers. Under current law, the importation of prescription drugs for personal use is illegal, with few exceptions.' Executive summary is online at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d04839thigh.pdf (U.S. General Accounting Office)

In a Shift, Administration Moves to Block Suits for Damages Caused by FDA-Approved Drugs
Excerpt: "The administration's participation in the cases is consistent with President Bush's position on 'tort reform.' Mr. Bush often attacks trial lawyers, saying their lawsuits impose a huge burden on the economy and drive up health costs.... [A]dministration officials said their goal was not to shield drug companies, but to vindicate the federal government's authority to regulate drug products." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Opinion: and on the Seventh Day, My Boss Let Me Rest
Excerpt: "The Virginia business community breathed a sigh of relief on July 13 when the General Assembly held a special session to correct a mistake reviving a law that allowed employees to refuse to work on the Sabbath. I was sad to see that 'mistake' go away so quickly." (Mary Ellen Slayter in the Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

HR Policy Association Urges Senate Conferees to Eliminate Restrictions on Executive Compensation
Excerpt: "This week, HR Policy sent a letter to Senate conferees urging them to drop Senate provisions in the export tax legislation prohibiting the deferral of stock option gains and restricted stock as well as limiting investment options in nonqualified deferred compensation accounts." (HR Policy Association)

Opinion: the Case for Paternalism by Employers
Excerpt: "When I began working more than 40 years ago, I was an employee. Today I am an associate, as if being an associate made me somehow more a part of the organization. I am not so sure." (Richard D. Quinn on BenefitNews.com)

Opinion: the Tax Break that Corporate Executives Don't Need
Excerpt: "If tax relief for health insurance were limited to basic policies, the additional income tax revenues -- $15 billion in 2004 alone, according to a 2001 Congressional Budget Office estimate -- could go a long way toward covering the uninsured." (John O. Fox in the Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Court: Transsexual Is Still a Woman for Purposes of Florida Marriage Definition
Excerpt: "A female-to-male transsexual is still legally female, making his marriage to a woman invalid in Florida, a state appeals court ruled Friday. The decision affects an untold number of marriages, since people are not required to prove gender when seeking a marriage license in Florida. Florida law bans same-sex marriage." (AP via Yahoo! News)

Newly Posted Press Releases

Retirement Solutions Foundation Receives Grant to ‘Revolutionize’ 401(k) Education’
(Retirement Solutions Foundation)

Addition of Debit Card Further Strengthens DataPath’s Turnkey Solution for Employee Benefit Administrators
(DataPath, Inc.)
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