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August 9, 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)
Cost of Providing Health Benefits Surpasses Paid Leave Costs for Employers
Excerpt: "Health care coverage for workers has become the most expensive benefit for employers, surpassing for the first time in a decade the cost of providing of paid leave, according to a study released Tuesday by the Employment Policy Foundation ..." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Court Finds No Damages Where COBRA Premiums Exceed Medical Expenses, Despite Inadequate COBRA Notice
Excerpt: "The typical statement of the amount a court may award as damages for a successful claim for COBRA coverage is the amount of the qualified beneficiary's medical bills, reduced by the deductibles, co-payments, and premiums that the qualified beneficiary would pay for COBRA coverage.... Note, however, that plan administrators of non-governmental plans can be subject to statutory penalties of up to $110 per day for failure to provide election notices." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Court Reverses Denial of Benefits, Applying Heightened Standard of Review Because of Conflict
Excerpt: "[A]dministrators of self-funded plans cannot overcome inconsistencies in claims procedures by relying on plan language that grants discretion to the plan administrator; indeed, administrators must be particularly careful in order to quell any suspicions, such as those that this court may have had, that someone is shopping for a reason to deny benefits." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Health Plan Cannot Pursue Claim Against Stop-Loss Insurer and Agent Under HIPAA
Excerpt: "Many courts that have addressed the issue have held that HIPAA does not give enforcement power to health plans or individuals ... However, at least one court has held that an individual may sue, under ERISA, to enforce HIPAA's portability provisions.... The court in this case did not discuss the 'use ERISA to enforce HIPAA' theory." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Text of DOL Brief in Sixth Circuit Case on Health Plan Reimbursement Provision
Qualchoice, Inc. v. Rowland (June 17, 2004). Excerpt: "The panel's conclusion that a fiduciary's action to enforce a plan reimbursement provision is a legal action, regardless of whether the plan participant or beneficiary recovered from another entity and possesses that recovery in an identifiable fund, is inconsistent with the Supreme Court's analysis in Great-West." (U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Solicitor)

'Best' Company Says Spending On Employees Pays Off
Excerpt: "Software company AGI recently was named the 'Best Small Company to Work for in America' by a San Francisco organization called The Great Place to Work Institute." (Miami Herald; one-time registration required)

Boston Mayor Says He Will Continue Program To Reimport Prescription Drugs from Canada
Excerpt: "Boston Mayor Thomas Menino (D) and city officials on Thursday 'shrugged off' a warning in a letter sent by FDA Associate Commissioner William Hubbard on Wednesday about the safety risks of a program that allows some city employees and retirees to reimport lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada, the Boston Herald reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Overview: Additional IRS Guidance on HSAs Gives Employers Flexibility (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "For employers, the notice offers more flexibility with respect to the types of benefits that may be offered as part of benefits packages with HSAs, such as certain employee assistance and wellness programs. But the guidance does not give employers much control over the use of HSAs. Employers may not limit HSA funds to the payment of qualified medical expenses and are prohibited from barring rollovers from the HSA." (Milliman USA)

Overview of Proposed Rules for the Medicare Prescription Drug Act: Implications for Employers (PDF)
7 pages. (PricewaterhouseCoopers)

Contraceptive Coverage Increases; Advocates Push for More
Excerpt: "Employer-sponsored coverage of contraceptive methods has risen exponentially, but reproductive rights advocates contend that health plans still are not covering enough varieties." (BenefitNews.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Efforts To Toughen Deferred Comp Plan Laws Create Compliance Concerns for Employers
Excerpt: "Both the House and Senate have passed bills that would impose new restrictions on NQDC plans and, at press time, were expected to try to hash out their differences in a conference committee. Observers predict some version of the legislation, including the deferred compensation provisions, will be signed into law." (BenefitNews.com)

Overview: IRS Issues Final Incentive Stock Option Regulations
Excerpt: "The IRS has issued final regulations on incentive stock options (ISOs) that revise proposed rules that were issued in June 2003. The changes are described by the Treasury Department as 'modest' and include revisions to the rules regarding the maximum aggregate number of shares in an ISO plan, substitution and assumption of ISOs, and modifications of ISOs." (CCH News & Information Library)

Newly Posted Events

2005 Joint Conference: ASPA Summer Conference and Western Pension & Benefits Annual Conference
in California on July 24, 2005
presented by ASPA and WP&BC
Newly Posted Press Releases

Statement of PBGC Executive Director Bradley D. Belt on Enron
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Defined Contribution Administrative Support
for Employee Benefits Consultants and Recordkeepers
in PA

Trust Sales Administrator
for Regions Financial Corporation
in TN

Manager, Benefit and Retirement Plans
for Cintas
in OH

Director of Operations
for Mellon, Human Resources & Investor Solutions
in NJ

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

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