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August 11, 2004
Today's sponsor: IBF
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7th Annual Pensions&Investments Defined Contribution West Coast Conference The 7th Annual Pensions&Investments Defined Contribution West Coast Conference will be held October 24-26, 2004 at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco, CA. With increased liability exposure and reform initiatives, plan sponsors need solutions. This program is dedicated entirely to educating and training plan sponsors to incorporate superior risk management and control practices into their existing DC plan programs. To register or for more information click above or call 516-765-9005.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Vermont to Sue Federal Government for Ability to Import Drugs
Excerpt: "Reacting to intense pressure to help make prescription drugs more affordable, Vermont officials had asked the drug agency in November to approve a pilot program under which the state would contract with a Canadian company that would take orders from Vermont residents and distribute the drugs by mail." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
New York Times Examines Disease Management Program in a Washington State Plan
Excerpt: "The New York Times on Wednesday examined an 'innovative' program in Whatcom County, Wash., that uses electronic medical records and assigns special nurses to patients with diabetes and congestive heart failure to help them better manage their diseases." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Health Plan That Cuts Costs Raises Doctors' Ire
Excerpt: "When, as with the Whatcom County program, medical care is improved, and money saved, there are winners: in this case, insurers, including Medicare, which could save millions, and pharmaceutical companies. And there are losers: general practitioners and hospitals, with each doctor standing to lose at least $2,000 a year, according to projections ..." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
HMOs Resurrect Some Cost Controls
Excerpt: "Requirements such as referrals for specialists and pre-authorizations for some medical services are quietly reappearing in some health plans, according to a study published in the policy journal Health Affairs." (AP via Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Recent Changes In Health Plans' Cost Containment Strategies
Excerpt: "In this paper we examine how plans' approaches to cost containment and care management have evolved since 2001. Plans reintroduced and refocused some utilization management techniques ... while continuing to invest in disease and case management. Some also began to experiment with new variants of managed care, including tiered provider networks and incentive-based provider payments. However, few respondents believed that these strategies alone would greatly reduce future costs." (Health Affairs)
Many Small Employers Are Turning to HSAs for Help
Excerpt: "A substantial number of small employers, frustrated by several consecutive years of double-digit rate hikes for health care coverage, are eyeing health savings accounts (HSAs) as a possible solution, according to results of a survey released last month by Fort Lee, N.J.-based Information Strategies Inc. (ISI). About 1,200 small employers participated in the latest semiannual survey." (Inside Consumer-Directed Care via AISHealth.com)
Survey Finds Beneficiaries Largely Fault Medicare Law
Excerpt: "A new survey suggests that the number of Medicare beneficiaries with negative views of the new prescription drug law far exceeds the number with positive views. But, it says, beneficiaries want Congress to fix what they see as problems in the law, not repeal it as many Democrats have advocated." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: IRS Issues Final Incentive Stock Option Regulations
Excerpt: "Except for a few clarifications and modifications, the final regulations are essentially the same as the proposed regulations issued June 9, 2003, which reorganized and updated the previous confusing mix of proposed, temporary and final regulations, as well as other guidance. The major changes of interest are as follows:" (Deloitte's Washington Bulletin)
Overview: Massachusetts Department of Revenue Issues Same Sex Marriage Guidance (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The [Technical Information Release] recognizes that Federal law does not permit same-sex marriage, and it goes on to describe how taxpayers should comply with particular requirements of Massachusetts law that diverge from the corresponding Federal standards." (Mintz Levin)
SEC Considers Delaying Rules To Help Enact Other Reforms
Excerpt: "[SEC Chief Accountant Donald T.] Nicolaisen did not specify which SEC initiatives might be delayed in yesterday's speech, but he has said companies might be given another year to comply with a plan that would require them to treat stock options as an expense." (Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Opinion: FASB Seems Close to Resolving Stock Options Issue
Excerpt: "The problem is, FASB regrettably allowed academics to get their noses under the accounting tent, which means they'll push their favorite option-pricing models. And still out there in left field are Silicon Valley's lobbyists, fighting to get their dumb proposal enacted." (Graef Crystal on Bloomberg.com)
Newly Posted Events
Basic IRAs 2004
in Texas on September 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Alaska on September 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Minnesota on September 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Minnesota on September 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Montana on September 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in North Dakota on September 21, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in New Hampshire on September 23, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Michigan on September 23, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in North Dakota on September 23, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in New Jersey on September 28, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on September 28, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on September 30, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on October 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in District of Columbia on October 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on October 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in North Carolina on October 13, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in North Carolina on October 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Oklahoma on October 19, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Texas on October 21, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Illinois on October 26, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Ohio on October 28, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Illinois on October 28, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Illinois on November 2, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Mississippi on November 2, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Kentucky on November 2, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Illinois on November 4, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Ohio on November 4, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Tennessee on November 4, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on November 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Massachusetts on November 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Virginia on November 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Louisiana on November 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Maryland on November 11, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on November 11, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Louisiana on November 11, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Alabama on November 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Texas on November 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Missouri on November 18, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Alabama on November 18, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on December 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Delaware on December 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Florida on December 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in New Mexico on December 7, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Florida on December 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Arizona on December 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Pennsylvania on December 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Florida on December 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in California on December 9, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Illinois on December 14, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Basic IRAs 2004
in Illinois on December 16, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Corporate Mergers and Acquisitions
in New York on September 9, 2004
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Texas on September 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Alaska on September 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Minnesota on September 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Minnesota on September 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Montana on September 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in North Dakota on September 22, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in North Dakota on September 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in New Hampshire on September 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Michigan on September 24, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in New Jersey on September 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on September 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on October 1, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on October 6, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in District of Columbia on October 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on October 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in North Carolina on October 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Oklahoma on October 20, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Texas on October 22, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Illinois on October 27, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Ohio on October 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Illinois on October 29, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Illinois on November 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Mississippi on November 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Kentucky on November 3, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Tennessee on November 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Illinois on November 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Ohio on November 5, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on November 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Massachusetts on November 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Virginia on November 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Louisiana on November 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Maryland on November 12, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on November 12, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Louisiana on November 12, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Alabama on November 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Texas on November 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Missouri on November 19, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Alabama on November 19, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in New Mexico on December 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on December 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Delaware on December 8, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Arizona on December 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Pennsylvania on December 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Florida on December 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in California on December 10, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Illinois on December 15, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Intermediate to Advanced IRA Workshop: "Distribution Planning"
in Illinois on December 17, 2004
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
The Final Word on HSAs – Overview of Recent IRS Guidance
Nationwide on August 26, 2004
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
What Do People on Medicare Think About the New Drug Law: Results of New Medicare Survey
Nationwide on August 11, 2004
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Newly Posted Press Releases
50th Annual U.S. Employee Benefits Conference
(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
U.S. Department of Labor Unveils E-mail Subscription Service Website Users Can Receive Automatic E-mail Updates
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)
SEC Brings First Enforcement Action Against Insurance Companies for Permitting Market Timing of Mutual Funds Through Variable Annuities - Insurance Companies to Pay $20 Million in Settlement
(U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
CPI Opens San Diego Consulting Office
(CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Institutional Services Communication Specialist
for BB&T
in TN
Director of Operations
for A member of the S&P 500 and Forbes 400 global leader in customer care
in TX
Employee Benefits Managing Consultant
for Wachovia
in VA
401k / DC Administrator
for Sentinel Benefits Group
in MA
Senior Plan Administrator
for RSM McGladrey
in MN
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