| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 7, 2004
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Check out the publications by the NCEO in the BenefitsLink Bookstore! The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a nonprofit membership and research organization that provides information on broad-based employee stock plans, now has over a dozen of its most popular publications available for purchase in the BenefitsLink bookstore. Topics range from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to stock options to employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs).
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House Bill Extends Reservists' Health Benefits from 18 to 24 Months
Excerpt: "The House voted early Thursday to extend health coverage for reservists, reflecting the longer periods of active duty being required of National Guard and Reserve members. The legislation, approved by voice vote, increases from 18 months to 24 months the maximum period under which reservists covered by the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act can continue employer-sponsored health care coverage." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Program Allows Patients to Manage Medical Records Online
Excerpt: "Health technology company REDmedic ... introduced a program that allows patients to manage and store information online and review the records with their physician, eWeek reports .... The service, which operates using an application-service-provider model, could help provide patient information in emergencies as well as in nonurgent situations, .... Patient information can be accessed online, by call centers or fax." (California Healthcare Foundation)
Cost of COBRA Was 146% of Active Employee Cost, According To Spencer's 2004 COBRA Survey
Excerpt: "Average claims costs for COBRA continuees exceeded costs for active employees by about 46%, according to the 15th nationwide survey of employers' and plan administrators' COBRA experience, conducted by Spencer Benefits Reports. The 173 companies responding to the 2004 survey administered COBRA for the 25,638 former employees and dependents who elected it." (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Are Individuals Covered by HIPAA? If So, What Would It Mean for Covered Entities?
Excerpt: "In the wake of U.S. v. Gibson, the first criminal conviction under HIPAA, debate has ensued over the Department of Justice's authority to prosecute non-covered entities for violations of HIPAA. Some health law experts wonder why the U.S. Attorney's office in Seattle picked HIPAA to prosecute Gibson, when there are numerous other laws that could be used to prosecute identity theft." (AISHealth.com)
Overview: Supreme Court Rules ERISA Preempts State Law Remedies for Health Coverage Denials
Excerpt: "In a much-awaited, unanimous decision handed down on June 21, 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that ERISA provides the exclusive remedy to challenge coverage decisions made by managed care entities administering ERISA-regulated benefit plans. The Court's decision brought swift applause from the managed care industry and renewed calls from consumer advocates and some members of Congress for enactment of a federal patients' bill of rights." (The Segal Company)
Full text of October 5, 2004, issue of Health Law News from Jenkens & Gilchrist (PDF)
5 pages. The issue includes: You Know You Are About to Have a Bad Day When [Michael Moore Shows Up]; Another Stark Correction; Medicare Expands Coverage for Automatic, Implantable Defibrillators; OIG Authorizes Routine Waiver of Copays in 'Insurance Only' Billing; Another PHO Submits to FTC Consent Order; New California Statute Defines Medical Staff/Hospital Legal Relationship; and, More on Medicare Observation Rules and Coding. (Jenkens & Gilchrist)
HealthPartners to Withhold Health Insurance Payment to Providers for Errors During Procedures
Excerpt: "Starting Jan. 1, one of Minnesota's biggest health plans says it will no longer pay for certain procedures that go wrong. HealthPartners says it's basing its criteria on what is commonly known as a list of 'nevers' -- such as surgery performed on the wrong body part or on the wrong patient, and leaving a foreign object in a patient after surgery. HealthPartners' move might be the first nationwide, and is certainly the first in Minnesota, to penalize health providers for bad care." (Star Tribune; one-time registration required)
Survey: the Health Benefits Squeeze: Implications for Nonprofit Organizations and Those They Serve (PDF)
Excerpt: "According to a new report by the ... Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies, American nonprofit organizations are being especially hard hit by escalating health benefit costs. Based on a nationwide sample of more than 250 nonprofit agencies ..., the research, part of the Nonprofit Listening Post Project, found that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of the organizations surveyed reported health benefit cost increases of 11 percent or more over the past year, ...." (The Center for Civil Society Studies of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Policy Studies)
To Find Organizations that Help Insureds in Your State Use the Health Assistance Partnership Website
Excerpt: "There are three types of health insurance: Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance. If you have questions about health insurance and/or if you are having trouble getting health insurance benefits that you need, a health insurance assistance program may be able to help you. Programs may also be able to refer you to low-cost or free health care, including pres.cription drug assistance." (Health Assistance Partnership)
Weight Management: Jenny Craig Partners With Health Insurers
Excerpt: "Jenny Craig has begun to partner with health insurers to offer weight-management programs for members, a move that could 'help lower the cost of health insurance premiums by making the insurers' members healthier,' the Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports." (BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Cato Institute Finds Health Services Regulations Lead to 7 Million Uninsured
Excerpt: "Health care regulation makes health insurance unaffordable for more than 7 million and costs $169 billion per year, a new study from the libertarian Cato Institute finds. The annual net cost of health services regulation dwarfs other costs imposed by government intervention in the health care sector, says Christopher Conover, author of the study and assistant research professor at Duke University." (BenefitNews Connect)
Bush, Kerry Health Care Plans Differ Sharply
Excerpt: "Although a raucous debate over national security has dominated the presidential campaign, President Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry differ even more sharply on how to provide better health care to more Americans." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
HIPAAlert: Supporting the Healthcare Industry's Efforts to Work Towards HIPAA Security and Privacy
This issue includes articles on the following topics: HIT Efforts, Security Guidance, & More, HIPAA Isn't Done: How HIPAA & New Healthcare Initiatives Intersect, 10th Hour HIPAA Security, and PHI via Email & the Security Rule. (Phoenix Health Systems, Inc.)
Almost Two of Every Three Americans Fail MetLife Long-Term Care Quiz
Excerpt: "Most Americans lack a basic understanding of long-term care, finds a national poll by the MetLife Mature Market Institute. Just 37% of Americans between the ages of 40 and 70 have the information they need to make decisions about their long-term care needs, according results of the MetLife Long-Term Care IQ Test (http://www.metlifeltciq.com/quiz/)." (BenefitNews Connect)
June 2004 Report: American Academy of Actuaries' Long Term Care Risk Based Capital Work Group (PDF)
50 pages. Excerpt: "The NAIC Health Organization and Life Risk Based Capital Working Groups ... requested the American Academy of Actuaries to review the Managed Care Organization Risk Based Capital formulas for Disability Income (DI), Long Term Care (LTC), Stop Loss and Limited Benefit insurance products. The LTC Risk Based Capital Work Group (Group) was specifically formed to address LTC insurance. This report describes the source of data, methodology, analysis and our recommendations." (American Academy of Actuaries)
CMS Announces Demonstration for Beneficiaries with High Medical Costs
Excerpt: "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will conduct a demonstration to study various care management models for high-cost beneficiaries in the traditional Medicare fee-for-service program. CMS will assess how well each of these programs is able to reduce Medicare costs while improving the quality of care and quality of life for beneficiaries." (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)
Analysis: Out-of-Pocket Spending on Health Care by Medicare Beneficiaries Age 65 and Older in 2003
Excerpt: "Using data derived from their analyses of the Medicare Benefits Model, v5.306, Craig Caplan and Normandy Brangan project average out-of-pocket health care spending by Medicare beneficiaries age 65 and older in 2003. According to their analysis, non-institutionalized age 65+ Medicare beneficiaries spent an average of $3,455, or 22 percent of their income, on health care." (AARP)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
More Michigan Companies Offering Same-Sex Domestic Partner Benefits to Employees
Excerpt: "After initially lagging behind companies in other states, a growing number of Michigan employers now are offering same-sex domestic partner benefits. About 55 Detroit area employers - including private companies, government agencies and nonprofits - now offer same-sex benefits, up from just a handful in 1997, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based g.ay advocacy group." (AP via The Miami Herald; one-time registration required)
The Potential Impact of the Proposed Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Legislation on 457 Plans (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of this alert is to highlight for tax-exempt employers the key areas of their Code Section 457 plans that would likely be affected by the enactment of the proposed nonqualified deferred compensation legislation." (Gardner Carton & Douglas)
Washington Legislative Wrap Up, 108th Congress (2003-2004) (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The chart of federal legislative and regulatory proposals concerning employee benefits of interest to NCTR members has been updated to be current as of October 6, 2004." (National Council on Teacher Retirement)
Civil Servant Bonuses Bill Passes House
Excerpt: "Federal agency heads would be able to offer employees bonuses of up to 100 percent of their annual salaries as an incentive to join or stay in the federal work force under legislation the House passed Wednesday. The measure, aimed at helping the government recruit and retain highly qualified people who might otherwise join the private sector, passed on a voice vote and now returns to the Senate for a final vote before going to the president." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
415(m) Plans Will Likely Be Exempted from Proposed Deferred Compensation Rules (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "As I reported to you in Federal Update 2004-23, provisions in corporate and international tax reform legislation passed by the House and Senate would substantially change the rules applicable to nonqualified deferred compensation plans (H.R. 4520, the 'American Jobs Creation Act of 2004'). In general, the provisions would tax immediately amounts deferred (including earnings) under a nonqualified deferred compensation plan unless certain requirements were satisfied." (National Council on Teacher Retirement)
Why You Should Pay Off Your Home Mortgage Before You Retire
Excerpt: "More Americans are quitting the work force without retiring their mortgage. Big mistake? It could prove more taxing than they ever imagined. According to the most recent Federal Reserve Survey of Consumer Finances, 32 percent of households headed by someone age 65 to 74 were carrying home-mortgage debt as of 2001, up from 26 percent three years earlier." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
Newly Posted Events
2nd Annual Made in America. The 2005 Taft Hartley Benefits Summit
in California on February 6, 2005
presented by Financial Research Associates
ERISA Workshop
in New York on December 1, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in New Mexico on December 1, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Colorado on December 2, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Pennsylvania on December 2, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Washington on December 2, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Kansas on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Massachusetts on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Michigan on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in California on December 3, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Ohio on December 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Indiana on December 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Pennsylvania on December 8, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in North Carolina on December 9, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in Iowa on December 9, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in District of Columbia on December 9, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
ERISA Workshop
in New York on December 10, 2004
presented by SunGard Corbel
Stars and Stripes 2005 National Employee Benefits Summit
Nationwide on April 3, 2005
presented by Financial Research Associates
Newly Posted Press Releases
2004 COBRA Survey: Cost For Continuing Health Coverage Is 146% Of Active Employee Cost
(Spencer Benefits Reports)
U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Hurricane Jeanne Hits Puerto Rico
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, New York, N.Y.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Paralegal
for American International Group, Inc.
in NY
Client Services Representative
for NADA Retirement Trust Administrators Inc.
in VA
Compensation Strategy Leader
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Senior Employee Ownership Consultant
for Beyster Institute, UC San Diego
in CA
Senior Employee Benefits Analyst - Retirement
for Automobile Club of Southern California
in CA
Chief of Pension Education
for ASPA
in DC
Consulting Actuary
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc.
in RI
Benefit Project Specialist
for Aon Consulting
in MD
Retirement Sales/Business Development
for ABG Consultants
in UT
Compliance Specialists
for The ANGELL Pension Group, Inc.
in RI
Implementation Project Manager I
for Great-West Life & Annuity
in CO
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