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October 12, 2004
Today's sponsor: The John Marshall Law School Center for Tax Law and Employee Benefits
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Spring 2005 Information Sessions The John Marshall Law School in Chicago offers the nation's only graduate employee benefits law programs, with 18 classes taught by leading ERISA attorneys and professionals, and opportunities to intern with the IRS and the DOL. Information sessions for January 2005 classes will be held on October 19 (12:45 to 1:15 p.m. and 5:15 to 5:45 p.m.) and on November 9 (5:00 to 7:00 p.m.). See www.jmls.edu/employee.html for more information about the LL.M. program and about the new Master of Science degree for non-attorneys available in August 2005 (you will also find information about a call for research papers in employee benefits law for a symposium edition of The John Marshall Law Review). Email 7kennedy@jmls.edu with any questions.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Overview of Important Changes for Employers in New Tax Law (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Primarily, it delays an assortment of automatic tax increases, amounting to a $14 billion tax cut for employers. For increases that have already taken place, the Act generally applies retroactively to the date of the increase. It also includes other notable provisions, such as establishing a uniform tax law definition of 'child,' extending mental parity requirements for group health plans, and extending contributions to Archer Medical Savings Accounts." (Winston & Strawn)
Overview: DOL Proposes Regulations to Provide Guidance on Implementing USERRA
Excerpt: "On September 20, 2004, the United States Department of Labor ('DOL') issued proposed rules interpreting the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 ('USERRA' or 'the Act'). USERRA is the primary federal law that provides employment and benefit protection for employees who are absent from work because of military service." (Littler Mendelson)
HIPAA Compliance Strategies: Privacy Audits and Privacy Compliance: Two Case Studies
Excerpt: "Many covered entities have invested significant time and resources developing systems to audit their privacy compliance. They are finding the audit process to be an invaluable tool in their efforts to actually comply with HIPAA. Here are the details of audit programs that have been implemented at Piedmont Medical Center in Atlanta and Mercy Health Partners Metro Area in Toledo." (AISHealth.com)
New York State Regulators Step Up Disability Benefits Law Enforcement
Excerpt: "In recent conversations with New York regulators, we learned they're using a new computer system to track down and penalize employers that don't comply with the state's disability benefits law. Employers with plans that haven't been specifically approved by the regulators are often subject to penalties as stiff as those with no plan at all. This stepped-up enforcement is taking into account past, as well as current, non-compliance." (Mercer Human Resources Consulting)
Health Premiums Jump 15%: Workers Face Higher Co-Payments Too
Excerpt: "Health-care premiums will surge at least 15 percent next year, more than triple the average worker's pay raise. Co-pays for hospital stays or pres.cription drugs are going up too. Employees nationwide are getting their first glimpse of rate hikes in store for 2005 as they enter the fall open enrollment period, the time when workers sign up for benefits or choose among insurance plans." (Chicago Tribune; one-time registration required)
Three Surveys Agree: Health Care Cost Increases Are Slowing Over Time
Excerpt: "Three recently released surveys indicate that although costs are still rising at double-digit rates, the health care cost trend is slowly decreasing. Mellon Financial reports that on average, the health care cost trend has decreased 1.2 percentage points since the first half of 2004. Findley Davies reports that forecasted health care costs for 2005 have receded by one percentage point since 2004 forecasted rates. And, Families USA reports a 36% increase during the past four years." (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Study: Shopping for Pres.cription Drugs: 2004
Excerpt: "Americans spend more than $200 billion on pres.cription medicines each year and about $16 billion or more on over-the-counter ... remedies. Two-thirds of office visits to physicians result in pres.cription drug therapy, .... New drugs may offer more effective treatment, but they are more expensive than the drugs they replace. However, most patients can easily lower their drug bills by employing some or all of the strategies detailed [in this study]." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Obesity Cost and Health Toll Prompt Employer Action
Excerpt: "Seeking to reduce both the individual and corporate costs of obesity, employers are engaging creative ways to help workers fight fat, including employee incentives, communication campaigns, competitions, fitness centers and health plan design. A recent EBN Quickpoll reveals that employers have significant concerns about obesity- not surprising given the extent of the problem." (Employee Benefit News)
Trends in Usual and Customary Prices for Frequently Used Pres.cription Drugs (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "The usual and customary price is the undiscounted price individuals without drug coverage would pay. We tracked monthly price trends from January 2000 through June 2004 for a total of 99 drugs, which include 77 drugs frequently used by Medicare enrollees in Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association's (BCBS) Federal Employee Program (FEP) and 79 drugs frequently used by non-Medicare enrollees in BCBS FEP.' Abstract at http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-05-104R (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Nurse Practitioners Take on Many of the Roles Long Played by Physicians
Excerpt: "Columbia Advanced Practice Nurse Associates, or Capna, is run by nurse practitioners -- nurses who are trained to be full primary-care providers. They diagnose conditions, prescribe treatments and make referrals to specialists -- everything traditional doctors do. Founded 10 years ago as a project of the Columbia University School of Nursing, Capna has been in the vanguard of changes that have brought new respectability to nurse practitioners." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Plans to Pay Doctors Bonus Incentives to Entice Better Care
Excerpt: "The state's largest health insurer will soon pay some Florida doctors a bonus of up to $10,000 a year for their performance. Jacksonville-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida is one of the latest insurers nationwide to use financial incentives to entice better care." (The Florida Times-Union via Jacksonville.com)
MCOs' Strategies to Slow Imaging Costs Are Starting to Take Effect, Radiology Firms Say
Excerpt: "Over the past few years, health insurers have begun introducing a variety of techniques aimed at slowing the sharp rate of increase in imaging costs for MRIs, CT scans, positron emission tomography (PET) and other technologies. Now, owners of freestanding imaging centers say these initiatives are starting to affect their bottom line." (AISHealth.com)
Questions on the $3.8 Billion Drug Ad Business
Excerpt: "The issue of drug advertising directly aimed at consumers was thrust into the news recently when Merck withdrew its arthritis painkiller Vioxx from the market, citing studies indicating a risk of heart attacks or strokes. Critics noted the role that advertising and marketing played in the drug's being widely prescribed to patients who might have done just as well with ibuprofen or other inexpensive over-the-counter remedies." (New York Times; one-time registration required)
Health Reform-- Can a "High-Performance" Focus Make the Difference?
Excerpt: "To build a truly high-performance health system, bold action is required.' Karen Davis lists the required steps toward health care system reform as The Commonwealth Fund sees it. (The Commonwealth Fund)
Opinion: To Expand Health Coverage, Deregulate Health Care
Excerpt: "Unfortunately, there is little discussion of one policy response that would significantly lower health care costs: doing away with outmoded and questionable health care regulations that raise prices but produce little if any benefit." (Investor's Business Daily via Cato Institute)
The 2004 Presidential Vote: HealthCare and Bush and Kerry on the Web
Excerpt: "In an election year when the war on terror has taken center stage ..., the candidates' thoughts on healthcare have often been pulled from the forefront of the national debate. There are, however, several places on the Internet where healthcare is talked and industry issues are detailed. From the presidential candidates' official platforms to organizational outlines of the issues-at-hand, here are some sites worth checking out." (HealthLeaders News)
Issue Module from KaiserEDU.org on Health Care and the 2004 Election
Excerpt: "A new KaiserEDU.org issue module discusses the importance of health care for the election and highlights a wide range of key resources and analyses." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Health Care Reform Returns to the National Agenda: 2004 Presidential Candidates' Proposals (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "This report explores why the nation's chronic health insurance problem is back on the national agenda and examines the plans of the presidential candidates as of October 1, 2004." (The Commonwealth Fund)
How the Health Care System Is Failing -- and Why It's Hard to Fix
Excerpt: "Some 40 years after the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid and more than a decade after the Clinton administration failed in its bid to extend coverage to all Americans, the nation's system of funding health care is on the verge of breaking down." (San Francisco Chronicle via SFGate.com)
The 2004 Vote: Oprah, Taxes and Healthcare Costs
Excerpt: "Those Oprah Show winners that have to fork over $7,000 to Uncle Sam or forfeit the GM car they recently won may be surprised to know that $1,400 of the sticker price used to calculate their tax bill was attributable to healthcare." (HealthLeaders, Inc.)
Mellon Submits Comments to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Medicare Regulations (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "On August 3, 2004, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued proposed regulations to implement the new pres.cription drug benefit under the Medicare Pres.cription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). Mellon's HR&IS has submitted comments on certain employer-related issues arising under the proposed regulations." (Mellon Financial Corporation)
The ERISA Industry Committee Letter to Treasury Secretary Snow Re: FSA Rollovers
Excerpt: "We are writing to urge the Treasury Department to use its authority to modify the 'use it or lose it' rule that applies to health flexible spending arrangements (FSAs). As you know, the 'use it or lose it' rule was created administratively through proposed regulations that were never finalized." (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Reforms Headed to President for Signature
Excerpt: "The Senate has [passed] a final corporate tax bill (HR 4520) [on October 11, 2004] that includes sweeping nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) restrictions. The bill now heads to President Bush for his expected signature after the elections. The NQDC reforms, generally effective January 1, 2005, will affect virtually all NQDC plans, .... The bill also contains miscellaneous employee benefit provisions, including a relaxation of section 420 qualified retiree health transfers." (Mercer Human Resources Consulting)
Congress Passes New Rules for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "These new rules will require changes to many executive compensation plans, including individual arrangements or agreements, as well as other NQDC arrangements such as those covering non-employee agents. The definition of NQDC employed in the new legislation is a broad one, covering elective deferred compensation, non-elective arrangements such as supplemental executive retirement plans ('SERPs'), restricted stock units ('RSUs'), stock appreciation rights ('SARs') ..." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Overview: the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (PDF)
52 pages; includes 'New Rules for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans', 'Withholding and Reporting', 'Employer Deductions,' and 'Qualified Plans and Health Coverage." (Deloitte)
A Legal Update on the Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Legislation (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Act defines 'nonqualified deferred compensation plan' very broadly to mean 'any plan that provides for the deferral of compensation, other than (i) a qualified employer plan, and (ii) any bona fide vacation leave, sick leave, compensatory time, disability pay, or death benefit plan.'" (Dechert LLP)
Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Provisions in the HR 4520 Conference Report (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "The document contains only the NQDC portions of the conference report: Treatment of nonqualified deferred compensation plans (sec. 671 of the House bill, section 671 of the Senate amendment, and new sec. 409A and secs. 6040 and 6051 of the Code)" (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Summary of Deferred Compensation Legislation and Action Steps for Employers
Excerpt: "On Thursday, October 7, 2004, the House approved far-reaching changes in the federal tax laws that apply to nonqualified deferred compensation plans. These changes are included in the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the 'Act'). The Senate is expected to pass the Act, and the President is expected to sign it into law, shortly." (Groom Law Group)
Common Misconceptions About Employee Stock Options
Excerpt: "In their article 'Employee Stock Option Valuation: New Source of Litigation Risk for Auditors' (Perspectives, August 2004), authors Cindy W. Ma, Algis T. Remeza, and Daniel LaGattuta posit a myth about employee stock option (ESO) valuation: that there is a disconnect between the value of option-based compensation to employees and the cost of the same compensation to the company. This is not the first time I have heard this distinction being raised, and its perpetuation is troubling." ( The CPA Journal)
US Airways Wins Loan Extensions
Excerpt: "US Airways Group Inc. has won extensions from two principal lenders that could help the bankrupt airline avert liquidation, according to a media report Tuesday. The extensions to assist the nation's seventh-largest air carrier would replace interim agreements due to expire Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition." (CBS Marketwatch)
Overview: Miller Bill Would Freeze Executive Benefits for Five Years
Excerpt: "Companies that convert to cash balance plans or shift unfunded pension liabilities to the PBGC would be barred from paying nonqualified pension benefits to top executives for 5 years under a bill introduced by Rep. George Miller (D-CA). The prohibition would begin on the date of any notice of intent to terminate or date of adoption of a cash balance amendment (with a one year look-back) and would apply to an array of executive benefits ...." (Mercer Human Resources Consulting)
Overview: California State and New York City Domestic Partner Developments (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Issues surrounding the provision of domestic partner benefits continue to arise on the state and local levels. New York City has enacted a law requiring that as a condition of entering into a contract with New York City or its agencies, companies must provide domestic partner benefits to their employees. California has enacted a law clarifying the extent to which insurance carriers must offer coverage to domestic partners of California employees." (Mellon Financial Corporation)
Contracting Laws Push Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "New York City recently joined seven other cities, two counties and the state of California in requiring that contractors doing business with them offer employees domestic partner benefits, including extending those benefits to same-sex couples. If unchallenged, the New York rule goes into effect this month. Contracting requirements for domestic partner benefits, known as equal benefits laws, have spread across the country since San Francisco's law passed in 1996." (Employee Benefit News)
Massachussetts Employers Not Affected Much by Same-Sex Marriage Issues
Excerpt: "Same-sex marriage may be a touchy topic in this year's presidential campaign, but employers in Massachussetts -- the one state where it's legal -- aren't finding the issue to be very costly for benefit programs, according to a study by The Segal Co." (BenefitNews Connect)
Deciphering Companies' Same-Sex Benefits Policies
Excerpt: "No federal law prohibits discrimination against workers for their se.xual orientation or gender identity. Only 14 states and the District have such a law that extends to both public and private employers. Courts and state legislatures have become battlegrounds for disagreements between employers and employees on such laws and how they will work." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
SEC Chairman Donaldson Expects Rule Changes on Executive Pay and Benefits
Excerpt: "In the flood of corporate reform unleashed by recent business scandals, one issue has been largely ignored, shareholder activists say: the stratospheric level of executive pay and the nearly impossible task investors face in trying to figure out who is getting how much." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated October 5, 2004
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)
Pension Fund Employee Perks Upset Retired Ohio Teachers
Excerpt: "Retired Ohio teachers ... believe their pension fund is spending too much on employee perks at their expense. The State Teachers Retirement System has spent more than $2 million in tuition reimbursements to its employees since 1999, double what Ohio's four other pension systems have spent combined. Retired Chillicothe schools Superintendent Dennis Leone, ... said the disparity is further evidence that the pension fund's administrators 'don't have a lick of sense.'" (AP via Ohio News Network)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Plans
in Ohio on October 19, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
401(k) Plans
in Texas on November 2, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in Ohio on October 20, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in Texas on November 3, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Ohio on October 22, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Texas on November 5, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Consumer-Driven Health Care & Fringe Benefits
in Ohio on October 21, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Consumer-Driven Health Care & Fringe Benefits
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Ohio on October 21, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Ohio on October 22, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Texas on November 5, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Special Program and Reception with Donald Korb, Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service
in Ohio on October 26, 2004
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Cleveland Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
SunGard Corbel Pension Seminars Earn HRCI CE Approval for SHRM Professionals
(SunGard Corbel)
Symposium To Address Issues Around Distribution of Mutual Fund Settlements To 401(k) Participants
(RG Wuelfing & Associates)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
TPA Specialist - Western Region
for Transamerica
in CA
Advanced Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in MN
Retirement Services District Manager No. California
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA
Relationship Manager (Retirement Plans)
for Mutual of Omaha
in ANY STATE
Supervisor, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Compliance Analyst
for Transamerica
in CA
Supervisor, Sales Support
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Pension Administrator
for The Nolan Company
in KS
Retirement Professionals
for BeneTemps, Inc.
in CT, MA, NY, RI
Handy Links:
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- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
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