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October 14, 2004
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Making the Vision a Reality: Implementing a National Health Care IT Initiative
Excerpt: "Achieving the vision of a consumer-centric and information-rich healthcare industry outlined in the report of the Office of the National Health Information Technology Coordinator requires a broad range of public and private initiatives over the next decade, not the least of which is a well-planned and well-executed national strategy for preparing the health workforce.' (modernhealthcare.com)
Express Scripts and Two Other Pharmacy Benefit Managers Sued by Internet Pharmacy Benefits Firm
Excerpt: "Express Scripts and two other pharmacy benefit managers were charged in a lawsuit by an Internet pres.cription drug company with shutting it out of the market. Reuters news service reported that Austin, Texas-based Rx.com Inc. filed suit in federal court in Texarkana, Texas, charging Express Scripts, New Jersey-based Medco Health Solutions and Tennessee-based Caremark Rx with violating antitrust laws." (St. Louis Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Federal Workforce Personnel Flexibility Bill Heads to President Bush
Excerpt: "The Federal Workforce Flexibility Act is on its way to the White House for President Bush's signature, nearly two years after it was introduced by Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. 'Management has always been a priority for me, and my own experience has taught me that of all the things in which government can invest, resources dedicated to human capital bring some of the greatest returns for taxpayers and the services they need and want,' Voinovich said of the bill (S. 129)." (GOVEXEC.com)
Company Perks Sweeten Employees' Daily Grind
Excerpt: "Paul Stewart and his co-workers each got a $100 thank-you from Genencor International Inc. -- one of the many ways in which the company tries to boost employees' morale. The 30 workers at Genencor's Greece plant worked longer hours over the past two years to help reorganize the plant, and on Thursday morning plant supervisors handed each of them a $100 bill." (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle)
Louisiana Governor Proposes Tax Breaks Only to Companies Offering Worker Health Benefits
Excerpt: "Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) said on Tuesday at the state Department of Insurance annual Health Care Conference that she intends to require businesses operating in the state that seek tax breaks and other financial help to offer health insurance to their employees, the Baton Rouge Advocate reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
Corporate Tax Bill To Change How Employers Can Cut Health Care Costs for Retirees
Excerpt: "The corporate tax bill (HR 4520) approved by the Senate this week contains a measure that would give large employers greater flexibility in how they cut costs for retired workers' health care benefits, the Wall Street Journal reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)
The Doctor Is In, But Not in U.S. -- "Nighthawking" Services Read CAT Scans
Excerpt: "If you get into a car accident at 3 a.m. and end up in the Temple University Hospital emergency room, Dean Batten may be the radiologist reading your CAT scans - while enjoying a nice view of the Sydney Opera House halfway around the world. It's called 'nighthawking' - sending X-rays, CAT scans and MRIs to Israel, India and Australia, in time zones seven, 10, 14 hours ahead, to be read by doctors in the light of day." (The Philadelphia Inquirer; one-time registration required)
ABCNews Looks at Pres.cription Drug Costs and Reimportation
Excerpt: "ABCNews' 'Nightline' on Tuesday examined the issues of pres.cription drug costs and reimportation, which have become a 'constant topic of conversation and consternation on the campaign trail.' ABCNews' Jake Tapper interviewed Pennsylvania residents, who cited pres.cription drug costs as an 'urgent issue' on which 'so little seems to have changed.'" (Kaisernetwork.org)
Opinion: Want Lower Health-Care Costs? Fire All the Smokers
Excerpt: "U.S. automakers view health-care costs as a bigger threat than interest rates, gasoline prices or even the growing popularity of Toyota over Ford and Pontiac. Yet none of Detroit's Big Three has found a solution for health-care liabilities that, in the case of General Motors Corp., for example, had ballooned to $63.5 billion at the end of 2003, all but $10 billion of that amount unfunded. Ford Motor Co.'s liability at the end of last year was ``only'' $32 billion. (Bloomberg)
Identity Badge Worn Under Skin Approved by FDA for Use in Health Care
Excerpt: "The Food and Drug Administration has cleared the way for a Florida company to market implantable chips that would provide easy access to individual medical records. The approval, which the company announced yesterday, is expected to bring to public attention a simmering debate over a technology that has evoked Orwellian overtones for privacy advocates and fueled fears of widespread tracking of people with implanted radio frequency tags, even though that ability does not yet exist." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
An Analysis of the Literature on Disease Management Programs (PDF)
Excerpt: "According to CBO's analysis, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that disease management programs can generally reduce overall health spending. It is important to note that such programs could be worthwhile even if they did not reduce costs, but CBO's analysis focused on the question of whether those programs could pay for themselves." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Issue Brief: the Role of Reinsurance in State Efforts to Expand Health Insurance Coverage (PDF)
Excerpt: "Over the past several decades, many states have sought to stabilize health insurance markets and to expand coverage by developing reinsurance programs, which assume a portion of insurers' high-cost claims. In the 1980s, some states sponsored these programs in an effort to reduce steep premium increases for small employers with high claims experience. By the early 1990s state reinsurance programs to support the small-group market generally had ended ...." (Deborah Chollet, Ph.D. for State Coverage Initiatives)
Perspective on Election 2004: Controlling Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "Between 1999 and 2003, the per capita spending for services covered by private health insurance increased by 39 percent. Given that the average hourly earnings of U.S. workers increased by only 14 percent during that period ..., affordability is an acute and growing concern. Unlike increased spending for most other goods and services, which often inspires a celebration of our economy's ability to shift resources rapidly to new products and services that consumers want, ...." (Paul B. Ginsburg in The New England Journal of Medicine)
Sharp Contrasts for Presidential Candidates on Domestic and Social Issues
Excerpt: "In a fiercely competitive conclusion to the presidential debates, President Bush and Senator John Kerry battled last night over the state of American health care, the strength of the economy .... For 90 minutes in Tempe, Ariz., the two candidates displayed a stark contrast in their views of virtually every major domestic issue - and particularly Mr. Bush's economic stewardship - as they offered a blizzard of figures and statistics to try to make their cases." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Audit Board Delays Rule on Stock Options as Expenses
Excerpt: "American companies were granted a six-month reprieve yesterday on the deadline to start deducting the value of stock options granted to executives and other employees from their profits. The move will delay the reduction in reported profits for many companies, and may give them more time to lobby Congress to stop the rule from taking effect at all." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
GASB: Recognition of Pension and Other Postemployment Benefit Expenditures/Expense and Liabilities (PDF)
14 pages. GASB Proposed Technical Bulletin. Excerpt: "This Technical Bulletin clarifies the requirements of Statements 27 and 45 for employer recognition of pension and other postemployment benefit (OPEB) expenditures/expense and liabilities.' (Comment Deadline: November 12, 2004) (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Overview: New Corporate Tax Law Requires Review of All Executive Benefit Plans Before End of Year
Excerpt: "The new law applies to compensation deferred after December 31, 2004. If a plan is materially modified after October 3, 2004, the law also affects amounts deferred under the plan prior to January 1, 2005.... In light of the new law, every employer that provides nonqualified deferred compensation for one or more of its employees should do the following: ..." (Ice Miller)
American Jobs Creation Act Requires Significant Action on Deferred Compensation Plans by Year End
Excerpt: "Although drafted principally for voluntary elective deferral arrangements under which individual accounts are maintained, the new rules cover a much broader range of executive compensation, including non-contributory arrangements, defined benefit plans, severance agreements and certain equity-based compensation arrangements." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP)
Overview: New Legal Requirements for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Arrangements (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The new rules will impact a broad array of common compensation plans and arrangements for employees, directors and other service providers, including nonqualified elective deferral arrangements, supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs), stock appreciation rights (SARs), restricted stock unit (RSU) programs and option stock deferral arrangements." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP)
Overview: Congress Approves Deferred Compensation Bill (PDF)
Excerpt: "The House and Senate approved 'The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004' (H.R. 4520), a corporate tax bill that includes a number of provisions that will affect nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. The bill sets forth new requirements that deferrals made after December 31, 2004 will have to meet in order to avoid immediate taxation. President Bush has indicated that he will sign the measure into law." (Mellon Financial Corporation)
Overview: Congress Approves Dramatic Changes to the Rules Governing Deferred Compensation
Excerpt: "As part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (H.R. 4520), Congress has made far-reaching changes to the rules governing deferred compensation arrangements. The legislation, which we understand is likely to be signed by the President, will affect virtually every existing nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement. Because the new rules are generally effective for amounts deferred after December 31, 2004, employers must respond quickly to the new rules." (Buchanan Ingersoll PC)
Heads-Up on Deferred Comp Legislation: American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 Approved by Congress (PDF)
Excerpt: "The Act makes a number of significant changes to the requirements that must be met by deferred compensation arrangements in order to avoid immediate taxation. In light of the broad coverage of what is considered to be 'deferred compensation,' the Act has far-reaching implications which potentially affect a wide variety of compensation vehicles. This alert letter highlights major implications of the deferred compensation provisions in the Act." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Ernst & Young Announces Special American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 Tax Act Audio Webcast
Except: 'Since we understand many of you may be interested in this new tax law, we invite you to participate in a special audio webcast, sponsored by the Ernst & Young Tax Center. This webcast is on Friday, October 15, 2004, from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. ET.' You can register for the program by following the title link above, Click View Scheduled Events, Find the program name, Ernst & Young Tax Center: Amer. Jobs Creation Act of 2004 and click the Register button. (Ernst & Young)
Overview: New Corporate Tax Law Overhauls Deferred Compensation Rules (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Congress approved and sent to the President the 'American Jobs Creation Act' (AJCA), which includes an expansive definition of nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) and imposes new conditions for amounts to escape immediate taxation. The new law, which generally applies to amounts deferred after December 31, 2004 (with amounts deferred prior to January 1, 2005 also potentially subject to restrictions), ...." (Milliman)
Full Text of Milliman's Monthly Benefit News and Developments Newsletter (PDF)
2 pages. Includes articles on Legislative Activity on the Benefits Front, Upcoming Key Dates, and Regulatory Roundup. (Milliman)
The 2004 Top 250 Companies: Long-Term Incentive Grant Practices for Executives (PDF)
28 pages. Excerpt: "Since 1973, Frederic W. Cook & Co. has extensively researched and published an annual report on long-term incentive grant practices for executives of the largest U.S. companies. This 2004 report, our 32nd edition, is based on the 250 largest companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index ('Top 250') as reported in the Special Spring 2004 issue of Business Week magazine. Selection of these companies was based on their total market capitalization, ...." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Benefits Compliance Day
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS)
Benefits Compliance Day (HIPAA, COBRA, FMLA, ERISA, FSLA, HSA, Fiduciary, DB Admin.)
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by Houston Chapter ISCEBS
Fundamentals of Employee Benefit Plans
in Texas on November 4, 2004
presented by Houston Chapter ISCEBS
Newly Posted Press Releases
Healthfirst Selects Newkirk for Multi-lingual Member Communications Program
(Newkirk)
Decline in Employment-Based Health Coverage Led to Growing Uninsured Group in 2003
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
SouthWest Benefits Association and Internal Revenue Service Announce 15th Annual Employee Benefit Conference
(SouthWest Benefits Association)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Benefit Consultant
for Lynchval System Worldwide Inc
in VA
Plan Administrator / Recordkeeper
for DR Pension Services, LLC
in NY
Pension Administrator
for PennRock Financial Advisors, N.A.
in PA
Defined Contribution Plans Account Manager (Full-time and Part-time)
for CitiStreet
in NJ
Client Reporting Associate
for First Trust Corporation
in CO
Institutional Trust System Analyst
for Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T)
in NC
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