| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 26, 2004
Today's sponsor: Benefit Software Inc.
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Personalized Employee Benefit Statements from Benefit Software Need help retaining your best employees? We can help! Benefit Software has over 25 years of experience helping thousands of employers communicate their "Hidden Paycheck." Make sure your employees know the facts. Save money and improve morale by showing employees what they're worth. Email sales@bsiweb.com or call 800-533-1388 to request a FREE QUOTE
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Marsh & McLennan Announces New Business Plan
Excerpt: "A day after sacking its chief executive officer, Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc. announced Tuesday that it is adopting 'significant reforms' to its business operations, including the elimination of so-called contingent commissions. The move came after the board of the nation's largest insurance brokerage on Monday accepted the resignation of Jeffrey W. Greenberg from the posts of chairman and chief executive." (AP via Newsday.com)
The Secret World of Marsh & McLennan -- the World's Largest Insurance Broker
Excerpt: "BusinessWeek has learned that MMC and its executives could face ... further legal and regulatory problems. Spitzer's office is mulling criminal charges against several execs connected with the insurance brokering scandal. It is also looking into whether Mercer, MMC's pension-consulting arm, and Putnam Investments, MMC's mutual-fund company, push clients into buying Marsh insurance products. [T]he Securities & Exchange Commission is probing Mercer's alleged 'pay to play' practices ...." (BusinessWeek Online)
Early Users of Health Savings Accounts Say So Far, So-So
Excerpt: "Since the plans haven't been around long, few people report enough experience to vouch for their usefulness, though more businesses and insurers are expected to offer them in coming years. The launch of 'open season' for federal employees -- when government workers choose their health plans for 2005 -- is also expected boost enrollment in HSA plans." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Health Insurance Selection Time: Health Savings Accounts Are Tempting But Mostly Untested
Excerpt: "Not many people are putting their money down yet, but the newest flavor on the health insurance shelf is getting plenty of lookers. Health Savings Accounts, or HSAs, are promoted by the Bush administration as giving consumers a stake in cost-cutting along with a chance to save for future health care needs. They're also attacked by some advocacy groups for increasing individuals' exposure to risk." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Options and Considerations for Individual Health Insurance Coverage
Excerpt: "Group health insurance -- most commonly sponsored and subsidized by an employer -- is almost always a person's best bet, though many companies are cutting benefits and increasing workers' costs as premiums soar. If you're in the individual insurance market, it's important to shop around since coverage options and premiums vary widely depending on the carrier, the design of the plan and your health status and age." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Research Report: Will Health Care Costs Erode Retirement Security? (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt: "The Medicare trustees predict that health care costs will rise steadily over the next 30 years, threatening the solvency of the program and the retirement security of older Americans. The projections in this report show that if current policies continue, income after taxes and health care spending for the typical older married couple will be no higher in 2030 than it was in 2000, despite 30 years of productivity growth." (Urban Institute)
The Uninsured: Op-Ed Piece Proposes New Federal Health Care Agency
Excerpt: "The federal government needs to establish an independent agency -- which would act as a 'single-payer system' aimed at eliminating 'the costly inefficient bureaucracy generated by thousands of different' health care plans -- 'to provide basic health and hospitalization coverage for all Americans,' ... Time magazine editors at large and authors of 'Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business -- and Bad Medicine,' write in a New York Times opinion piece." (The National Journal Group, Limited via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Health Care Trend: Disease Management for Chronic Conditions
Excerpt: "Private employers, insurers and federal lawmakers increasingly are turning to early intervention to help the sickest patients in health plans avoid hospital stays and slow runaway health-care costs. The idea is to spend more money and time today caring for people with long-term illnesses such as asthma, diabetes and congestive heart disease so more isn't spent later on emergency treatment or lengthy hospital stays." (The Tennessean)
Patients in Four States Have Opportunity to Vote 'Yes' or 'No' on Medical Liability Reform
Excerpt: "Voters have a golden opportunity to protect access to their own physicians by voting ‘Yes' on specific ballot initiatives next week in Florida, Nevada, Oregon and Wyoming, according to AMA President John C. Nelson, MD, MPH, who issued the call to action at the start of a National House Call in Wyoming. The four states are among 20 experiencing a medical liability crisis." (American Medical Association)
Medicare Part D Drug Benefit Presents Major Business Opportunities and Major Risks
Excerpt: "The Medicare Part D pres.cription drug benefit slated to begin Jan. 1, 2006, presents some major business opportunities, but ones that come with a great amount of risk, according to consultant John Gorman. 'Any time that you're in business with the government on something of this scale, there are also going to be enormous hazards, not just on the compliance front, but financially as well,' he cautioned in an Oct. 6 audioconference sponsored by AIS." (AISHealth.com)
Does Improved Access to Care Affect Utilization and Costs for Patients With Chronic Conditions?
Excerpt: "Approximately 7000 patients with diabetes, 3800 with CHD, and 6000 with depression who received all of their care in this care system served as the subjects for this study. Utilization and costs between 1999 and 2001 (before and after implementation of open access) were compared for these patients. The main outcome measures were rates of inpatient admissions and various types of outpatient encounters as well as associated costs for these subjects." (The American Journal of Managed Care)
Q&A from the Legal Clinic Archive on the Family Medical Leave Act
Excerpt: "Question: If a doctor fills out a form required by a company's FMLA policy incorrectly, is he obligated to correct it? What action can be taken if the doctor refuses to correct the mistake? Answer: .... Nevertheless, the burden remains on the employee to obtain adequate certification." (Proskauer Rose LLP via Workindex.com)
Pres.cription Drug Trends Fact Sheet - October 2004 Update
2 pages. Excerpt: "This two-page fact sheet, updated in October 2004, provides trend data for pres.cription drug expenditures and the key factors that contribute to rising pres.cription spending: increases in utilization and prices, and changes in drug use from older drugs to newer higher-priced drugs. Private and public responses to increasing drug costs are provided." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Tax Bill Makes Changes to ESOPs, ISOs, ESPPs, and Deferred Compensation Plans
In his Employee Ownership Update for October 8, 2004, NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses the effects of the American Jobs Creation Act on equity plans, ranging from S corporation ESOPs to employee stock purchase plans and incentive stock options. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Overview: New Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Legislation (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "On October 11, 2004, the Senate gave final approval to the American Jobs Creation Act (the 'AJCA') which was passed by the House of Representatives on October 7, 2004. [A]ll sponsors of nonqualified deferred compensation should review their existing arrangements before year end because the AJCA applies to compensation deferred after December 31, 2004, and compensation deferred under a plan or arrangement that is materially modified after October 3, 2004." (Powell Goldstein LLP)
Overview: New Deferred Compensation Tax Legislation Casts a Wide Net
Excerpt: "On Friday, October 22, the President signed the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which added a new section 409A to the Internal Revenue Code. The new law significantly changes the operation and taxation of nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements for amounts that are deferred or become vested on or after January 1, 2005." (Faegre & Benson LLP)
Overview: New Rules Ahead for Nonqualified Plans
Excerpt: "President Bush has signed the American Jobs Creation Act (H.R.4520) into law. The act makes sweeping changes to the rules governing nonqualified plans, including expanding the definition of nonqualified deferred compensation plans to include nonqualified pension plans, bonus deferral programs, many stock-based arrangements and other plans." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Full Text: October 2004 Issue, Current Developments in Employee Benefits Published by Ballard Spahr (PDF)
10 pages. The edition includes: New COBRA Notice Requirements, DOL Publishes Final Regulations on Automatic Rollover Safe Harbor, Deadline Looms for Compliance with HIPAA Security Rules, Taxation of Domestic Partner Health Coverage under the New Jersey Domestic Partnership Act, New York City Equal Benefits Law Enacted, IRS Issues Model Amendments for Governmental Section 457(b) Deferred Compensation Plans, and IRS Finalizes Incentive Stock Option Regulations. (Ballard Spahr)
Election 2004: What's Ahead for Health Care and Retirement Issues?
Excerpt: "Election Day is approaching, and President Bush and Senator Kerry are entering the final stages of their presidential campaigns. Health care reform has been a popular campaign topic. Both candidates have plans for increasing access to health care coverage, controlling pres.cription drug costs, improving health information technology and otherwise reforming the U.S. health care system." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
FASB Works toward Finalizing Exposure Draft on Expensing Stock Options
Excerpt: "On March 31, 2004, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released Share-Based Payment, its exposure draft (ED) on share-based payment transactions, which would require companies to expense their stock options." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Newly Posted Events
Legislative Update: Health and Welfare and Retirement Plans
in California on October 28, 2004
presented by International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists, Northern California Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
Benefit Software Provides Personalized Employee Benefit Statement Service for TK Holdings Inc.
(Benefit Software Inc.)
Director Named To Policy and Research Office Of Federal Employee Benefits Agency
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for The Nolan Company
in KS
Inside Sales Representative
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Director, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Technician, Settlement Operations
for Transamerica
in CA
Vice President - Relationship Management
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Relationship Manager
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Pension Administrator
for Benetech, Inc.
in CA, CO, GA, VA
Retirement Plan Service & Sales Support
for Pinnacle Financial Group
in MA
Retirement Plans Sales Specialist
for Waddell & Reed Financial
in KS, MO
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can reprint this newsletter in full (if you also include this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
https://benefitslink.com/about.html
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Housekeeping: