| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 27, 2004
Today's sponsor: NCEO
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
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).
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Marsh & McLennan Cos. to Make Payments of Fees and Commissions More Transparent
Excerpt: "One day after Marsh & McLennan Cos. ousted its chief executive, the nation's largest insurance broker said it will tell its clients exactly how much they are paying for its services and renounce back-door payments from carriers. The move, prompted by an investigation by New York Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer, could help spark massive changes in the notoriously opaque insurance market. The key questions now become how far the scandal will spread, ...." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Insurance Broker Marsh & McLennan's Ties May Prove Hard to Untangle
Excerpt: "Marsh & McLennan, the world's largest insurance broker, is promising to change the way it does business in an effort to satisfy regulators' concerns about potential conflicts of interest. But Marsh's extensive and lesser-known ties to the rest of the industry may prove much harder to untangle. As scrutiny of the insurance industry intensifies, experts say, the investigations are likely to underline the extensive web of relationships between insurers and Marsh, ...." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
New California Law Mandates Equal Insurance Coverage for Domestic Partners (PDF)
2 pages. This Bulletin discusses the California Insurance Equality Act, a new law that requires all types of group insurance policies, including health, life, accident and disability insurance, to provide domestic partners with health coverage that is equal to what spouses receive. (The Segal Company)
Analysis: the Impact of Same-Sex Marriages on Employee Benefits (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "Employee benefit plan sponsors and administrators are facing complex and challenging issues relating to the entitlement of same-sex spouses to employee benefits. The determination of whether such benefits must be provided and the tax treatment of such benefits under the law are very uncertain .... Milliman's ... Bulletin ... is an overview of the legal developments in same-sex marriages and discusses the implications for employer-sponsored benefit programs." (Milliman)
Full Text of October 26, 2004, Edition of Health Law News Published by Jenkens & Gilchrist (PDF)
3 pages. The edition includes commentary and links to material concerning Medicare, hospitals, obesity, California's S.B. 1262, and various court actions. (Jenkens & Gilchrist)
Class-Action Suit Accuses West Coast Broker and Major Insurers of Cheating Benefits Plans
Excerpt: "A California lawyer investigating insurance fraud for the state has filed a private civil racketeering lawsuit that accuses a West Coast broker and a half-dozen of the nation's largest insurers of cheating employee-benefits plans through a hidden compensation scheme. In the class-action complaint filed last week in San Diego, attorney John Stoia accuses closely held Universal Life Resources of accepting hidden fees to steer business to a handful of preferred insurers ...." (USA TODAY)
Buying Health Insurance, Cafeteria Style as Employers Offer Menu of Deductibles, Co-Payments, Etc.
Excerpt: "Customized health care plans are a fast-growing trend among U.S. employers. In this featured article, The Wall Street Journal online explores this new trend and discusses the advantages and challenges with industry experts, including Hewitt's Tom Beauregard.' (Wall Street Journal via Hewitt Associates)
Addressing Tobacco in Managed Care: Results of the 2002 ATMC Survey
Excerpt: "[H]ealth plans are using evidence-based programs and clinical guidelines to address tobacco use. .... [M]ore health plans are providing full coverage for first-line pharmacotherapies and telephone counseling for smoking cessation. Plans have also shown improvement in their ability to identify at least some members who smoke." (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Surges in Absenteeism and Plunges in Productivity Among Employees Due to Flu Expected
Excerpt: "Following the announcement that nearly half of the 100 million flu vaccines needed this season will never reach U.S. shores, employers across the country have scrapped onsite programs to immunize workers. While it may be too soon for companies to calculate the financial impact, experts say that businesses should expect to feel losses associated with increased absences." (Workforce Management)
Families USA Presents "Ideas that Work: Expanding Health Coverage for Workers"
Excerpt: "This tool kit is designed to help you determine whether an employer expansion may be feasible in your state and how it might be designed. It includes case studies from Hawaii and California -- the only two states where expansion plans are on the books--and state-level data that you can use to compare your state with others." (Families USA)
Wageworks® Creates "For Your Financial Health" to Explain How to Reduce Your Health Care Spending
Excerpt: "For Your Financial Health is your online resource to learn what's new for consumer-driven Health Care Accounts.' The Site also gives comparisons between consumer-driven Health Care Accounts and flexible spending accounts. (WageWorks, Inc.)
Health Plan's Web Site Focus Is Depression Screening, Information
Excerpt: "The Reawakening Center, a new online screening and information tool designed to shed light on depression, while seeking to educate people who think they suffer from depression as to whether they might benefit from professional help, has been launched by Aetna. Aetna's Reawakening Center is part of 'Simple Steps To A Healthier Life(R),' the company's personalized online health and wellness program. It is also available to the public through a separate website, www.reawake.com." (Managed Care Information Center)
Survey Boosts 'Three-Share' Health Insurance Plan in New Orleans
Excerpt: "Eight-in-10 small-business owners in New Orleans 'strongly agree' that having healthy employees is important to the growth of their companies and the New Orleans economy, and would be willing to buy health insurance for their employees if it were affordable. So say preliminary results of a survey to be released today by the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, which is spearheading an initiative with the nonprofit Partnership for Access to Healthcare of New Orleans ...." (The Times-Picayune; registration required)
Opinion: the 2004 Presidential Vote: the Next “Prescriber-in-Chief” Determines Health Care's Future?
Excerpt: "One of the most important responsibilities our next President of the United States will have involves steadying our wobbly healthcare system. In practical terms, the president oversees the hundreds of billions of dollars the government spends in providing care for millions of Americans. But perhaps even more important is policy leadership, because the president prescribes the direction and philosophy for healthcare in America." (Preston Gee via HealthLeaders News)
Approximately Half of Americans in Medicare at Risk of Losing Coverage When New Law Implemented
6 pages. Excerpt: "According to recent surveys, seniors are generally disappointed with the drug benefits in the new Medicare law that will begin in 2006. The combination of premiums, deductibles, and copayments and ... the 'doughnut hole'--will leave beneficiaries exposed to large and unaffordable costs. Moreover, since the new legislation does precious little to contain drug costs, ... seniors will be required to spend considerably more for their pres.cription medicines with each passing year." (Families USA)
Congressional Outlook - Pres.cription Drugs and Uninsured Would Take High Profile
Excerpt: "With the GOP currently holding a one-vote majority in the Senate and 12-seat majority in the House, what follows is the second part of a series exploring 'what if' the Democrats recapture control of the House and Senate in next week's election -- and the consequent impact on key committees and issues." (The National Journal Group, Limited via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Full Text: the FASB Embarks on a Historic Change to the Structure of U.S. Accounting Standards (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Creating a single source of U.S. GAAP requires the cooperation of the FASB, the AICPA, and the SEC. The FASB has been working with the AICPA to address a revised definition of U.S. GAAP. The FASB also has had discussions with the SEC on methods of integrating SEC literature into the codification. Upon completion of the codification project, the codification will represent the sole authoritative source of U.S. GAAP." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)
Comments of B. Janell Grenier on Plan Sponsor's Article, "Lawyering Up," on ERISA Lawsuits' Trends
Excerpt: "What should plan fiduciaries be doing in light of the trend? Hiring a qualified ERISA attorney to advise the plan sponsor and fiduciaries about best practices and 'prudent process and procedures' is really the best first step that a plan sponsor can take in protecting the company and fiduciaries from liability due to unexpected ERISA lawsuits." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)
Full Text of Regulatory Update, September 2004, Published by Employee Benefit Plan Review (PDF)
3 pages. The update includes articles on Disclosure Requirements Delayed for Relative Values of Certain Optional Forms of Benefit, Final Required Minimum Distribution Regulations for Defined Benefit Plans, HSAs for Individuals in States Without High Deductible Health Plans, 'Deemed IRA' Regulations, House Bill to Block Stock Option Expensing, and Department of Labor Regulatory Agenda. (Employee Benefit Plan Review via Gardner Carton & Douglas)
Full Text of October 2004 Edition of the Regulatory Update Published by Employee Benefit Plan Review (PDF)
3 pages. This update covers Restrictions on Amendments to Pension Plans That Receive Funding Relief, Developments in Accounting for Stock Options, New SEC Disclosure Requirements for Certain Executive Compensation Arrangements, IRS 2004–2005 Guidance Plan, IRS Tax Exempt Compensation Enforcement Project, and the Department of Labor Regulatory Agenda. (Employee Benefit Plan Review via Gardner Carton & Douglas)
Full Text of CBO Cost Estimate of H.R. 4520, American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "The [CBO] and the Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) estimate that this legislation will decrease federal revenues by about $4.9 billion in 2005, $10.1 billion over the 2005-2009 period, and $6.8 billion over the 2005-2014 period. CBO estimates that H.R. 4520 will increase outlays resulting from direct spending by $764 million in 2005, but will decrease direct spending by about $1.4 billion over the 2005-2009 period and $6.8 billion over the 2005-2014 period." (Congressional Budget Office)
Opinion: Countrywide's CEO Mozilo Gets Crazy Bonus Plan According to Crystal
Excerpt: "Angelo Mozilo, the chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., is a fine performer. .... The 65-year-old Mozilo's pay packages have been breathtaking, considering the size of his company. From 2001 through 2003, his total pay was, respectively, $21.2 million, $15.6 million and $31.8 million. (Total pay consists of salary; bonus; my estimate for the present value of stock options, ...; the value of free shares awarded; payouts under other long-term incentive plans; ...." (Graef Crystal via Bloomberg.com)
Overview: Companies Must Swiftly Address New Tax Rules for Deferred Compensation (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "A little-noticed part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which was signed by the president on October 22, 2004, mandates massive changes for nonqualified deferred compensation plans. The new rules will require changes to virtually every deferred compensation arrangement, including many that have not previously been viewed as deferred compensation (such as discounted stock options)." (Legal Times via Buchanan Ingersoll)
Special Edition on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Legislation Published by Baker Daniels
Excerpt: "The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 ... is in the process of revolutionizing the world of deferred compensation. On the positive side, the new Act resolves decades of uncertainty created by conflicts between IRS positions and federal court authority. On the negative ..., it eliminates many common plan designs and magnifies the risks of being wrong. In essence, Congress has now created a new category of semi-qualified deferred compensation plans.' [hypertext question & answer format] (Baker & Daniels)
White-Collar Workers See Salary Increases Held Down
Excerpt: "Despite hopes that an improving economy would bolster wages, salary increases for white-collar workers are stuck at an average 3.4 percent this year and are expected to total no more than 3.6 percent next year, according to human-resources consulting firm Hewitt Associates. The skimpy pay raises for the white-collar crowd follow two prior years of lean increases. After steady 4 percent and 5 percent increases during every year but one in the 1990s, ...." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Plans
in Colorado on November 16, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Cafeteria Plans
in Colorado on November 17, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
COBRA Compliance for Group Health Plans
in Colorado on November 19, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Consumer-Driven Health Care & Fringe Benefits
in Colorado on November 18, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
ERISA Compliance for Health & Welfare Plans
in Colorado on November 18, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
HIPAA Portability & Privacy
in Colorado on November 19, 2004
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Washington Update with Brian Graff
in Arizona on November 11, 2004
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Phoenix Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
Watson Wyatt, National Business Coalition On Health Announce Partnership To Evaluate Health Plans
(Watson Wyatt)
PBGC Launches Spanish-Language Website
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Senior IT Quality Assurance Analyst
for ExpertPlan
in NJ
Defined Contribution Analyst
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Benefits Analyst
for Benefits Group WorldWide, Inc.
in CA
Tax Specialist
for Eastman Kodak Company
in NY
Conversion Representative
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Retirement Services Product Manager
for Administaff
in TX
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