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November 29, 2004
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Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers.
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Chart: 2005 Minimums and Maximums for High-Deductible Health Plans, HSAs and MSAs
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently released Revenue Procedure 2004-71, which announced various inflation-adjusted amounts for 2005.1 The new numbers for high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Archer medical savings accounts (MSAs) are shown in the first of the two charts below. The second chart notes the maximum annual HSA contributions for 2005." (The Segal Company)
U.S. Senate OKs Bill Barring Source of Injury Clauses in Health Insurance Plans
Excerpt: "The Senate November 20 approved a bill (S 423) to bar insurers and plans from denying benefits to people injured in legal recreational activities. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced the Health Care Parity for Legal Transportation and Recreational Activities Act to 'close a loophole' in the HIPAA regulations that allows benefits to be denied if plan enrollee is injured while engaged in certain activities such as skiing, horseback riding, or motorcycling." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Oregon State Benefits Board Outlines Ambitious Health Plans in RFP
Excerpt: "The state Public Employee Benefit Board is moving forward with ambitious plans to incorporate quality and outcome measures, transparency, better coordination of care and consumer education requirements into its purchasing criteria. 'The [request for proposals] we are issuing this time will not be like anything you have dealt with before,' said Jean Thorne, PEBB administrator, in a meeting with prospective health plans and providers on Nov. 23. 'It's not your mother's RFP.'" (The Portland Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
WSJ Profiles Uninsured Patient's Tactics for Bargaining with Providers for Lower Medical Bills
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday profiled Curtis Selby -- a California resident who chooses to be uninsured because of his religious beliefs -- and examines how his tactic of negotiating with providers over the cost of his care highlights 'what millions of Americans may soon be doing.' Selby is a member of the Old German Baptist Brethren Church, a Christian denomination that believes 'God will pull them through any crisis,' the Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Health Care Consumers Need Cost Advice to Aid in Efficient Use of New Health Plans
Excerpt: "We think there's an opening here for a new line of business -- the health insurance care adviser. Just like retirement planners have the know-how to help you pump up your nest egg, a health insurance care adviser could tell you how to best spend your limited health care funds and where to find the most cost-effective treatment for what ails you. Most people would gladly pay a reasonable amount for the help. And the adviser could perform a further service by pressuring ...." (Cincinnati Business Courier via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
More Employees Bearing Increasing Hikes in Health Coverage Costs
Excerpt: "Ernest Dwight, president of sign-maker SouthWood Corp., met with his controller Nov. 12 to discuss employee health-plan costs for the coming year. Dwight had a hunch -- and it wasn't a good one. .... His dread was well founded: To continue the same coverage for SouthWood's 40 employees in 2005 would mean a 21% jump in premiums. Raising co-pays would drop the increase to 12.6%. Further hikes would drop the premium hike to a digestible 6.5%." (Charlotte Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Cost Not Sole Driver for Health Plans -- Use of Performance Measures to Determine Quality
Excerpt: "When it comes to health care, we all want to have the highest-quality choices at the most-reasonable prices possible. Yet, quality and price don't always go hand-in-hand. Cheaper doesn't always buy you better. Nor does choosing the most expensive option mean you're getting the best quality. As businesses are forced to shift more health-care costs to employees, how does an employer go about evaluating the quality of plan choices -- what doctor to see, which hospital to use, what ...." (Charlotte Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Quantum Coordinates Confusing Health-Care Process -- Reducing Or Eliminating Unnecessary Services
Excerpt: "Skyrocketing health-care costs are forcing many employers to reduce employee benefits, but Kara Trott's has come up with a model that's helping employers expand coverage while saving money. Trott, president of the Worthington-based Quantum Health LLC, created Community Coordinated Healthcare, a program the company administers. It has saved participating clients with at least 100 employees more than $13 million. By working in cooperation with physicians and helping them help ...." (Business First of Columbus via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Overview on Implications for Multiemployer Health Plans of the New IRC Definition of Dependent (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This Bulletin discusses the benefits implications of the new definition of 'dependent' added to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) by the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 (WFTRA). The version discusses the impact on multiemployer health plans." (The Segal Company)
Overview: Benefit Implications of the New Internal Revenue Code Definition of “Dependent” (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "A December 2004 Segal Bulletin for Corporate and Public Sector plans discusses the new definition of 'dependent' in the tax code, which has implications for health and welfare plans." (The Segal Company)
Overview: Employee Benefits Plans and the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004
Excerpt: "The latest issue of The Segal Company's electronic publication Capital Checkup is now available on Segal's Web site. This issue discusses how the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 (WFTRA) affects health plans and dependent care assistance programs (DCAPs)." (The Segal Company)
Hawaiian Court Reverses Lower Court Ruling on ERISA Preemption of State Law on External Review
Excerpt: "The Hawaiian Supreme Court ruled November 18, 2004, that a state law that gives Hawaii's insurance commissioner authority to conduct external reviews of health insurance plan decisions is 'impliedly' preempted by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)." (The Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii)
Working Paper: Distortionary Effects of Government Procurement: Medicaid Pres.cription Drug Purchases
Abstract. Excerpt: "The federal-state Medicaid program insures 43 million people for virtually all of the pres.cription drugs approved by the FDA. To determine the price that it will pay for a drug treatment, the government uses the average price in the private sector for that same drug. Assuming that Medicaid recipients are unresponsive to price because of the program's zero co-pay, this rule will increase prices for non-Medicaid consumers." (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Overview: Contribution Limits Increased for Health Savings Accounts in 2005
Excerpt: "Individuals will be able to contribute up to $2,650 next year to their health-savings accounts, tax-free funds that can be used for medical expenses or retained as an investment. The federal government raised the HSA contribution limit because of inflation. HSAs must be combined with a high-deductible health insurance plan. The maximum annual HSA contribution for family coverage was raised to $5,250. The catch-up contribution limit for individuals who are 55 or older will ...." (bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
JCAHO Offers Pay-for-Performance Guidance with 10-Point Statement of Principles
Excerpt: "The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations released a set of principles to help payers and providers design pay-for-performance programs. 'Notwithstanding their recent proliferation, pay-for-performance programs are largely untested,' said the preamble to the 10-point statement of principles posted on the JCAHO Web site. 'It is important that these programs be well-designed, make every effort to encompass all affected stakeholders for whom the incentives ...." (Modernhealthcare.com)
N.C. Health Insurance Innovations Commission Seeks Innovation in Health Plans
Excerpt: "Small businesses are facing a crisis in providing health care for their employees. The cost of health insurance has risen sharply in the last five years. Affordability is the key issue because more than half of the state's work force is employed by small businesses. .... The result is the N.C. Health Insurance Innovations Commission, which will be housed at UNC Charlotte's Belk College of Business Administration. The organization is charged with finding new ways to make coverage ...." (Charlotte Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Lawyers May Ask Florida Clients to Waive New Amendment Rights in Medical Malpractice Cases
Excerpt: "Florida voters were faced on Election Day with three amendments to the state constitution that represented the latest battle in the running war between doctors and lawyers over medical malpractice issues. Broadly speaking, two of the measures favored lawyers -- one will make information about medical mistakes open to the public, the other will strip the licenses of doctors found guilty of three medical malpractice incidents -- and one favored doctors." (The Business Journal of Jacksonville via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: the Health Insurance Program We Could Have Had in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "Sixteen years ago, with bands playing and balloons flying, I signed the second universal healthcare bill in America on the steps of the State House. Only the state of Hawaii had beaten us to it. That bill would have provided comprehensive health insurance for every resident of the Commonwealth. It would have controlled hospital costs. It required all employers with six or more employees to provide their employees and their families with health insurance with a contribution from ...." (Michael S. Dukakis via The Boston Globe)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Year-End Checkup for Benefit Plans (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "This Alert will help identify year-end administrative and planning issues that could lead to compliance or employee relations problems if not addressed before, or early in, 2005. In addition, we have highlighted recent legislative or regulatory developments that may warrant plan design decisions." (Aon Consulting)
Law Firms Point Fingers Over Failure to File Form S-8 Registration Statement
Excerpt: "EarthLink Inc. filed suit Friday in Fulton County State Court against Powell Goldstein, charging the law firm with causing a massive repurchase of employee stock by neglecting to file an important document with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In response, Powell Goldstein filed a third-party complaint against the law firm it says was responsible for the filing slip-up: Hunton & Williams." (Fulton County Daily Report via New York Lawyer)
United Airlines Seeks Court's Aid in Getting Additional Labor Concessions
Excerpt: "UAL Corp., parent of United Airlines, asked a bankrup.tcy court Wednesday to terminate its union contracts if the carrier can't get an additional $725 million in cost savings from employees by mid-January. The nation's No. 2 airline says it needs the additional labor concessions and the ability to drop traditional pensions to secure financing and get out of bankrup.tcy reorganization. The cuts would come atop the $2.5 billion in annual labor concessions the United employees have ...." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Commentary on Today's Article from the Wall Street Journal Titled: "Chapter 11 Doesn't Fly"
Excerpt: "Many are wondering how best to address the problem of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's ballooning deficit (now $23.3 billion, up from $11.2 billion in 2003) and the further strain to the system of recent airline bankruptcies. Steven A. Kandarian, Douglas M. Steenland and Duane E. Woerth offer their proposal for a solution in a commentary published in today's Wall Street Journal entitled 'Chapter 11 Doesn't Fly' ...." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)
Merck Adopts Plans for Severance Packages
Excerpt: "Merck & Co. said Monday its board adopted a plan that will pay hefty severance packages to more than 200 employees in the event that a change of control of the company takes place. The contingency plan comes as the pharmaceutical company is facing huge legal liabilities due to heart problems linked to its pres.cription painkiller Vioxx, investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department, and growing concerns about the company's future." (The Porterville Recorder)
Newly Posted Events
ASPPA Benefits Council of Greater Cincinnati's Annual Meeting and a Presentation by Debbie F. Reiss regarding Changes to Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Arrangements
in Ohio on December 8, 2004
presented by ASPA Benefits Council of Greater Cincinnati
Benefits Communication and Technology Institute
in California on March 6, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan Policy - Pensions & Health Part I
in Florida on February 28, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate of Achievement in Public Plan Policy - Pensions & Health Part II
in Florida on March 2, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - 401(k) Plans
in Florida on February 16, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - Basic Compensation Concepts
in Florida on February 16, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - Choice Based Benefits
in Florida on February 18, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - Health Benefit Plan Basics
in Florida on February 14, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - Health Care Cost Management
in Florida on February 16, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - Investment Basics
in Florida on February 14, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Certificate Series - Retirement Plan Basics
in Florida on February 18, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Estate and Income Tax Planning for Qualified Plans and IRAs
Nationwide on January 20, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fiduciary Liability: Best Practices for Plan Governance to Manage ERISA Related Risks
in New York on December 2, 2004
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) New York Chapter
Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law
in Texas on March 3, 2005
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Trustees and Administrators Institutes
in Florida on February 14, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
CitiStreet Launches Personalized Resource Center; Participants Can Get Financial Curriculum Tailored to Their Needs
(CitiStreet)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
ERISA Attorney/ Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in MA
Pension Administrator
for Flynn, Shojinaga & Associates, Inc.
in CA
CS Project Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Product Specialist
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Retirement Plan Administrator
for PensionOne Advisors, Inc.
in CA
Health Insurance & Group Insurance Sales Executive
for Alliance Benefit Group of Kansas City, Inc.
in IA, KS, MN, MO
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