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December 22, 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.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Proceed Cautiously Before Covering Imported Pres.cription Drugs Under Your Health Plans
Excerpt: "With employees making health plan elections for next year, and with the deadline for most health flexible spending arrangement (FSA) reimbursements approaching, employers may be faced with requests to cover or reimburse the cost of imported pres.cription drugs under their health plans. Some employers may also be considering covering imported pres.cription drugs as a way to lower their health plan costs." (Faegre & Benson LLP)
California DLSE Pulls Proposed Emergency Regulation Regarding Meal and Rest Periods
Excerpt: "On December 20, 2004, the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) pulled the Emergency Regulation that it proposed ten days earlier and replaced it with a new proposal (full text appears [on target page]) that it filed under the regular rule-making process of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA)." (Littler Mendelson, P.C.)
Survey Says Workers Want More Paid Vacation in Spite of Larger Financial Issues
Excerpt: "Full-time employees know the importance of financial stability, health care, disability insurance and retirement savings. They just value paid vacation time more. That's the finding of a recent employee benefits study conducted by MetLife Inc. ..., to be released early next week. The study found that 63% of those surveyed are worried about making ends meet, while 59% are concerned about having the right amount of health insurance and 49% fret about outliving their retirement savings." (Dow Jones Newswires via SmartMoney.com)
Status of HIPAA Regulations: Compliance Calendar -- Updated December 2004
Excerpt: "Based on a presentation by HHS Staff at the February, 2002 Meeting of the NUCC/NUBC; amended & updated by Phoenix Health Systems. [Includes] Status of HHS HIPAA Administrative Simplification Regulations; HIPAA Administrative Simplification Provisions Pending External Input; Administrative Simplification Compliance Act Regulations; Enforcement; and, Fines for Non-Compliance." (Phoenix Health Systems via HIPAAdvisory.com)
Newspapers Examine Recent State Efforts on Pres.cription Drug Reimportation
Excerpt: "Three newspapers recently published articles about state efforts to reimport pres.cription drugs from abroad. Summaries [on efforts in Illinois, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are on target page] ...." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Consumer Reports' Consumer Rating Service Could Change Pres.cription Drug Practices
Excerpt: "Consumer Reports' new drug-rating service, which compares product prices and effectiveness, could change how doctors, manufacturers, PBMs and pharmacies do business, observes Sean Brandle, head of the national Rx consulting group at The Segal Co." (BenefitNews Connect)
Bush Administration Gives Mixed View on Drug Imports
Excerpt: "The Bush administration said Tuesday that commercial importation of some low-cost pres.cription drugs from Can.ada might be feasible. But the savings to consumers would be small, it said, and the federal government would have to spend hundreds of million dollars a year to ensure the drugs' safety." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Report on Designing Maine's DirigoChoice™ Benefit Plan
Excerpt: "A main feature of Maine's new Dirigo Health initiative is the DirigoChoice health plan, designed to provide an affordable, high-quality option for health coverage to Maine businesses that have 50 or fewer eligible employees, the self-employed, and individuals." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Report from Focus Groups with Mainers About the Dirigo Health Plan
Excerpt: "This study was initiated to gauge public views on Maine's new Dirigo Health initiative, whose goals are to make quality, affordable health care available to every Maine citizen and to initiate new processes for containing costs and improving health care quality." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Opinion: Overcoming Three Failures of the U.S. Healthcare System Will Improve the Quality of Care
Excerpt: "To achieve a more efficient healthcare system as well as improve quality of care, providers and health plans must compete on quality, not just price. Some brand-name competition over quality does exist among a handful of academic medical centers and prestigious organizations such as Mayo Clinic and Memorial Sloan-Kettering, but those are exceptions." (Warren Greenberg via Modernhealthcare.com)
2005 State Legislators' Guide to Health Insurance Solutions and Glossary (PDF)
48 pages. Excerpt: "Here you will find many of the issues confronting the health insurance market and its consumers. We have summarized each issue, highlighted actions already taken by states, and offered possible solutions. We have also included a glossary that explains a number of industry terms. We invite you to use this Guide as a starting point for your deliberations and proposals." (The American Legislative Exchange Council and The Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
Overview: Health Savings Accounts Distribution Timing: Special Transition Relief for 2004
Excerpt: "The IRS recognized that many eligible individuals would be unable to establish HSAs early in 2004 because many financial organizations were not prepared to offer HSAs until late in the year. These individuals would not be able to meet the timing requirement for tax-free HSA distributions for some or all of their 2004 medical expenses.' (Bankers Systems Retirement Plan Services)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: Amendment Deadline for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "As part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (JOBS), Congress added Code §409A which provides new rules for nonqualified deferred compensation plans. Generally, the new rules apply to deferrals on or after January 1, 2005. Many practitioners were concerned that employers may need to amend their plans by January 1, 2005." (SunGard Corbel)
Comments on and Quotes from WSJ Article on Stock Appreciation Rights and Notice 2005-1
Excerpt: "Businesses won a victory Monday when the Treasury Department agreed to exempt public companies' stock appreciation rights from new restrictions on deferred executive compensation plans. The Treasury and Internal Revenue Service said stock appreciation rights will have 'limited exceptions' from new rules that tighten the tax treatment of deferred compensation programs." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)
Overview: IRS Issues Guidance on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation in Notice 2005-1 (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Perhaps the most important aspect of the Notice is its provision of various transition rules. Although the statutory effective date for compliance with new Code section 409A is generally January 1, 2005, Treasury and IRS acknowledge in the Notice that more guidance is needed to enable employers to comply fully with the new rules." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Newly Posted Events
Guidance on the New Deferred Compensation Rules: What to do now that we have Notice 2005-1
in New York on January 13, 2005
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB)
Newly Posted Press Releases
New Book Recommends Different Way of Thinking about Retirement
(Watson Wyatt)
IRS Warns Businesses and Retirement Plans Against Abuses Involving ESOPs and S Corporations
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
Pension Reporter (5500) System from DATAIR – Year 2004 Forms Released
(DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.)
Fiduciary Alert – Another Year End: Global Fiduciary Advisors, LLC offers steps for retirement plan sponsors to take to ensure ERISA compliance and avoid unnecessary litigation at year end.
(Global Fiduciary Advisors, LLC.)
Partnership to Assist Small Businesses Launched by Blue Cross and the Small Business Administration
(Blue Cross of California)
Web-based COBRA Software Launches Free Trial Version
(COBRApoint)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
AVP of Retirement Programs
for UnumProvident Corporation
in ME
Account Executive - Cleveland, OH
for Transamerica
in OH
DB Quality Assurance Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
DB Benefits Service Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
HGB Benefits Service Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
401(k) Administrator
for Redwood Administrators, Inc.
in NJ
DC Benefits Operations Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
HGB Benefits Operations Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL
Balance Forward Operations Manager
for EMJAY Retirement Services, a Great-West Company
in WI
Retirement Services Regional Sales Directors
for MassMutual Financial Group
in ANY STATE
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
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