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December 28, 2004
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MetLife Survey Shows Paid Vacations Beat Some Insurance Benefits
Excerpt: "U.S. workers worry about saving for retirement, but many are struggling just to meet short-term needs. Researchers at MetLife Inc., New York, have published results supporting that conclusion in a report on the company's latest employee benefits trend study. .... Only 26% of the employees said they viewed disability insurance as one of the most valuable employee benefits, while 64% listed paid vacation time as one of the top employee benefits." (National Underwriter)
Are Individuals Covered by HIPAA? If So, What Would It Mean for Covered Entities?
Excerpt: "In the wake of U.S. v. Gibson, the first criminal conviction under HIPAA, debate has ensued over the Department of Justice's authority to prosecute non-covered entities for violations of HIPAA. Some health law experts wonder why the U.S. Attorney's office in Seattle picked HIPAA to prosecute Gibson, when there are numerous other laws that could be used to prosecute identity theft." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com)
Dental Coverage Not Widespread
Excerpt: "Only about half of the country has any form of dental insurance, by some estimates. Most employers do not offer the benefit, and dental coverage is often one of the first things companies cut to reduce costs. In 2003, 39 percent of employers offered dental benefits, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, compared with 66 percent that offered health insurance." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Managed Care Organizations Are Less Than Satisfied With Specialty Pharmacy Vendor Performance
Excerpt: "Specialty pharmacy (SP) vendors are falling down on the job in terms of serving managed care payers, according to results of a new survey. SPs serve in a dual -- and sometimes conflicting -- capacity of distributing biotech and injectable products for manufacturers and streamlining and managing the costs of these products for payers. Payers participating in the survey gave low marks to SP vendors on key service attributes such as reimbursement support, patient ...." (SPECIALTY PHARMACY NEWS via AISHealth.com)
Retirees Should Check Company Financial Statements for Health Benefit Funding Status, Expert Says
Excerpt: "Few know retiree health issues better than Dallas Salisbury, president & CEO of the Employee Benefit Research Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group. .... He offered answers to common questions about retiree health care funding [in a recent interview] ...." (Rocky Mountain News)
Health Savings Accounts Catching on in Connecticut
Excerpt: "Six months ago, whenever Stephen Glick would ask business people if they knew about health savings accounts, or HSAs, two or three people out of a hundred might raise their hands. Today, when Glick, the insurance trust administrator for 72 Connecticut Chamber of Commerce chapters, talks about HSAs, roughly 85 percent of the business people in the room know what they are and can recite some of the benefits." (The Heartland Institute)
Health Insurers and Small Business Administration Team on Health Accounts Web Site
Excerpt: "Health insurers launched a new Web site aimed at educating small businesses and consumers about health-savings accounts, a new insurance option that could make coverage more affordable. The site, HSADecisions.org, was established to close 'the significant knowledge gap' about HSAs, says Karen Ignani, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans. The trade association also found that small businesses 'needed special assistance' to understand how HSAs could work for them." (Albany Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Mercer's Weekly Highlights for December 27, 2004
Excerpt: "Bush's New Year's resolutions... Deferred compensation guidance provides transition relief... IRS issues final regulations on FICA treatment of students... Bush signs YMCA pension bill... HHS issues report on drug importation... Medicare to cover smoking cessation services... Labor Department releases 2004 Form M-1 for MEWAs... State-mandated disability rates for 2005... Q&As address key points of FAS 123(R)..." (Washington Resource Group and the Information Research Center of Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Mercer's Quarterly Multinational Newsletter Published December 2004
Excerpt: "This second issue of Mercer's Quarterly Multinational Newsletter, of interest to multinational employers, discusses changes to Canadian defined benefit plans [in 'Changing the rules: Can.ada's Supreme Court awards plan surplus after a partial wind-up']; Mercer expertise in global benefits management; and Mercer's latest book on HR, Mastering Business in Asia: Human Resource Management." (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Workers Sweat the Big Stuff - Healthcare, Disability Insurance, Retirement - But Value Vacation Time More
(MetLife)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Lateral Associate
for Slevin & Hart, P.C.
in DC
Litigation Attorney
for Slevin & Hart, P.C.
in DC
Client Relationship Manager
for ING
in FL
Group Benefits Administrator
for Pinnacle Financial Group
in MA
Supervisor Retirement Plan Recordkeeping Operations
for BISYS Retirement Services
in MN
Relationship Manager
for Fidelity Investments
in KY
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) without obtaining our permission.
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