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December 29, 2004
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A Look at the Major Medical Stories of 2004
Excerpt: "The year in medicine can be summed up best as the year Americans increasingly were forced to peer into their medicine cabinets with a wary eye. Alarming headlines about one blockbuster drug were soon supplanted by fresh headlines warning about some other popular medication." (USA TODAY via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Federal Study Aims to Cut Cost of Heart Patients' Care with In-Home Equipment and Monitoring
Excerpt: "Besides free, in-home monitoring equipment, the program includes a pres.cription drug plan that typically saves patients $200 to $600 a month. Participants also have access to nursing advice, while their doctors can consult with a cardiologist." (The Sacramento Bee)
Opinion: 2005 to Test Health Information Technology Spending Savvy
Excerpt: "Although major health care providers are still financially stressed and federal government resolve may be wavering, next year is still shaping up as one for advances in health IT for U.S. hospitals. Hospitals are expected to increase their capital expenditures on health IT for the coming year by anywhere from 6 percent to 10 percent. That means a big step up in terms of the operating budget; it is expected to swell to 3.5 percent, from 2.5 percent last year, according ...." (eWEEK Enterprise News & Reviews)
UnitedHealth Group Trying to Limit Imaging Technology Use -- to Curtail Overuse and Cut Costs
Excerpt: "In a bid to reduce what it considers the misuse and overuse of diagnostic imaging technology, UnitedHealth Group, one of the biggest insurers in the Triad, will begin encouraging primary care doctors to make referrals based strictly on widely accepted criteria." (The Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Absurd Report on Drug Prices and Reimportation Clouds the Issue
Excerpt: "If President Bush wants to know why his economic policy team has been so ineffective, he might take a look at the report his administration released last week on the controversy over legalizing the import of 'cheap' pres.cription drugs from Can.ada. The study was prepared by the government's top public health officials. But anyone even vaguely familiar with the subject will recognize it as an embarrassing piece of policy work whose primary aim is to deny Democrats a popular ...." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Analysis: Treasury and IRS Transition Guidance on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Requirements (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "On December 20, 2004 the Treasury Department and IRS released Notice 2005-1, which is the first guidance with respect to the application of the new Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Section 409A, which was added to the Code by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, significantly changes the rules for the taxation of nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements, effective for deferrals of amounts earned and vested on and after January 1, 2005." (Pillsbury Winthrop LLP)
Overview: Internal Revenue Service Notice on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plan Guidance (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "This Alert summarizes the most significant aspects of the notice. The Notice addresses a number of issues left unresolved in the Act, including pressing transition issues raised by the January 1, 2005 effective date of the Act." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP)
SEC's Beller's Perspective on Role of Compensation Committee and Proxy Disclosure Requirements
Excerpt: "Alan L. Beller, director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance, recently shared his views on how companies should go about disclosing executive compensation on their proxies and how compensation committees can ensure that executive compensation serves the interests of shareholders." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
2004 Legislative Session Saw Active Benefits-Related Discussions and Legislation
Excerpt: "The 2004 session of Congress continued into December, but benefits-related discussions were wrapped up in November. The 108th Congress had a busy legislative agenda, enacting legislation on hybrid pension plans, defined benefit funding and nonqualified deferred compensation. Pres.cription drug importation was a key topic on the health care agenda, as lawmakers debated the safety of imported pres.cription drugs and whether importation could help rein in pres.cription drug costs." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Overview of Benefits Issues After the 2004 Elections
Excerpt: "Election Day has come and gone, but the effects on benefits-related issues are likely to be significant and long-lasting. President Bush is expected to stay the course on health care and to move toward Social Security reform. He will push to reform the tax code and to make the temporary tax cuts that were enacted during his first term permanent. Republican gains in the Senate and the House of Representatives should help President Bush advance his agenda." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
USERRA Update on Proposed Regulations and the Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2004
Excerpt: "These proposed regulations (the 'Proposed Regulations') are the first issued since USERRA's passage in 1994. According to the news release accompanying these regulations, they 'will spell out the rights of our returning service men and women and the responsibilities of employers to honor their service' and, as promised in the news release, they are drafted in a plain language question and answer format." (Trucker Huss)
Newly Posted Events
Know When To Hold 'Em, Know When To Fold 'Em
in New York on February 2, 2005
presented by Eisner Retirement Solutions LLC
Newly Posted Press Releases
Treasury and IRS Issue Guidance on New Automatic Rollovers From Qualified Retirement Plans
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
Treasury and IRS Finalize Comprehensive Rules for 401(k) Plans
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Director, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Defined Benefit Conversion Specialist
for New York Life Investment Management RPS
in MA
Consultant
for Fidelity Investments
in MA
Retirement Plan Consultant - Harrisburg, PA
for Invesmart, Inc.
in PA
Sr. Specialist Health and Wellness
for Phelps Dodge
in AZ
Benefits Manager
for O'Charley's - Established Casual Dining Restaurant Chain
in TN
Pension Administrator/DB Experience
for Central New Jersey Benefits Consulting Firm
in NJ
Pension Administrator
for Oxford Associates, LLP (Member of the BST Advisory Network, LLC)
in NY
Compliance Analyst – Retirement Services
for Transamerica
in CA
Retirement Account Executive
for UBS Financial Services, Inc.
in IL
Plan Administrator
for Walker Benefits, Inc.
in PA
Defined Benefit Pension Plan Administrator
for The ANGELL Pension Group, Inc.
in RI
401K Administrator (45-55K)
for Praxis Search (Search Firm)
in NJ
Tax Senior - Employee Benefits
for Deloitte & Touche
in PA
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