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January 6, 2005
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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Request to Drop Use It or Lose It Rule in Flexible Spending Accounts is Rejected by Treasury
Excerpt: "Treasury Secretary John Snow rejected a request by the Senate Finance Committee's chairman to modify a heavily criticized rule that forces participants to lose any money left in their accounts at the end of the year. That rule requires employees to spend every penny they set aside in a flexible-spending account each year -- or forfeit the balance." (Wall Street Journal via SFGate.com)

Treasury to Keep 'Use-It-or-Lose-It' Rule for Flexible Spending Accounts
Excerpt: "The Treasury Department is sticking with its 'use-it-or-lose-it' requirement for health care flexible spending accounts. Treasury Secretary John Snow has rejected a request by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, to revamp the nearly 21-year-old rule, which requires FSA participants to forfeit unused account balances at the end of a plan year. FSAs are funded by employees through pretax dollars." (Business Insurance)

New York Town Rescinds Health Benefits for Domestic Partners of Employees
Excerpt: "Four years ago, Eastchester became one of the first communities in Westchester County to offer health benefits to the domestic partners of its employees. Critics charged that the town supervisor had rammed the plan through and voted him out of office. Now Eastchester has become the first town in New York to end the benefits." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Overview: New HIPAA Portability Rules Are Published by DOL, HHS and IRS
Excerpt: "The new regulations, which essentially are similar to those issued in 1997, require group health plans and their insurers to set limits on the pre-existing condition exclusions that can be imposed on workers who lose their jobs or change jobs. The final rules require an 'educational statement' about a beneficiaries' HIPAA rights to be included in the certificate of creditable coverage, require written procedures for obtaining a certificate of creditable coverage, and ...." (SunGard Corbel)

How Risky Is It to Ignore 'Trivial' HIPAA Privacy Requirements?
Excerpt: "The HIPAA privacy rules require covered entities (CEs) to take certain steps that, with the benefit of nearly two years of post-deadline hindsight, appear to be somewhat trivial and unproductive. Some privacy officers have gone so far as to term them a 'waste of time,' because in many instances few patients evidently benefit from these time-consuming actions." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com)

More Health Plans May Bring Behavioral Health Services In-House
Excerpt: "More health insurers may choose to build their own in-house behavioral health operations rather than purchasing such services from outside vendors, an analyst says. Such a move could have major implications for Magellan Health Services, Inc., the nation's largest behavioral health vendor, which provides services to many insurers." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)

Patient Support and Medication Waste Management Are Keys to Infertility Market
Excerpt: "Specialty pharmacies that focus on infertility medications need to offer several services to be successful: superior patient education combined with 24-hour-a-day patient support, medication waste management, and assistance in finding reimbursement for some or all of the expense involved in treating infertility." (SPECIALTY PHARMACY NEWS via AISHealth.com)

Employer Direction in Healthcare Coverage: Growing Dissatisfaction Leads to New Strategies
Excerpt: "Based on a group discussion of managed care consultants at the Cambridge Healthcare Summit, held February 25-27, 2004, this article discusses employer direction in determining healthcare coverage. The consultants delineated the current state of affairs, suggested a preferred situation, and developed a set of workable solutions." (The American Journal of Managed Care)

Can.ada Might Enact Legislation to Limit Reimportation of Pres.cription Drugs to United States
Excerpt: "U.S. trade officials in a November meeting with Canadian Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh said that if the U.S. Congress passes a bill that would legalize the reimportation of pres.cription drugs from Can.ada, it might be difficult for President Bush to veto such legislation, which has prompted Dosanjh to support a limit on the practice, .... Dosanjh in December said he might mandate that Canadian physicians cannot co-sign pres.criptions for U.S. residents who they have not examined." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

New 'Reference Pricing' Strategy Could Help Drug Affordability
Excerpt: "Starting Jan. 1, 2005, Blue Cross of California will be the third WellPoint, Inc.-owned plan to implement a drug list based on reference pricing, a relatively new pharmacy benefit structure that groups and prices products based on similar therapeutic effects and removes prior-authorization (PA) restrictions." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com)

Will Employers Take on the Cost of Obesity Treatment?
Excerpt: "When Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina scrutinized medical costs and claims data for its obese members, it discovered that their care cost at least 30 percent more than normal-weight members. That's when the Chapel Hill-based plan decided to wade into the high-cost, high-stakes world of obesity treatment, rolling out a benefits package that observers describe as one of the most comprehensive available. Now comes the tricky part: getting employers to foot the bill." (Workforce Management)

Firms Offering Incentives to Stop Cigarette Smoking -- Hoping to Curb Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "If you resolve to stop smoking in the new year, it might pay off. Companies, frustrated by rising health care costs, are becoming increasingly involved in employees' health. Some are using incentives like iPods or cash to get employees to quit smoking. Others are charging smokers more for health insurance or are refusing to hire them at all." (AP via The Billings Gazette)

Traditional System of Health Insurance Risk Classification Discourages Healthy Lifestyles Treatment (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "Proper risk classification using health information gathered in the application process is the most important risk management tool insurance companies use to sustain viable individual and small-group health insurance markets. Without some combination of risk selection, risk rating, and modification to contract terms based on individuals' health status, these vulnerable markets would almost certainly fail." (Contingencies)

Companies Seek Guidance As Payment Options -- HSAs, FSAs, HRAs -- Increase
Excerpt: "Flexible spending accounts (FSAs), health savings accounts (HSAs), and health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) all follow specific federal regulations for how they are funded and used. All of the accounts meet different needs, says Bonnie B. Whyte, president of the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation in Washington, D.C. 'There is no perfect solution for everyone in the United States; there has to be a wide number of options.'" (Managed Care)

Blues Plans Study Formation of Multistate Medicare PPO Regions
Excerpt: "With their preferred possibility of 50 state-based Medicare preferred provider organization (PPO) regions now off the table, Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans are studying the map and talking with other Blues plans to determine whether to apply to CMS to offer regional PPO plans to Medicare beneficiaries. Some say they may do so, but add that they're still waiting to see final program regulations." (The AIS Report on Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans via AISHealth.com)

Health Insurance Coverage Expansion Resource Center: Information and Tools to Evaluate Proposals
Excerpt: "This resource center offers a framework for state and national policymakers to objectively compare attributes and trade-offs of expansion proposals and the status quo." (California Healthcare Foundation)

US Airways Won't Scrap Health Plan: Airline to Continue Retirees' Benefits
Excerpt: "US Airways backed off from its plan to eliminate its retirees' medical benefits and agreed late yesterday to continue paying for some of their health care." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Kaiser Permanente Official Defends Decision to Launch HSAs
Excerpt: "In what appears to be a wrenching decision, Kaiser Permanente is gearing up to begin offering health savings accounts, something that some point out contradicts the health plan's oft-stated philosophy that physicians, and not members' financial needs, will direct medical care." (Managed Care)

ERISA Did Not Authorize Plaintiff To Recover Value Of Life Insurance Policy
Excerpt: "ERISA did not authorize a plaintiff to recover the value of a life insurance policy covering her former husband. This was the ruling of the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Callery v. The United States Life Insurance Company in the City of New York, et al. (No. 03-4097)." (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of Revised Notice 2005-1 Containing IRS 'Clarifications' to Transition Rules (PDF)
Excerpt: "Notice 2005-1 provides guidance on the executive compensation provisions of new section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, which was added by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004. An advance version of the notice was released to the public on December 20, 2004. Two small but helpful clarifications are being added to the transition rules in the notice." (Internal Revenue Service)

Accounting Rule Requiring Stock Option Value Reporting Could Change Performance Incentives
Excerpt: "A new ruling from the Financial Accounting Standards Board will require employers to report the value of stock options for the first time, in effect treating employee stock options like salaries or cash bonuses. The change, which takes effect June 15, is likely to have implications for long-term incentive plan design for employees." (BenefitNews Connect)

Financial Executives International's CEO's List of the 2005 Top 10 Financial Reporting Issues
Excerpt: "As companies absorb all of the financial reporting changes for 2004 financial reporting - and look ahead - FEI CEO and President Colleen Cunningham has compiled [a] list of the Top 10 Financial Reporting Challenges for 2005 ...." (Financial Executives International)

Overview: IRS Guidance on New Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Law (PDF)
13 pages. Excerpt: "This guidance is limited in scope, and takes the form of 38 questions and answers on the following topics: definitions and coverage; stock options and stock appreciation rights; change in control events; acceleration of payments; effective dates and transition relief; and the application of information reporting and wage withholding requirements." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)

Overview: New Law Provides Employees on Military Leave with Additional Benefit Rights (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Effective March 10, 2005, employers must provide employees with a notice of the rights, benefits and obligations of the employee and the employer under USERRA. The Secretary of Labor will provide the notice required under the VBIA by March 10, 2005. The notice may be provided to employees by posting it in those workplaces where the employer customarily posts notices for employees." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham)

Newly Posted Events

2005 Pension Symposium - Pension Funding Reform
in District of Columbia on April 6, 2005
presented by Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries/American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries/Society of Actuaries

2006 Enrolled Actuaries Meeting
in District of Columbia on March 26, 2006
presented by Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries

Basic HSAs - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 19, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services

Basic IRAs - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 5, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services

Conversions and Recharacterizations - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 7, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services

IRA Excess Contributions - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 14, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services

IRA Required Reporting - Telephone Seminar
Nationwide on April 12, 2005
presented by BISYS Retirement Services

Medicare Prescription Drugs Seminar
in District of Columbia on April 6, 2005
presented by Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries/American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries/Society of Actuaries

Professional Standards Seminar
in District of Columbia on April 3, 2005
presented by Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries/American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries/Society of Actuaries/Casualty Actuarial Society

Small Consulting Firms & Practices Roundtable
in District of Columbia on April 6, 2005
presented by Conference of Consulting Actuaries/American Academy of Actuaries/American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries/Society of Actuaries/Casualty Actuarial Society

Newly Posted Press Releases

Treasury and IRS Issue Clarifications of Transition Rules for Deferred Compensation Plans Under 409A
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)

Daniel B. Stephens & Associates, Inc. Forms Strategic Partnership with Gilsbar, Inc. for Benefit Plan Administration
(Gilsbar, Inc.)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Sales Representative
for Great-West Healthcare
in IL, KS, MO

DCS Compliance Manager
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA

Account Executive - Columbia, Maryland Washington D.C.
for Transamerica
in DC

Trust Sales Consultant
for MassMutual Financial Group
in CT

Pension Plan Coordinator - San Mateo, CA
for Transamerica
in CA

Implementation Specialist
for ExpertPlan, Inc.
in NJ



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