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January 11, 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)
Nation's Health Spending Slows, but It Still Hits a Record
Excerpt: "The torrid pace of growth in national health spending cooled a bit in 2003, but the spending, at $1.7 trillion, topped 15 percent of the gross domestic product for the first time, the government said on Monday. Total health spending rose 7.7 percent in 2003, compared with an increase of 9.3 percent the year before, in part because of state cutbacks in the Medicaid program and a slower increase in drug spending." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Kaiser Jumps Into CDH With HSA-Based Plan; 'CDHMOs' Could Be Next Evolution
Excerpt: "Kaiser Permanente's decision this month to enter the consumer-directed health (CDH) care market with a high-deductible HMO represents another key step in the evolution of account-based health plans. But its new product, which ties a health savings account (HSA) to a high-deductible health plan (HDHP), could lead to some early confusion among Kaiser members who aren't accustomed to high deductibles or coinsurance, say brokers and consultants who spoke with ICDC." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)

Employee Who Took Medical Leave Before She Was Eligible Was Properly Terminated
Excerpt: "An employer properly terminated an employee who took medical leave before she was eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This was the decision of the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Renart v. Chartwells, et al. (No. 03-4381)." (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Advisory Opinion 2004-10A on the May Department Stores Co. Vacation Pay Program
Excerpt: "This is in response to your request on behalf of The May Department Stores Company (May Company) for an advisory opinion under Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA). Specifically, you ask whether May Company's vacation pay program (Program) is a 'payroll practice' within the meaning of Department of Labor (Department) regulation at 29 C.F.R. ยง 2510.3-1(b)(3) and, therefore, not an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of ...." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Managed Care Laws Did Not Favor Providers' Interest Over Patients', Study Finds
Excerpt: "The flurry of patient protection laws passed by states during the managed care backlash of the late 1990s did not, contrary to popular opinion, favor the interest of physicians and hospitals over that of consumers, a new study finds." (Medscape Medical News)

Two PBMs Contend 90-Day Retail Programs Are Cost-Effective Mail-Order Alternative
Excerpt: "While PBMs that own mail-order pharmacies report gains from their mandatory mail, two other PBMs, MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc. and Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI), offer a different spin on the 90-day supply trend: incentive-based retail programs that have the potential to offer similar savings and drive generic-drug utilization." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com)

Many Companies Are Actively Discouraging Unwell Employees from Coming to Work
Excerpt: "But when sick workers come to work, it's no bargain for employers. Presenteeism (the opposite of absenteeism) costs companies as much as $150 billion in lost productivity, higher healthcare expenses and cascading absences due to contagion, according to a recent report in the Harvard Business Review." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Advisory Opinion 2004-11A on Church Plans under ERISA
Excerpt: "This responds to your request on behalf of the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System and the Mercy Life Center Corporation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, regarding the applicability of Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Specifically, you request an advisory opinion concluding that the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System Cash Accumulation Plan, the Pittsburgh Mercy Health System 401(k) Savings Plan, and the Mercy Life Center Corporation Pension Plan ...." (U.S. Department of Labor)

Nearly Half of Fortune 500 Companies Offer Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "As the number of same-sex couples with children reaches records, more are confronting challenges about how to balance work and family. G.ay dads are quitting work to stay home with kids, les.bian mothers are going part time -- and employers are responding by offering work-life programs and benefits to g.ay employees." (USA TODAY)

Opinion: Making the Cuts at the Pentagon, but Keeping the Benefits for the Military Retirees
Excerpt: "To the extent that added pay and benefits ensure the nation does right by the men and women who fight for it, these increases would seem worthwhile. Unfortunately, a large share of new spending is devoted not to helping soldiers serving today, but to improving the benefits for military retirees - that is, the small minority of veterans who stay in the military for 20 years or more and are eligible for immediate benefits upon their retirements." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Press Releases

Few Workers Familiar With Health Savings Accounts
(Watson Wyatt)

McKay Hochman Announces Two All-new eSeminars
(McKay Hochman Co., Inc.)

PSCA Releases Eligibility Minisurvey
(Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA))

IRS Issues Fall 2004 Statistics of Income Bulletin
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))

Bush Administration Proposal to Strengthen the Retirement Security of 34 Million Workers Announced by Secretary of Labor
(U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Public Affairs, Washington, D.C.)

MHN Announces EAP Calculator to Measure Cost Savings
(Managed Health Networks, Inc. (MHN))

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Actuarial Associate- Retirement
for Towers Perrin
in CT, DC, GA, MA, NJ, NY, PA

Senior DC Tiered Plan Administrator
for The Pension Group, Inc.
in CA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for WESPAC
in CA

AVP, Health Mgmt & Insurance Programs
for UnumProvident Corporation
in ME

YSA BIM
for Hewitt Associates
in FL

Account Analyst
for Freedom One Retirement Services
in MI

Entry Level Design Con.
for Hewitt Associates
in CA

Administrative Associate - Retirement Plan Services
for Simpkins & Associates
in TX

Benefits Assistant
for Chugach Alaska Corporation
in VA

Pension Account Administrator
for Alerus Retirement Solutions
in MN

Financial Analyst IV - Pricing & Analysis
for CitiStreet
in FL

Communications Consultant-Stock
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ

Compliance Specialist
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA

Manager, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA

Director of Employee Benefits
for Wesleyan University
in CT



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