| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
February 7, 2005
Today's sponsor: World Congress
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Innovation in the Cost-Appropriateness of Behavioral Health & Wellness The Leadership Summit on Innovation in the Cost-Appropriateness of Behavioral Health & Wellness explores the costs of behavioral health to the Nation and the workplace. Stakeholders will discuss economic incentives and present successful cost-effective initiatives to provide quality, cost-appropriate behavioral health and wellness services. Featuring employer and government driven cost-reduction demands with health plan and provider collaboration the Summit showcases innovative behavioral health, pharma and wellness interventions and how to combine the best of both.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Bush to Unroll Tax Breaks to Help Cover Health Insurance Cost for the Uninsured
Excerpt: "The $142-billion effort aims to assist as much as a third of the 45 million uninsured. A credit for working-age people is the plan's centerpiece." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required)
Court Order Blocks Rule Change on Retiree Health Care
Excerpt: "A large advocacy group for American retirees said on Friday that it had won a court order barring the government from allowing companies to drop older retirees from health care coverage while retaining coverage for younger retirees." (Reuters via The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Judge Delays Rule to Let Firms Cut Health Plans for Retirees
Excerpt: "A federal judge ... blocked the government from implementing any rule change that would allow companies to cut health benefits for retirees when they become eligible for Medicare. AARP, ..., said the action means the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission can't implement for at least 60 days a rule that would allow companies to reduce or eliminate benefits to retirees once they turned 65 and qualified for the federal Medicare health program." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Closing the 'Doughnut Hole' in the Medicare Pres.cription Drug Benefit
Excerpt: "An interview with Gerard Anderson, Ph.D., professor at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and national program director of Partnership for Solutions: Better Lives for People with Chronic Conditions." (The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Federal Magistrate Sides with Pharmacy Benefits Managers Disclosure Law
Excerpt: "A federal magistrate has recommended that the U.S. District Court of Maine dismiss the Pharmaceutical Care Management Assn.'s lawsuit seeking to overturn the state's Unfair Pres.cription Drug Practices Act, putting the PBM fiduciary disclosure law one step closer to being enforced." (Business Insurance)
Q&A with Benefits Attorney Mark Kinney, Advisor to Leading Consumer-Directed Health Plan Provider
Excerpt: "[W]e designed the tax argument as to why these accounts shouldn't be subject to the use-it-or-lose-it rule, and we also defended that argument in Washington. I flew out there with a couple Definity representatives, and we had a meeting with members of the Treasury Department ... [A] few of these Treasury attorneys that didn't like what we were doing and there were a few that really liked it, and one fellow kept pointing at me and saying, 'You're in the hot seat now.'" (StarTribune.com)
Insurance Industry Scandals May Prompt More Online Insurance Bidding
Excerpt: "In the wake of the highly publicized insurance industry investigations, some consultants are recommending that employers use online bidding for their plan purchases to avoid any hint of impropriety. As an added bonus, the software lowers benefit costs, adds transparency to the bidding process and frees up time for benefit managers to handle other projects, proponents say." (Employee Benefit News)
Towers Perrin Legislative Tracking Chart on Health and Welfare Issues Updated February 4, 2005 (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "These are the first Legislative Tracking Charts of the 109th Congress." (Towers Perrin)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
The New FASB Stock Option Expensing Rules - What Does It Mean for Privately Held Companies?
Excerpt: "SFAS 123(R) contains some minor differences from the earlier Exposure Draft ..., but the overall thrust of the proposed standard did not change significantly. Numerous lobby groups ... and legislators remain opposed to this change in accounting policy, and will undoubtedly endeavor to prevent or delay its application. However, many legislators believe that it is inappropriate for Congress to override FASB in the exercise of its standards-setting role, so a last-minute reversal ...." (Beyster Institute)
Hernandez v. Robles (PDF)
Full text of the NY Supreme Court decision striking down the ban on g.ay marriage. (Lambda Legal)
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Chart on Human Resource Issues Updated February 4, 2005 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated February 1, 2005
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)
Benefits Left Behind as Workers Are Spun Off from Abbott and Other Companies
Excerpt: "As workers at numerous companies have learned to their dismay, the federal law on employee benefits gives employers the right to make changes in their retirement plans at any time, provided those changes affect all workers without discriminating. But even in situations like the one at Abbott where benefits are reduced or eliminated, workers retain the right to pension benefits they have already earned." (Wilmington Star-News)
Newly Posted Events
Fiduciary - The Fine Line Between Responsibility & Liability
in Georgia on February 17, 2005
presented by Swerdlin & Company
Final Rules on Medicare Part D Benefits— Implications for Retiree Health Plan Sponsors
Nationwide on February 10, 2005
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
HIPAA Security Training & Certification Program
Nationwide on February 7, 2005
presented by HRcertification.com
Tenth National HIPAA Summit Features Advanced HIPAA Security Rule Compliance Strategies
in Maryland on April 6, 2008
presented by HIPAA Summit
Newly Posted Press Releases
The ERISA Fiduciary Guild and Mamorsky's Fiduciary Audit Program Reach Agreement
(ERISA Fiduciary Guild)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Institutional Trust System Analyst
for Branch Banking & Trust (BB&T)
in NC
Investment Analyst
for Segal Advisors, Inc., the investment consulting affiliate of the Segal Company
in NY
Accounting Specialist IV-Employee Benefits Trust
for Regions Financial Corporation
in AL
Retirement Plan Sales Director - Northeast Region
for First Mercantile Trust Company
in CT, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT
Participant Communications Strategist for Retirement Plans
for CitiStreet - A State Street and Citigroup company
in MA
Implementation Pension Analyst
for CitiStreet
in MA
Regional Retirement Plan Sales Consultant
for Waddell & Reed Financial
in AZ, CA, CO, TX
DC and 401(k) Plan Administrator
for Southern California Accounting Firm
in CA
Pension Administrator
for Long Island Pension Consulting Firm
in NY
Client Benefits Representative
for ADP TotalSource
in NH
VP, Executive Trading Plans
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Client Relationship Manager
for Merrill Lynch
in CO, NJ
Relationship Coordinator
for Merrill Lynch
in CA
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