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February 8, 2005
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BeneCom Associates, LLC, for One-Stop Benefit Communications Since 1992, BeneCom has produced benefit communications, including enrollment materials, SPDs, benefit statements, newsletters and more, for companies large and small, nationwide. So if you've been looking for an independent benefit communications specialist, look no further. Click above for more information, or give us a call at (860) 674-2626, Ext. 11. We're here to help.
(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
Overview: Agencies Issue Final HIPAA Regulations -- Some New Interpretations Provided (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "At long last, the three agencies responsible for enforcing the portability rules of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) have issued their final regulations on portability requirements. Although the rules do not differ substantially from the interim rules issued in 1997, they do provide some interesting and sometimes unexpected interpretations .... They also clarify that retirees and their dependents are covered under the portability rules." (2005 Mellon Financial Corporation)
Blue Cross/Blue Shield Will Pay for Low-Cost Insurance in Pennsylvania
Excerpt: "Pennsylvania's Blue Cross/Blue Shield plans -- including Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania, the region's dominant insurer -- have agreed to jointly pay up to $85 million a year to enroll 29,000 more people in the state's low-cost health insurance program for the poor, Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday." (Pittsburgh Business Times via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)
Privacy Compliance and Traditional Health Plans: Six Problem Spots
Excerpt: "The October 2004 issue of RPP featured some of the unique privacy problems faced by traditional health plans. Here are six additional areas of concern for these covered entities." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com)
Study Finds Doctors with EHRs Have More Complete Patient Information
Excerpt: "Patients' care may be adversely affected by missing information in as many as 220 million patient visits each year, according to a study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association .... Electronic medical records alleviate but do not solve the problem." (eWeek Enterprise News & Reviews)
Whole-Body Screening CT Scan Costs Outweigh Benefits
Excerpt: "Whole-body CT scans are probably not cost effective for screening, according to a report in the February issue of Radiology. 'Even under assumptions that are potentially favorable to whole body CT (i.e., we allow some benefit, when none has yet been proven), the use of whole-body CT is very unlikely to be cost-effective,' Dr. G. Scott Gazelle from Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts told Reuters Health." (Reuters via Medscape; one-time registration required)
Health Savings Account Landmines Can Cause Problems for Insurers and Employers Alike
Excerpt: "It's been six months since the Treasury Dept. issued its last significant round of guidance on health savings accounts (HSAs), but questions -- and loose interpretations of the rules -- continue to baffle insurers, employers and consumers." (AISHealth.com)
Growth of Consumer Directed Health Plans Prompts Insurers to Beef Up Web-Based Tools
Excerpt: "The growing availability of CDH plans -- including HSA-based products -- has made employer-focused Web sites increasingly important for health care insurers. Even employers that don't offer a CDH option are prompting insurers to beef up their sites as employees are given more choices about deductible levels, coinsurance and copay amounts, provider networks and referral requirements." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)
Rate of Employer-Sponsored Coverage in California Decreases, Study Finds
Excerpt: "About 53.8% of nonelderly state residents received employer-sponsored health insurance in 2003, according to a University of California-Los Angeles Center For Health Policy Research study released Sunday, the Sacramento Bee reports. The study found that the rate of residents receiving insurance through their employers decreased by 2.6% from 2001." (California Healthcare Foundation)
Opinion: Ten Points for Transforming the U.S. Health Care System
Excerpt: "What Americans want -- and what our high spending should buy -- is the best health care in the world. It's an achievable goal. But to reach it will require that we transform the health system to achieve better care for all. .... We do need to make sure that we are getting commensurate value for what we spend. The big question, of course, is how. Work by The Commonwealth Fund and others suggests a 10-point strategy for change ...." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
European Union Adopts Stock Option Expensing Rules Retroactive to January 1
Excerpt: "The European Union has adopted new accounting rules that will require European-listed companies to expense stock option awards. The head office of the EU has decided that the new rules will apply retroactive to January 1, .... The standards, which preempt their American counterparts by nearly six months, are part of a larger reform of business accounting standards undertaken by the EU to combat fraud and mismanagement, according to the news agency ...." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
December 28, 2004, Overview: First Round of Guidance on New Tax Rules for Deferred Compensation
Excerpt: "On December 20, 2004, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2005-1 providing the first installment of guidance for the deferred compensation provisions of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which are contained in new Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code." (Perkins Coie)
October 20, 2004, Overview: Congress Imposes Significant New Restrictions on Deferred Compensation
Excerpt: "Congress recently approved the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 ..., which includes provisions that impose significant new restrictions on deferred compensation. If these restrictions are not satisfied, deferred compensation amounts are taxable when vested and subject to tax penalties. President Bush is expected to sign the Act, but as of October 19th has not done so. This Update highlights the Act's key changes to deferred compensation requirements and offers practical guidance." (Perkins Coie)
ERIC and PSCA Join Forces to Ask for Delay in March 15 Deadline for NQDC Mirror and Excess Plans (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "[Posted] is a copy of joint letter sent today by The ERISA Industry Committee and the Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America urgently asking that the Treasury and IRS modify Notice 2005-1 as soon as possible to extend the period that the Notice now gives to defined contribution mirror and excess plans to meet the requirements of the new law governing nonqualified deferred compensation." (The ERISA Industry Committee and The Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America)
Text: Employee Benefits in Private Industry in the United States, 2002-2003 (PDF)
135 pages. The 2003 data contain information on the incidence and key provisions of selected benefit plans. The 2002 data contain detailed provisions of health care and retirement benefits. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Clark Consulting is pleased to announce that David E. Gordon, J.D. has been appointed as a senior vice president and managing director
(Clark Consulting)
Statement by PBGC Executive Director Bradley D. Belt on Pension Reform Proposal in Administration's Budget Submission
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
DataPath and drugstore.com, inc. Work To Improve Flexible Spending Benefits
(DataPath, Inc.)
Unintended Consequences: Longer Tours Changing What Employers Pay Guard and Reserve Employees on Military Leave – Compensation.BLR.com Reports
(Business and Legal Reports, Inc.)
United Benefit Advisors (UBA) Outlines 'Phase II' Organizational Strategy, Introduces New Strategic Alliances & Members
(United Benefit Advisors)
United Benefit Advisors Outlines 'Phase II' Organizational Strategy, Introduces New Strategic Alliances and Members
(United Benefit Advisors)
Invesmart Experiences High Demand For RightPath Plan Participant Discretionary Advice Service
(Invesmart, Inc.)
Treasury Releases Blue Book
(U.S. Department of Treasury)
Job-Based Health Coverage Drops for All Californians
(UCLA Center for Health Policy Research)
New Deferred Compensation Rules
(Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLC)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Vice President - Relationship Management
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Retirement Rotation Advisor
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
401(k) Enroller/Contractor – Part-Time
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in ANY STATE
Pension Specialist
for PFS
in GA
Daily Valuation Specialist/DC Record-Keeper
for R-Tech Consultants, Inc.
in CA
Sr. Benefits Design Specialist
for DTE Energy
in MI
Experienced Pension Administrator
for Matthews, Gold, Kennedy & Snow, Inc.
in AZ
Defined Benefit Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Retirement Plan Specialists
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in CO, DC
Conversion Department Manager
for First Mercantile Trust Company
in TN
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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