February 9, 2005 Today's sponsor: www.ftwilliam.com (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Register for our free on-line demo! www.ftwilliam.com offers the employee benefits professional the highest quality plan documents and forms at highly competitive prices. Plan documents on a per document basis are only $50/adoption agreement, or $100/volume submitter document (including cross testing). An annual subscription to all documents is only $1,500. The Form 5500 package and the IRS/PBGC form package are only $250 each. Prices include access for five concurrent users. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Bush Budget Would Close Gap in Health Insurance Coverage Tax Credit Excerpt: "A gap in a 2002 federal program that subsidizes the cost of health insurance premiums for some workers and retirees would be partially closed under the Bush administration's proposed 2006 federal budget." (Business Insurance) New Report on Health Insurance Problems of People with Diabetes Excerpt: "Researchers at Georgetown University Health Policy Institute, working in partnership with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), just completed a report on health insurance problems of people with diabetes. [The report] reviews the experiences of 851 people who called the ADA's national call center for help with their health insurance problems. [The 56 page PDF is at http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.net/diabetes_and_health_insurance.pdf]" (healthinsuranceinfo.net) Electronic System for Pres.criptions Sought to Save Money and Improve Quality of Health Care Delivery Excerpt: "The Big Three automakers and Michigan's three biggest health care insurers are joining forces to help 17,000 physicians set up electronic systems for issuing pres.criptions. The initiative is meant to not only help the automakers save money on health care costs but also eliminate the handwritten pres.criptions sometimes blamed for fatal medication mistakes." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required) New White House Estimate Lifts Medicare Drug Benefit Cost to $720 Billion Excerpt: "The Bush administration offered a new estimate of the cost of the Medicare drug benefit ..., saying it would cost $720 billion in the next 10 years. That is much more than the $400 billion Congress assumed when it passed legislation creating the benefit in late 2003. But administration officials said the numbers were not comparable. The original estimate was for the years 2004 to 2013. The new estimate covers the period from 2006, when the drug benefit becomes available, to 2015." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Smoke-Free Zones Gain New Territory and Companies Reject Smokers or Require Nicotine Tests Excerpt: "The push comes at a time when businesses are already targeting smokers in an effort to bring down healthcare costs. Some corporations are refusing to hire smokers - or firing them. A larger number are putting increasing emphasis on counseling and stop-smoking programs, even as they ban smoking anywhere on their property." (The Christian Science Monitor) Chrysler's Healthy Way to Slash Costs -- Execs Must Submit to Medical Tests Excerpt: "To cut costs that add $1 400 (R8 540) to the price of every vehicle sold, DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler is asking executives to submit to an illness-detecting test to qualify for a discount on their health insurance. Executives and non-union professional staff must have a blood pressure check and tests for diabetes and high cholesterol to save $120 on their 2006 healthcare costs, said Tom Hadrych, Chrysler vice-president of compensation and benefits." (Business Report) The Dilemma of Regulating the Individual Health Insurance Market— Findings from Study of Seven States (PDF) 62 pages. Excerpt: "Many states have attempted to reform their individual health insurance market by requiring carriers to sell coverage to all applicants regardless of age or health; creating high-risk pools for those with preexisting conditions; and placing limits on the extent to which premiums can vary by age, sex, or health status. This study assesses the effectiveness of such regulatory reforms in seven states." (The Commonwealth Fund) Reforming America's Individual Health Insurance Market -- Seven-State Analysis of Regulatory Reforms Excerpt: "States should adopt stricter regulations to ensure that individual health insurance is available and affordable for Americans everywhere, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health report." (HealthDay via Yahoo! News) Opinion: Of Boiled Frogs and Health Savings Accounts Excerpt: "Among the many dynamics changing the marketplace, HSAs are the newest. .... Unlike the other market dynamics, they increase consumer interest in their choices, and completely change point-of-service price and value. The question isn't whether the water is warming, but how much and how fast. A market orientation assessment is the first step to improving performance in a market environment that has clearly-and irreversibly-changed course. Ignore the changes? Get ready to be boiled." (Christopher Guess via HealthLeaders News) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Overview: Department of Treasury Proposed Regulations on the Tax Treatment of Supplemental Wages (PDF) 4 pages. Excerpt: "GCD Note: The proposed regulations in no way change the FICA taxation of wages." (Gardner Carton & Douglas) Newly Posted Events A Brave New World: 403(b) Proposed Regulations Nationwide on March 1, 2005 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits Topic: DOL Enforcement Initiatives for 2005 and Beyond in Massachusetts on February 16, 2005 presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) Newly Posted Press Releases Employers Need More Time for Income Deferral Elections (ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)) Women for a Social Security Choice Says Women Have Divergent Opinions on Social Security Reform, and All Views Deserve Discussion (Women for a Social Security Choice (WSSC)) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Employee Benefits Consultant Regional Manager - 92612 for Wachovia in GA Benefits Implementation Lead for Mellon Human Resources and Investor Solutions in NJ Employee Benefit Service Center Representative for Dynamic Healthcare Consulting Firm in TX Healthcare Consultant for Dynamic Healthcare Consulting Firm in TX DC/401 (k) Plan Administrator for Benefit TechGroup, Inc. in NJ, PA Operations Administrator for Mellon Financial in NJ Paralegal - Employee Benefits for Law Firm in OH Handy Links:
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