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March 22, 2005
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Big Three Workers Give an Inch on Health Care
Excerpt: "[T]his year, the union agreed to let Chrysler start imposing the first deductibles to be paid by Big Three workers, ranging from $100 to $1,000 for workers or retirees who use preferred provider organizations, known as P.P.O.'s. Chrysler workers were informed in a letter on March 10, and the development was first reported this weekend by The Detroit News." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Agreement between Chrysler, UAW Will Increase Out-of-Pocket Health Care Costs for Employees
Excerpt: "Chrysler, the Detroit-based division of DaimlerChrysler, and United Auto Workers have reached an agreement scheduled to begin on April 1 that will increase out-of-pocket health care costs for 35,000 company employees and retirees, 'setting a precedent that its crosstown rivals may seek to follow,' the Detroit News reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Overview: HIPAA Privacy Requirements and Health Care Flexible Spending Accounts
Excerpt: "45 CFR Section 164.530(k) provides an exception for many administrative safeguards under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) if an employer sponsors a group insured health plan that does not create, maintain, or receive 'protected health information' (PHI)." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC)

University of Montana to Provide Benefits to Same-Sex Partners
Excerpt: "The Montana State Board of Regents has voted to extend health benefits to same-sex partners of state university employees." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Work & Family Mailbox: Question, and Answer, on Seeking a Leave of Absence from Work
Excerpt: "Question: Do you have any advice for someone contemplating a leave of absence? This is due to job burnout. I've worked for this company for 17 years and I'm not sure how to approach my boss with this issue. I know my doctor would readily give me a note saying some time off was needed." (The Wall Street Journal Online via CareerJournal.com)

Overview: HIPAA Security Rule Preparedness (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "REMINDER: Companies Must Comply with HIPAA's Security Rule deadline by April 20, 2005. What must be done by April 20, 2005: Written Security Policies & Procedures; Plan Documents; Business Associate Agreements; Security Official; Workforce Training." (Powell Goldstein LLP)

EBSA Compliance Assistance Guide -- Recent Changes in Health Care Law (PDF)
51 pages. Excerpt: "This booklet provides an overview of ... changes in Federal law that can affect the health benefits of millions of working Americans and their families. The questions and answers in this publication address the benefits and requirements of ... four pieces of legislation and the regulations that interpret them ....While this information does not cover all the specifics of these laws, it does offer employers who sponsor group health plans an understanding of their obligations." (U.S Employee Benefits Security Administration)

Health Care: 'An Unsustainable Model,' Spending $1.7 Trillion Per Year
Excerpt: "For many of those at the annual conference of the National Business Group on Health, the bad news for health care was at least six years old, but the conclusions remained disturbing. Helen Darling, the president of the NBGH, began the conference in Washington, D.C., by noting that the current health care system, with a price tag of $1.7 trillion that is expected to grow to as much as $3.6 trillion in eight years, is 'an unsustainable model." (Spencer Benefits Reports)

USP Model Guidelines Are Workable, but Present Negotiating Challenges, Say MCOs
Excerpt: "While the United States Pharmacopeia has delivered its final list of 146 therapeutic categories and pharmacologic classes to CMS, managed care organizations (MCOs) hoping to provide pres.cription drug coverage under the Medicare drug benefit now wait with bated breath to see what CMS will do with the USP model guidelines." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com)

The Arkansas 'Any Willing Provider' Law Has Catch
Excerpt: "The 'any willing provider' law recently passed by the Arkansas Legislature may lead people to think they can now go to any doctor or hospital they choose and their insurance company will pay for it. .... An any willing provider law says the physician or hospital you choose outside the network would still have to contract with your network and agree to its cost regulations, said ... America's Health Insurance Plans in Washington, a national trade group." (The Morning News)

IBM Retirees Bemoan Higher Costs: Ex-Big Blue Workers Say Company's Benefit Promises Not Kept
Excerpt: "'IBM is not immune to the steep increases we're seeing in health-care costs,' Kendra Collins, a spokeswoman at the Armonk headquarters, said. 'Our company pays more than $1.5 billion a year on health-care related benefits, including some of the most competitive retiree health-care benefits found in the industry today. We offer a range of coverage options -- including ones where the retiree has no monthly payment -- to help them manage costs.'" (Poughkeepsie Journal)

Without Reservation of Rights Clause, Promise of 'Lifetime' Health Benefits May Mean 'for Life'
Excerpt: "Designating retiree benefits as 'lifetime' may really mean 'for life' if there is not a reservation of the right to amend or terminate the plan. This court easily distinguished this case from its decision in Vallone, in which it noted that 'lifetime benefits' could be construed to mean 'good for life unless revoked or modified.' The court was also quick to add that its holding was in line with decisions in other circuits ...." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Trouble Spots and Compliance Traps Remain with Health Savings Account Implementation
Excerpt: "During a March 8 session at the National Managed Health Care Congress in Washington, D.C., [two benefits attorneys], walked attendees through several HSA-related trouble spots and compliance traps that employers and health plans have stumbled into." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Survey: Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Costs Exceed Estimates -- Companies Question Cost vs. Benefit
Excerpt: "Public companies have had to dig even deeper than previously estimated to pay the costs of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, according to a just-completed survey by Financial Executives International (FEI). [A Powerpoint presentation is available at the target page.]" (Financial Executives International)

Overview: FAS 123(R): Expensing Stock Options
Excerpt: "In December, the Financial Accounting Standards Board adopted a new accounting standard, requiring the expensing of all stock options that will take effect by the middle of 2005. Under prior rules, if certain criteria are met, then only footnote disclosure (and not expensing) is required." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC)

Overview: Recent Guidance of Interest to Employee Benefit Plan Service Providers and Administrators (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "During recent weeks, both the Securities and Exchange Commission ... and the Department of Labor ... have issued important guidance affecting plan service providers and administrators. The SEC's final regulations on redemption fees indirectly impose requirements on plan intermediaries, including plan administrators. Proposed regulations and a prohibited transaction class exemption issued by the DOL provide a solution to the dilemma of what to do with an 'abandoned plan.'" (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)

Employers Confront Growing Confusion over Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "Some states are extending employment law mandates to cover same-sex partners (and spouses), while others and the federal government enact prohibitions. Juxtaposed against each other, these two trends add up to confusion about what's legally required, what's optional, and what employers and benefit providers should be doing. Here are questions to ask as you analyze your benefit plans." (Society for Human Resource Management)

Executive MBA Programs Expect More Corporate Support as Economy Recovers
Excerpt: "Over the past four years, fewer employees got a fully paid ride to executive MBA programs from their companies, according to the Executive MBA Council. But as the economy recovers, some observers predict employers will offer more tailored educational perks, and workers will have access to additional executive programs." (Employee Benefit News)

Expatriate Administration: New Realities and HR Challenges
Excerpt: "In the past, many expatriate assignments were ... sought-after. Expatriates were usually assigned to relatively stable, desirable locations, received generous allowances, and often were viewed as receiving high-visibility training for corporate advancement. Now, ... due to a convergence of trends that is forcing human resource professionals to re-examine their expatriate administration so that these assignments continue to be viewed as beneficial by both the corporation and employees." (BenefitNews.com)

Companies Cut Stock Plans for Rank-And-File Workers
Excerpt: "One of the last big perks for rank-and-file workers in Silicon Valley is on the chopping block. Technology companies -- including titans Hewlett-Packard, Oracle and Microsoft -- are cutting back or eliminating popular plans that allow workers to buy company stock at a hefty discount. The cutbacks in employee stock purchase plans, known as ESPPs, signal that companies are giving up hope Congress will block new accounting rules that will force them to deduct the cost of stock ...." (The Mercury News)

Newly Posted Events

401(k) Plan Workshop
in California on April 29, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Missouri on April 29, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Washington on May 4, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in New Mexico on May 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Pennsylvania on May 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in California on May 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Georgia on May 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Colorado on May 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Texas on May 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Minnesota on May 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

401(k) Plan Workshop
in Nebraska on May 13, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Health Insurance & Group Insurance Sales Executive
for Alliance Benefit Group of Kansas City, Inc.
in IA, KS, MN, MO

Plan Consultant/Senior Administrator
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ

Financial Administrator: Institutional Retirement Plan Services
for The Vanguard Group
in PA

Retirement Plan Administrator
for Valley Forge Consulting Corp
in PA



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