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March 30, 2005
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Federal Judge to Rule Soon on EEOC Retiree Benefits Regulation
Excerpt: "A federal judge is expected to rule soon-perhaps by the end of this week-on whether the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has the authority to finalize and publish a rule that would allow employers to offer richer health care benefits to younger retirees than to Medicare-eligible retirees." (Business Insurance)

Court Ruling Overview: Insurer Must Disclose Disability Claims Management Guidelines to Participant
Excerpt: "As this court pointed out, the DOL's ERISA claims procedure regulations require a plan's claims procedures to include administrative processes and safeguards, such as protocols and guidelines, to ensure that claims are decided consistently." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Bill Would Require All Minnesotans to Purchase Basic Health Insurance by 2007
Excerpt: "All Minnesota state residents would be required to purchase basic health insurance by 2007, and health insurance companies would have to offer such a plan at a set price without consideration of age, health history, gender or status under a bipartisan bill (SF 1933) introduced Tuesday, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Health Care Costs Leading Efforts to Provide Adequate and Affordable Insurance to Delaware Residents
Excerpt: "A third proposal for health-insurance reform in Delaware could promote a single-payer proposal to ensure health care for virtually every resident. It would place the state in the role now played by insurance companies. While the system might raise state expenses, its advocates say, it would reduce overall health-care costs by reducing paperwork and inefficiency." (Coast Press via Physicians for a National Health Program)

An Introductory Resource Guide for Implementing the HIPAA Security Rule (PDF)
137 pages. Excerpt: "This document has been developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in furtherance of its statutory responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) of 2002, Public Law 107-347." (National Institute of Standards and Technology via HIPAAdvisory.com)

Overview: HIPAA Security Implementation Deadline Looms for 'Large Health Plans'
Excerpt: "The deadline for 'large health plans' to comply with the security standards for electronic protected health information ('PHI') under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is April 20, 2005. 'Large health plans' are those which paid premiums or claims of over $5 million in their most recent plan year. Employers with such plans should ensure that they will meet the upcoming deadline." (Faegre & Benson LLP)

Required vs. Addressable Specifications: Mastering Key Part of HIPAA Security Rule
Excerpt: "Opportunity knocks in the form of the HIPAA security rule's 'addressable' specifications, a provision that gives covered entities unusual latitude in complying with the last major section of HIPAA. But word on the street is that covered entities are just barely starting to tackle compliance with a demanding rule that takes effect April 20." (REPORT ON MEDICARE COMPLIANCE via AISHealth.com)

Overview: HHS Paper Addressing HIPAA Security Rule's Physical Safeguards Requirement
Excerpt: "Compliance with the security rule is required by April 20, 2005 (April 20, 2006 for small health plans--i.e., those with annual receipts of $5 million or less). The guidance in this paper will be helpful to covered entities that have employees or that own or control information systems, business premises, or other physical assets." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA))

Cancer Drug Costs Skyrocket, but Not the Benefits, According to Some Experts
Excerpt: "'We are spending huge sums of money on treatments that are offering only modest benefits,' says Dr. Richard Deyo, a University of Washington professor who recently wrote a book on the subject. .... Genentech and other industry supporters argue that when it comes to cancer, success is measured in the smallest of increments, and that the high cost of developing new treatments - about $850 million per drug on average - warrant the high price tags." (Las Vegas Sun, Inc.)

U.S. Spending for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Treatment, 1991–2001
Excerpt: "Spending for mental health and substance abuse (MHSA) treatment in the United States totaled $104 billion in 2001, representing 7.6 percent of all health care spending. The nominal MHSA annual spending growth rate from 1991 to 2001 was 5.6 percent, almost one percentage point below the growth rate for all health care (6.5 percent)." (Health Affairs)

CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield to Reward Doctors for Using Electronic System
Excerpt: "CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield launched yesterday a program to pay doctors as much as $20,000 to install electronic patient records systems designed to reduce medical errors and allow for more precise tracking of the care patients receive. With the program, CareFirst joins a growing 'pay-for-performance' movement in which insurers and employers seek to provide incentives for doctors to provide better care." (The Baltimore Sun; one-time registration required)

CareFirst BlueCross & BlueShield to Pay Doctors for Following Health Care Quality Criteria
Excerpt: "A Baltimore-area health plan is joining the Bridges to Excellence pay-for-performance initiative, becoming the first health plan to offer to pay $3.6 million of its own money over a three-year period in financial incentives to providers who take concrete steps to improve the quality of care they provide." (Business Insurance)

Insurers Expand Pay-for-Performance Programs to PPOs
Excerpt: "Many physician pay-for-performance programs got their start among tightly managed HMO networks. But as quality incentive initiatives grow more sophisticated, some insurers have started measuring and rewarding performance among providers in PPO networks." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)

Exporting the Buyers Health Care Action Group Purchasing Model: Lessons from Other Communities (PDF)
28 pages. Excerpt: "When first implemented in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, the Buyers Health Care Action Group's (BHCAG) purchasing approach received considerable attention as an employer-managed, consumer-driven health care model embodying many of the principles of managed competition. First BHCAG and, later, a for-profit management company attempted to export this model to other communities." (The Milbank Quarterly via The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

Federal Judge Allows Aluminum Maker Ormet to Raise Retiree Health Premiums
Excerpt: "A federal judge has allowed aluminum maker Ormet Corp. to raise retiree health insurance costs, clearing the path for an exit from bankrup.tcy. According to the Associated Press (AP), Judge Barbara Sellers ruled that the aluminum maker can raise monthly premiums by $340 for a couple and $640 for a family per month in order to cut retiree health costs by one-third, from $15 million to $10 million a year." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Without Data, Consumer Driven Health Plans Can't Transform Industry, Experts Say
Excerpt: "Three years after launching its CDH products, Aetna, Inc.'s account-based plans have had a positive effect on member behavior, according to John Rowe, M.D., the insurer's CEO and chairman. But until consumers have access to meaningful cost and quality data about providers, CDH will lead to only incremental improvements, asserted George Halvorson, chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plans and Hospitals." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)

Opinion: Health Saving Accounts Should Be Free of State Tax
Excerpt: "In states where these plans are available, we have seen an enthusiastic and rapidly growing acceptance by employers and employees alike. Whether to make HSAs free of state tax is the question facing Maine's Taxation Committee in L.D. 195. HSAs are already free from federal taxes, and Maine needs to follow almost all other states that permit the deductibility. Such legislation would reduce the overall cost of such insurance, making it even more affordable." (Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram via MaineToday.com)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Summary: SEC March 29, 2005, Release of SAB 107 on 'Share-Based Payments'
Excerpt: "The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released today, Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 107, 'Share-Based Payments.' The interpretations in the SAB express views of the SEC regarding the interaction between FASB Statement 123(R), 'Share-Based Payment' and certain SEC rules and regulations and provide the SEC's views regarding the valuation of share-based payment arrangements for public companies." (Financial Executives International)

SEC Gives Leeway in Measuring Employees' Stock Option's Value
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission upheld new rules requiring companies to count employees' stock options against profits but sweetened the pill for Silicon Valley by allowing for corporate latitude in measuring the value of the prized perks. Under guidelines issued Tuesday by the SEC, companies were told that to a reasonable extent, they didn't have to all use the same methods to value employees' stock options." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

SEC Accounting Bulletin Gives Range of Reasonable Conduct Acceptable in Stock Options Expensing
Excerpt: "As expected, federal regulators on Tuesday released additional guidance on the new stock options expensing rule designed in part to ease fears that the system will be too hard to put into place. The Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) Office of the Chief Accountant and its Division of Corporation Finance released Staff Accounting Bulletin ... 107 about the Financial Accounting Standards Board's ... options expensing requirement scheduled to go into effect later this year ...." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Commentary: 9th Circuit Decision on Severance Arrangements
Excerpt: "Broc Romanek of TheCorporateCounsel.net Blog provides some interesting commentary on the recent case of SEC v. Gemstar-TV Guide International issued last week by the 9th Circuit which 'ruled en banc that severance payments - at least those in the 5x base salary range - are 'extraordinary payments' under the meaning of Section 1103 of Sarbanes-Oxley.' " (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)

Newly Posted Events

Employee Benefits Conference
in Illinois on May 24, 2005
presented by Illinois CPA Society

Medical Affairs
in District of Columbia on May 16, 2005
presented by American Conference Institute

Mental Illness Disability Insurance Claims
in New York on May 23, 2005
presented by American Conference Institute

Obstetric Malpractice
in Illinois on April 20, 2005
presented by American Conference Institute

Pharmaceutical Benefit Management
in District of Columbia on April 18, 2005
presented by American Conference Institute

Sexual Harassment? 401(k) Plan Headaches? Payroll Tax Problems?
in California on April 5, 2005
presented by Swidler Berlin LLP

Welding Rod Litigation
in Illinois on June 20, 2005
presented by American Conference Institute

Newly Posted Press Releases

Ten Common Mistakes Corporations Make When Designing Benefit Packages for Their Top Brass
(Mullin Consulting)

ICC Plan Solutions Hires Industry Sales Veteran to Lead New Business Development
(Metrics Partners)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Implementation Pension Analyst
for CitiStreet
in MA

Trust Sales Administrator III
for Regions Financial Corporation
in IN, MO

DC Conversions/Implementation
for Recruiting Firm
in MA

Manager Integrated Absence Program
for Kaleida Health
in NY

ERISA Senior Compliance Officer
for Bank of America
in MA

ERISA Associate
for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP
in GA

Plan Administrator / Client Account Manager
for Northwest Plan Services, Inc.
in WA

Consultant - Health Plan Audit
for Mercer Human Resource Consulting
in CA

Pension Actuarial Consultant
for Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA

Plan Administrator
for Valley Forge Asset Management Corp.
in PA



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