| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
April 13, 2005
Today's sponsor: International Quality & Productivity Center (IQPC)
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April 27 - 28, 2005 * Miami, FL
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Rev. Rul. 2005-25: HSA Eligibility of Married Individual Not Covered by Spouse's Non-HDHP Coverage (PDF)
Excerpt: "In Situation 1, H has HDHP self-only coverage and no other health coverage, is not enrolled in Medicare and may not be claimed as a dependent on another taxpayer's return. Although W has non-HDHP family coverage, H is not covered under that health plan. H is therefore an eligible individual as defined in section 223(c)(1)." (Internal Revenue Service)
Text of Corrected Rev. Rul. 2005-24: Separate Arrangement Spoils Tax Treatment of HRA (PDF)
This version contains corrections released 4/13/2005, replacing the version released 4/5/2005. Excerpt: "Are amounts paid to an employee under a reimbursement plan that provides for the payment of unused reimbursement amounts in cash or other benefits excludable from gross income under ยง 105(b) of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code)?" (Internal Revenue Service)
Companies Provide Web-Based National Backup Dependent Care Locator
Excerpt: "Allstate, Deloitte, IBM, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Texas Instruments are providing a safety net for workers when they need to find someone to take care of their children or elderly family members. The companies have funded the development of a Web-based backup care locator to give employees access to more than 20,000 alternative caregiver resources nationwide to call on when their regular childcare providers or elder care services are not available." (BenefitNews Connect)
Massachusetts State Bill Wants to Tax Employers for Lack of Health Care Benefits
Excerpt: "Massachusetts lawmakers have proposed a bill that would tax employers that do not provide health benefits to employees if workers and their dependents are enrolled in state Medicaid programs. The bill would assess a 'free rider surcharge' to employers that lack health benefits, under a plan proposed by Massachusetts Senate President Robert Travaglini, D-First Suffolk and Middlesex." (BenefitNews Connect)
Employers Probe Health Care Options, Reduce Share of Premium Costs
Excerpt: "After six years of double-digit rate increases, fewer companies are paying the full bill for insuring their employees as more consider plans that put patients in charge of their medical spending. Only 17 percent of businesses pay employees' entire medical premiums -- down from 25 percent in 2002 and 29 percent in 2000, according to an annual survey of more than 1,000 organizations by the Philadelphia-based Hay Group." (Express-News)
The Pittsburgh Business Group on Health Launches Program to Buy Health Insurance in Bulk
Excerpt: "The Pittsburgh Business Group on Health recently launched a new program (http://www.pbghpa.com/pages/newsandeventspages/inthenews.html) to help businesses reduce their health insurance bills through bulk purchasing. Employers can lock into rate and performance guarantees over multiple years." (BenefitNews Connect)
CMS Releases 'Actuarial Equivalence' Guidance on Retiree Drug Subsidy
Excerpt: "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has given plan sponsors additional guidance on how they can qualify for the estimated $668 per participant retiree drug subsidy offered under Medicare reform." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Pres.cription Drug Prices Up 7% or 4% in 2004, Depending on Study
Excerpt: "The AARP and drug industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America released separate reports on drug pricing, drawing on different data and arriving at different conclusions, although both showed increases." (modernhealthcare.com)
Issue Brief: Frequently Asked Questions on Association Health Plans (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Congress and the administration are considering various proposals to increase the availability, affordability, and accessibility of health insurance. One solution currently being proposed by President Bush and others would allow small businesses to band together to offer health insurance through an association health plan (AHP)." (The American Academy of Actuaries)
Colorado Bill Would Publish a List of Firms Shirking Health Insurance Benefits
Excerpt: "Colorado would publish a list of employers that provide little or no health insurance to their employees if a bill introduced last week in the state Legislature becomes law. Under H.B. 1245, the state would reveal how much any uncompensated care provided to employed individuals is costing the state's Medicaid program." (Business Insurance)
Opinion: 'Get Wal-Mart' Bill Is Just For Show
Excerpt: "There's nothing I'd like more than to ride to the defense of legislation requiring employers to provide a minimal level of health insurance for all employees. But the 'get Wal-Mart' bill just approved by the Maryland legislature is a metaphor for much that is wrong about public policymaking in this country." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
New California Law Modifies Reach of Workplace Domestic Partnership Rights
Excerpt: "Effective [January 2005], AB 205 (codified for the most part as California Family Code Section 297.5) gives California registered domestic partners essentially all of the rights and responsibilities that are granted to, or imposed upon, married persons under California law. (Article originally published February 2, 2005)." (Los Angeles Daily Journal via Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen)
Newly Posted Events
Super Benefits Boot Camp
in Georgia on May 17, 2005
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - Atlanta Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
PBGC Restructures For Better Customer Service Changes Result in New Contacts for Pension Professionals
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))
William Anthes, NEFE, and Michael Clowes, P&I, Receive EBRI Lillywhite Award For Contributions to Economic Security
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
Council to Senate Aging Panel: Employer-Sponsored Retirement Plans Important For National Savings
(American Benefits Council)
Treasury and IRS Issue Ruling on Contributions of Spouses to HSA Accounts
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
Testimony of Assistant Secretary of Treasury Mark J. Warshawsky Before The United States Senate Special Committee on Aging
(U.S. Department of Treasury)
Corporate Benefit Services, LLC., Announces Unprecedented Survey
(Corporate Benefit Services, LLC.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in DC
Sr. Technical Customer Support Representative
for Charles Schwab
in NC
Client Account Manager
for ING U. S. Financial Services
in MA
Client Account Manager
for ING U. S. Financial Services
in MA
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