BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter June 6, 2005 Today's sponsor: IQPC (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) IQPC presents the 2nd annual Curbing Obesity through Workplace Wellness Programs Learn from leading wellness experts at companies such as Campbell Soup Company, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, The Home Depot and PepsiCo Health Enhancement Program on how to best implement, run and maintain your wellness initiatives and programs. The early bird expires soon so register today with CODE: B156. Register by calling 1-800-882-8684. September 26-28, 2005 | San Diego | Hyatt Regency La Jolla (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Text: Summary of Nationwide Health Information Network Request for Information Responses (PDF) 80 pages. Excerpt: "The [document] is a summary of the 512 responses to the Request For Information (RFI) received by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and does not reflect opinions of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Federal government. .... Our purpose in publishing this document is to illustrate the types of responses submitted to address the development of a nationwide health information network." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) Group Seeks to Create Rules for Universal Health Insurance Data-Exchange Software Excerpt: "A group of 50 major health insurers, medical associations, hospitals and IT companies have partnered to develop the first set of information-exchange rules for obtaining patients' health insurance information, the Wall Street Journal reports. Currently, the medical industry has 'no single, easy way of checking whether a patient has a health plan and what it covers,' according to the Journal." (California HealthCare Foundation) Italians Reject Private Health Insurance -- Pay for the Doctor, Not for the Insurance Excerpt: "Between 1991 and 2002 the trend towards private insurance among Italian families has been steadily growing but they still remain 'under-insured' compared to the international standards. Mainly families with higher income from central and northern Italy tend to stipulate insurance policies, their family head often has a university degree or equivalent and is a manager or autonomous professional and his financial portfolio comprises stocks and life insurance." (Agenzia Giornalistica Italia via Physicians for a National Health Program) Overview: Special Ed Cost that Helps Child Overcome Learning Disabilities Can Be Medical Expense Excerpt: "An individual asked for an IRS ruling on whether the tuition for a special education program for the individual's two medically handicapped children would be deductible as a medical care expense. The individual stated that both children had been diagnosed with 'disabilities caused by medical conditions including dyslexia' that impaired their ability to learn." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Overview: CMS Guidance on Medicare Creditable Coverage Disclosure Notices Required to Be Provided Excerpt: "The model language comes as a relief to employers that want to begin preparing their notices, which must be provided to Part D eligible individuals before November 15, 2005. The guidance is also welcome because the notice requirements provide flexibility and are simplified for employers that do not wish to apply for the retiree drug subsidy." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) South Carolina Mental Health Bill Now Law: Insurers Required to Pay for Illnesses Excerpt: "Gov. Mark Sanford did not sign nor veto a bill requiring insurers to pay for mental illnesses, allowing the bill to become law at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday and broadening insurance coverage for an estimated 950,000 South Carolinians. The new regulation goes into effect July 1, 2006, and requires insurers to pay for the treatment of nine mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, at the same level they do physical problems like heart disease or a broken arm." (The Post and Courier) An Insider's Critique of the Health Care System Excerpt: "Many people think the health care system in the United States needs to be fixed. It may be a surprise that Henry A. McKinnell is among them. Mr. McKinnell is chairman and chief executive of Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, which made $14 billion in profit last year, more than any other health care company. But in a new book, 'A Call to Action' ( McGraw-Hill), he says that the system needs radical changes." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Working Paper Abstract: Price and the Health Care Choices of Retirees Excerpt: "This study analyzes health plan choices of retirees in an employer-sponsored health benefits program that resembles 'premium support' models proposed for Medicare. In this program, out-of-pocket premiums depend on when an individual retired and his or her years of service as of that date. Since this price variation is exogenous to unobserved plan attributes and retiree characteristics, it possible to obtain unbiased premium elasticity estimates." (National Bureau of Economic Research) One-Third Of Employers Plan To Add HSAs In 2006 Excerpt: "While only 7% of employers currently offer employees a health savings account (HSA) plan, 32% intend to add an HSA in 2006, according to Mellon's Human Resources & Investor Solutions (HR&IS) division. Mellon's survey, Health Reimbursement Arrangements/Health Savings Accounts: National Trends, found that 2% of employers intend to offer the HSA as a total replacement, and 66% of employers expect to contribute to employees' accounts." (Spencer Benefits Reports) The Lowdown on HSAs: Who Can Have Them, What the Contribution Limits Are, How Taxes Are Affected Excerpt: "Health savings accounts are fast becoming a popular employee benefit. While not for every employer or employee, more companies are giving serious consideration to offering them as an option in their comprehensive medical packages, and that means more employees are going to be asking about them." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required) Health Savings Accounts May Be Just the Ticket for Entrepreneurs Excerpt: "[T]he price of health insurance has long deterred budding entrepreneurs who might otherwise leave the corporate cocoon to strike out on their own. That calculation is changing, in part thanks to the new health savings accounts .... The HSA plan comes in two parts. First, you must buy a health insurance policy with a high deductible. Then you open an HSA, a tax-sheltered account much like an individual retirement account." (BusinessWeek) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General United Kingdom Banking Company Extends Work to Age 75 Excerpt: "A UK financial services company will allow employees to continue working until age 75, the firm announced Thursday. A Web site statement posted by Nationwide Building Society said the new policy, which went into effect Thursday, extended the company's 2001 rule allowing employees to stay on the job until age 70." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Update on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Guidance (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "This new Section 409A dramatically changes how nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements operate. It applies to 457(f) plans, SERP plans, bonus deferral plans and many other types of programs. On December 20th, the IRS provided initial guidance on the new nonqualified deferred compensation rules. While the guidance answers some questions and provides a liberal transition period, it leaves many questions unanswered. [Newsletter was originally published February 2005]" (The Cochlan Group) Overview: Nonqualified Benefit Plan Administration and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 has created quite a stir with those who have established nonqualified benefit plans for key executives and directors. Now that we have received guidance on this legislation from the Treasury and the IRS, we have a clearer picture of what needs to be addressed in these plans. What plan sponsors may not be thinking about, however, is how these new rules have impacted their plan administration provider." (The Cochlan Group) Overview: Nonqualified Benefit Plans Best Practices and the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (PDF) 2 pages. Excerpt: "The recently enacted American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, signed into law by President Bush on October 22, 2004, makes dramatic changes to the tax rules for nearly all nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements with the addition of Section 409A to the Internal Revenue Code. Section 409A indicates that unless specified requirements are met, all amounts deferred may now be includable in a participant's gross income." (The Cochlan Group) Employee Benefit and Executive Compensation Practitioner's Forum Discussion on IRS Circular 230 Excerpt: "The [target page] is the transcript of an informal discussion of employee benefit practitioners held in Washington, D.C. on May 9, 2005. The topic focuses on what steps (if any) employee benefit and executive compensation practitioners are taking in order to meet the new requirements of updated IRS Circular 230, regarding the practice of law before the IRS." (BNA Tax Management) Text: Real Compensation, 1979 to 2003: Analysis from Several Data Sources (PDF) 20 pages. Excerpt: "The National Compensation Survey, the Current Employment Statistics survey, the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, the Current Population Survey, and the real hourly compensation series from the BLS productivity statistics program each offer strengths and limitations in analyzing real compensation" (Monthly Labor Review) Newly Posted Press Releases United Benefit Advisors (UBA) Members Tackle the Forces Shaping Future Healthcare Delivery, Welcome 12 New Member Firms (United Benefit Advisors) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Actuarial Student for Nyhart in IN Advanced Sales Professional for National Life Group in VT 401(k) Specialist for CoAdvantage in FL Benefits Specialist for CoAdvantage in FL Pension Analyst for T. Rowe Price in MD Associate Manager-Client Services for Great-West Retirement Services in WI Employee Benefits Specialist for Principal Financial Group in IL Retirement Plan Administrator for CDM Retirement Consultants, Inc. in MD Defined Contribution Administrator for a third party administration firm located in one of the most affordable cities in the country in OK Transaction Processing Manager-Balance Forward for Great-West Retirement Services in WI Vice President of Operations for BISNet in CA Handy Links: View Today's Active Message Threads Search BenefitsLink Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article) Employee Benefits Library Copyright 2005 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you may reprint this newsletter in full (including this sentence) without obtaining our permission. Published by: BenefitsLink.com, Inc. https://benefitslink.com/about.html 1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H Winter Park FL 32789 (407) 644-4146 Fax: (407) 644-2151 Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D. Housekeeping: How to Sponsor an Issue Subscribe to a Daily Email Announcing Publication of Each Day's Newsletter Privacy Policy Archive of Previous Newsletters If you'd like to STOP this newsletter, just click on this link: STOP sending this newsletter to me