BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter June 9, 2005 Today's sponsor: Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Explore the Seven Wonders of the Benefits Compliance World No HR or benefits professional's library would be complete without EBIA's compliance manuals. Save time and steer clear of compliance traps by joining thousands of professionals who rely on our manuals. "I know I can rely on your manuals, above and beyond any others, to be clear, concise, easy to understand, and accurate!" -Director of Flexible Benefits (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Evidence-Based Medicine Success Story: Wisconsin Company's Yearly Medical Cost Increases only 4% Excerpt: "Evidence-based medicine is helping a large Wisconsin printer control its medical costs and keep employees healthier at the same time. While other companies experienced double-digit inflation during the last several years, Quad/Graphics held its medical cost increases to 4% per year, partly because of its emphasis on using the latest evidence from scientific and medical research to make health care decisions and treatment plans." (Employee Benefit News) Building the Case for a Health Improvement Culture at Work Excerpt: "What's needed is a comprehensive effort that creates a total culture of health improvement - from benefits and employee communications to the offerings on cafeteria menus and in vending machines. This requires major corporate commitment and, as you suggest, good data and skillful analysis is necessary to make the case for that backing." (Employee Benefit News) Supplemental Technical Guide with More Answers on Reinsurance for Health Insurance Programs (PDF) 4 pages. Excerpt: "Many states are interested in reinsurance as a strategy to maintain or increase health insurance coverage. SCI's October 2004 Issue Brief, The Role of Reinsurance in State Efforts to Expand Coverage, concluded that reinsurance programs must be built carefully in order to achieve this goal. This In Focus is designed as a supplemental technical guide for state policymakers who are interested in using reinsurance to expand or maintain health insurance." (State Coverage Initiatives) HIPAA-Covered Entities Struggle to Accommodate Diverse Religious Beliefs Excerpt: "As ... covered entities ... in rural communities and elsewhere are discovering, their patients and employees often hold strong religious and spiritual beliefs that may appear to conflict with the privacy rule. As such, their policies and procedures need to bend to embrace these beliefs as much as possible. They say an understanding of these beliefs and clear communication with staff and patients about potential conflicts can help prevent violations and weed out workers who are ...." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com) HHS Releases Health IT Network RFPs Excerpt: "The Health and Human Services Department released requests for proposals late yesterday and today that will pave the way for developing a national health information network infrastructure that will support the exchange of electronic health records. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, which resides in HHS, posted the multiple RFPs on FedBizOpps. Proposals are due July 7 for three of the RFPs." (Government Computer News) Health Plans Increase Their Investments in Electronic Medical Records Excerpt: "Electronic medical records (EMRs) have the potential to lower administrative costs and improve clinical quality. To date, however, the primary investors in such systems have been providers, .... But payers like BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee are starting to build EMRs, betting that infrastructure costs could be offset by improved quality of care and reductions in administrative spending, unnecessary treatments and duplicative tests and medications." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com) 2005 U.S. Organ and Tissue Transplant Cost Estimates (PDF) 36 pages. Excerpt: "This 2005 report represents Milliman's triennial summary of estimated US average costs per member per month (PMPM), billed charges, and utilization related to the first year of treatment for organ and tissue transplants. Interim updates of Tables 1 (costs PMPM and utilization) and 2 (billed charge detail) should be available in the first quarters of 2006 and 2007." (Milliman) Report: Paying a Premium -- The Added Cost of Care for the Uninsured Excerpt: "This study quantifies, for the first time, the dollar impact on private health insurance premiums when doctors and hospitals provide health care to uninsured people. [You MAY be able to link to Key Findings, the Full Report, the 2005 Premium Increases Map, and the 2010 Premium Increases Map on the target page.]" (Families USA) Full Report: Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Implications for Health Care Quality and Cost (PDF) 37 pages. Excerpt: "This report provides an overview of trends in the adoption of these consumer-directed approaches, and a synthesis of what is known about their effectiveness." (RAND via California HealthCare Foundation) Executive Summary: Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Implications for Health Care Quality and Cost (PDF) 2 pages. Excerpt: "This report provides an overview of trends in the adoption of these consumer-directed approaches, and a synthesis of what is known about their effectiveness." (RAND via California HealthCare Foundation) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Recalibrating Turnover Cost Calculators: Turnover Can Produce Savings in Employee Benefit Programs Excerpt: "Turnover can produce substantial savings in employee benefit programs, particularly when younger workers replace older workers. Generally, total benefit costs for older workers are 20 percent higher than for younger workers, according to Jamie Hale, senior consultant at Watson Wyatt. Most of the higher costs come from health care premiums, which are age-related." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required) June 3, 2005, Letter to IRS Requesting Code Section 409A Guidance (PDF) 16 pages. Excerpt: "We are writing on behalf of several clients to request guidance under section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code ..., enacted as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 .... The issues discussed [in the letter] are extremely important to our clients as they attempt to address the impact of Code section 409A and the transition guidance in Notice 2005-1 on their compensation and benefit plans." (Groom Law Group) Overview: Next Round of Deferred Compensation Guidance Expected 'Mid-Summer' (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "As the summer draws near, many are asking whether Treasury and the IRS will meet their goal for issuing the second round of guidance on Code section 409A. Ever since the issuance of Notice 2005-1 late last year, Treasury and IRS officials have indicated that a second round of guidance will be issued by 'mid-summer' 2005, but informal conversations with Treasury and IRS officials indicate that the issuance may slip to late summer." (Groom Law Group) How Best to Divest? -- With Benefits for All Parties Involved Excerpt: "Marrying disparate benefit packages - as in a merger or acquisition - is definitely a tougher row to hoe than simply carving out and selling a business unit. But that's not to say there aren't some rocks that must be removed or avoided to ensure smooth tilling with a divestiture. .... If the employees are the essential ingredients, then maintaining an acceptable benefits package will help ensure the success of the divested business unit as a stand-alone entity, ...." (Employee Benefit News) Newly Posted Events Advanced Pension Conference in Illinois on September 7, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Newly Posted Press Releases ERIC Supports Advance Of Electronic Health Information Before National Committee On Vital Health Statistics (ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)) The ERISA Industry Committee Commends Ch. Boehner, House Retirement Leadership, on Step Toward Pension Reform (ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)) Council Testifies Before IRS on Supplemental Wage Withholding Requirements (American Benefits Council) ASC Acquires SMART Pension Systems (ASC) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Health Insurance Specialist for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, HHS in DC, MD, VA Defined Benefits Manager for Great-West Retirement Services in WI Client Management Consultant for CapTrust Financial Advisors in NC Benefits Manager/Director DOE for Odell Consulting in CA Senior Financial Benefits Analyst - 2116 for Aerojet in CA Senior Benefits Compliance Representative - 2127 for Aerojet in CA Senior 401(k) Administrator for Pencor, Inc. in FL 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. 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