BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter June 15, 2005 Today's sponsor: World Congress (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) The World Congress 1st Annual Human Capital Management Congress The World Congress is proud to present the 1st Annual Human Capital Management Congress taking place this January 23 - 25, 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown in Washington, DC. The HCMC will bring together the most innovative and knowledgeable industry experts addressing the most pertinent issues relating to health and human capital management. The event is uniquely designed to discuss the impact of benefits on employee productivity, healthcare costs and overall company competitiveness. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) General Motors Board Wants Cut in Workers' Health Care Benefits Excerpt: "The board of General Motors has given the United Automobile Workers union until the end of the month to agree to cuts in its members' health care benefits, union officials said Tuesday." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Dad-Friendly Benefits Can Be Nurtured: Corporate Culture, Not Official Policy, Still Governs at Work Excerpt: "In the past five years, many workplaces have recognized the need to 'move more toward integrated work/life cultures' to retain talent, and have done so by offering flextime, parental leave, elder care or other family-friendly benefits to men as well as women .... But family benefits experts say that men who want to use these benefits still face obstacles. Only 16 percent of U.S. organizations offer paid paternity leave and just 6 percent of organizations offer on-site child care ...." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Testimony: Examining Pay-for-Performance Measures and Other Trends in Employer-Sponsored Health Care (PDF) 12 page prepared testimony of Dr. Robert Galvin, M.D. Director, Global Health, General Electric Company and Director, Health Care Value Initiatives for the Health Care Policy Roundtable of the HR POLICY ASSOCIATION before the Subcommittee on Employer-Employee Relations of the Education and Workforce Committee House of Representatives hearing held May 17, 2005. (HR Policy Association) Employees Fear Negative Health Coverage Outcomes, According to Towers Perrin Excerpt: "Employees are strongly influenced by fear and insecurity when they make decisions about their health care options, .... A Towers Perrin news release said more than half of the survey respondents (52%) are negative about their current health coverage and most of those are intensely negative. Specifically, they worry that their current health plan doesn't provide adequate financial protection, cover the services they need or may need, or deliver enough value for the cost." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Opinion: Health Costs Leveling Off? Excerpt: "Politicians and political commentators always assume government must do something new and different if health-care costs are to be held to bearable increases. But the evidence is that health-care costs are being held down by the marketplace, partly in response to health-care legislation passed in the last four years." (The Washington Times) Migraines Cut Into Employee Productivity, Add to Health Care Costs Excerpt: "Migraines are a significant culprit in employers' health care burden. They cost employers $50 billion per year in productivity loss, including 157 million missed workdays per year, according to the National Headache Foundation." (BenefitNews Connect) Specialty Pharmacy Costs to Rise 22.5% in 2005, According to Aon Study Excerpt: " Medicine's cutting edge comes at a price for employers. Specialty pharmacy costs are expected to increase nearly double the rate of total pharmacy costs this year, according to Aon's 2005 health care trend survey." (BenefitNews Connect) Consumer-Directed Health Plan Report â€' Insights from Primary Consumer Research (PDF) 18 pages. Excerpt: "[T]his is the first research of its type to eliminate the possibility of major adverse selection bias because it studied the behavior of consumers whose employers had made the bold move of offering only a CDHP to their employees .... Overall, this research demonstrates the potential for CDHPs to alter consumer behavior in ways that could fundamentally change how consumers think about their health â€' and how they utilize health care resources." (McKinsey & Company) Less than Half of Enrollees Satisfied with Consumer-Directed Health Plans, Study Shows Excerpt: "New research shows 'mixed results' for consumer-directed health plans -- high-deductible, low-premium insurance plans paired with savings accounts that consumers can draw on to pay for health services, the Wall Street Journal reports. Overall, participants are not foregoing health services but are 'frustrated by having to be health care consumers because medical price and quality information still is so hard to come by,' according to the Journal." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Six Letters to the Editor of the New York Times on National Health Insurance Excerpt: "Re 'One Nation, Uninsured,' by Paul Krugman (column, June 13): A simple proposal for universal health care: Every year, lower the age of eligibility for Medicare by some reasonable number that the system can absorb (one, two, five years?) until the entire population is insured. An efficient Medicare administration is in place, doctors and hospitals are familiar with filing procedures, and the public is ready. Let's do it." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Changes to Comply with Sarbanes-Oxley Prove Costly for Companies Excerpt: "The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which came in response to several corporate scandals, has made two-third of companies alter their annual pay processes, more than half change their bonus system and 42% redesign their long-term incentive plans, according to a survey by Hewitt Associates." (BenefitNews Connect) FEI Summary of the FASB Statement 123(R) Resource Group Meeting Held May 26, 2005 (PDF) 6 pages. Excerpt: "On May 26, 2005, the FASB staff held a meeting with the FASB Statement 123(R) Resource Group ... to discuss several issues relating to the implementation of Statement 123(R), Share-Based Payment. The information [in the target page] summarizes the issues and discussion of the Group." (Financial Executives International) Highlights of Consumer Provisions of Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 (PDF) 5 pages. Excerpt: "Additional legislation has already been proposed to 'clean up' conflicting and unclear provisions of the Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. No additional substantive changes are expected." (von Briesen & Roper, s.c.) Executive Summary of the 2005 Global Equity Incentives Survey (PDF) 20 pages. Excerpt: "This Executive Summary provides an overview of the results of our 2005 Global Equity Incentives Survey Report. PricewaterhouseCoopers ... has prepared this summary to illustrate how various companies are handling the ever developing array of tax, accounting and legal regulations related to strategic human capital issues and how responses have evolved since our last survey." (PricewaterhouseCoopers) Newly Posted Events Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans Nationwide on June 23, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans Nationwide on June 23, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans in Georgia on September 23, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans in Michigan on September 29, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Fundamentals of Qualified Plans in Minnesota on September 22, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Increasing 401(k) Participation with Diverse Employee Demographics in Texas on June 28, 2005 presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Dallas Chapter IRA Institute in California on August 8, 2005 presented by BISYS Retirement Services Keeping Up With Form 5500 Nationwide on July 12, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Newly Posted Press Releases ERIC Provides Testimony on Pension Reform and Hybrid Pension Plan Bills (ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)) ADVICE FOR THE FIRST WAVE OF BOOMERS TURNING 59 1/2: RESIST TEMPTATION TO CASH IN RETIREMENT SAVINGS (American Express Retirement Services) AMERICAN EXPRESS RETIREMENT SERVICES ANNOUNCES NEW CLIENT RELATIONSHIP MANAGER FOR SOUTHEASTERN TERRITORY (American Express Retirement Services) Mortgage Benefits Corp. and Work & Family Benefits, Inc. Form Strategic Partnership (Mortgage Benefits Corporation) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Employee Benefit Specialist for The Principal Financial Group in AL Pension Conversion Specialist for American National Insurance Company in TX DC/401(k) Administrator for Gelman Pension Consulting, Inc. in NY Defined Benefit Pension Plan Administrator for The ANGELL Pension Group, Inc. in RI Manager of Stockholder Services for Publix Super Markets, Inc. in FL Account Manager II for Buck Consultants, an ACS Company in GA Manager of Retirement Program for Publix Super Markets, Inc. in FL 401k Market Research Analyst for Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company in CT, DC, DE, KY, MA, MD, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, SC, VA, VT Benefits Manager for Capital Group Companies, Inc. in CA Health & Welfare Benefits Administrator for Dewey Ballantine LLP in NY Benefits/Compensation Director for Metro-Detroit Area in MI 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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