BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter June 29, 2005 Today's sponsor: ALM (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) State Family Leave Law That Is More Generous Than FMLA Not Preempted by ERISA Excerpt: "In [Advisory Opinion 2005-13A] the DOL addressed whether ERISA preempts certain provisions in a state leave law that are similar to (but more generous than) the FMLA. Specifically, the DOL examined whether the leave substitution provisions in the Washington State Family Care Act ... are preempted by ERISA." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)) Experiment Launches to Share Health Data Across the Country Excerpt: "The effort is intended as the first step toward creating a national health information exchange network built on common, open standards." (eWeek.com) Insurer Designated as Plan Administrator Had Duty to Provide SPD Excerpt: "[The court] found ... that the insurer was the plan administrator when the participant first became covered under the plan because at that time the insurance policy-- which was apparently the only plan document-- identified the insurer as the 'administrator." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)) Medical Experts Consulted in ERISA Benefit Appeals Need Not Be Licensed in Any Particular State Excerpt: "In the face of several patient claim denials, a Michigan chiropractor asked the DOL for advice on whether health care professionals consulted by plan fiduciaries should be licensed either in the state where the health services were provided or in the state where the claimant resides." (Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)) Hometown Jury Acquits HealthSouth CEO Excerpt: "Former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy is acquitted of all charges in the government's fraud case against him. The acquittal in Scrushy's hometown of Birmingham, Ala., breaks a recent string of convictions in high-profile corporate corruption cases. But the government's overall track record in prosecuting white-collar crime is mixed." (National Public Radio) Older Adults in the Individual Insurance Market Excerpt: "[A]dults ages 50 to 64 who rely on the individual insurance market for health coverage pay much higher premiums than their counterparts with employer coverage." (The Commonwealth Fund) Working Paper: Generic Scrip Share and the Price of Brand-Name Drugs: The Role of the Consumer Excerpt: "[A] 10% increase in the consumer's generic scrip share is associated with a 15.6% decline in the average price he pays for brand-name drugs." (Bureau of National Economic Research) Consumer Directed Health Care: Helping to Manage Costs and Quality? (PDF) 38 slides (a PDF document) from a presentation by Grace Grace-Marie Turner. (Galen Institute) House Committee Considers Bill To Allow U.S. Residents To Purchase Health Insurance in Any State Excerpt: "Rep. John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday spoke at a House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee hearing in support of a bill (HR 2355) he is sponsoring that would allow U.S. residents to purchase health insurance in any state, CQ HealthBeat reports." (KaiserNetwork.org) Court Ruling Could Unravel Can.ada's Healthcare System Excerpt: "The supreme court of Can.ada struck down a Quebec law on Thursday that had banned private health insurance for services covered under medicare, Can.ada's socialized health-care program." (Galen Institute) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General FASB Staff Position: Freestanding Financial Instruments Originally Issued as Employee Compensation (PDF) 3 pages. Excerpt: "The Board directed the FASB staff ... to defer at this time the requirement of FASB Statement No. 123 ... Share-Based Payment, that a freestanding financial instrument originally subject to Statement 123(R) becomes subject to the recognition and measurement requirements of other applicable generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) when the rights conveyed by the instrument to the holder are no longer dependent on the holder being an employee of the entity." (Financial Accounting Standards Board) Bad Boys (and Girls) Get Clawed Back by Deferred Comp Legislation (PDF) 15 pages. Excerpt: "Whether Senator Shumer knew it or not, he was legislating a 'bad boy' provision with a 'clawback' [into section 304 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002]." (Richard E. Wood of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP) Develop a Deferred Compensation Action Plan Excerpt: "Accordingly, employers have six months or less left in 2005 [to] identify all their deferred compensation plans subject to section 409A [and] to review these plans for changes required [by year-end] to comply with section 409A ..." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP) Washington Post Reporters Discuss 2004 Executive Compensation Survey Excerpt: "Post reporters David Hilzenrath and Terence O'Hara were online to discuss The Post's survey of executive compensation at Washington-area companies." (Washington Post) 2004 Executive Compensation Report Excerpt: "The executive suite at many companies remains a charmed place in which boards not only reward executives with rich salaries and bonuses but also help them with such routine expenses as commuting to work and preparing their taxes." (Washington Post) EBSA Advisory Opinion 2005-17A Dated June 22, 2005. Excerpt: "This responds to your request for an advisory opinion on behalf of the Massachusetts Public Employees Fund ... [Y]ou ask whether participation by five employees of the Fund would adversely affect the Fund's status as a 'governmental plan' within the meaning of section 3(32) of ERISA." (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor) Newly Posted Events Annual "Washington Update" Program in Massachusetts on September 30, 2005 presented by New England Employee Benefits Council Newly Posted Press Releases Workers: Health Insurance Most Important Benefit (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)) 2005 Summer Retirement Professionals Buyers Guide Mailing Date Announced (Metrics Partners) 2005 412i Summit- Exhibitors and Sponsorships Sold Out! (412i Company) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings 401(k) Client Relationship Manager for The Douglas Group in CA, CO, NJ, NY, PA 401(k) Enroller/Contractor for Transamerica in ANY STATE Pension Administrator for R.J.L. Pension Services, Inc. in FL Senior Benefits Analyst for Tenet Healthcare in TX Sr Pension Analyst for T Rowe Price in MD 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