BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 1, 2005 Today's sponsor: Healthcare IQ/IQPC (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) 2nd CREATING, DESIGNING & MARKETING HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS Practical Solutions for Reducing Healthcare Costs and Improving Enrollment in HSAs for Employers and Health Plans September 12 - 14, 2005 * Washington, DC LEARN FROM: US Department of Treasury * IBM * Microsoft * Mid States Mechanical * Eddie Bauer * Bacou-Dalloz USA * Equitrac Corporation * Collier Pest Control * McNeil Consumer and Specialty Pharmaceuticals * National Federation of Independent Business * Mellon Bank * Lumenos * Fallon Community Health Plan * The Haelan Group * Health Savings Administrators * Caregain * Alston & Bird * eFlexGroup * Human Resources Consulting Group * Consumer Driven Market Report (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) HSAs Unlikely to Help Cover Substantial Numbers of Uninsured Americans Excerpt: "Fewer than 1 million of the nation's 45 million uninsured are likely to get new health coverage as a result of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) coupled with high-deductible health plans, says a new report by researchers Sherry Glied and Dahlia Remler of Columbia University." (Century Foundation) Cost and Quality Implications of Consumer-Directed Health Plans 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) Opinion: Making HSAs Better Excerpt: "A better approach would allow insurers to design their plans so that different deductibles (and copayments) apply to different medical services. Where patient discretion is possible and appropriate, the deductible should be high." (National Center for Policy Analysis) What is Role of Insurers in Helping Employers with Medicare Part D Rules? (PDF) At pp. 1-3 of 16-page document. (Milliman) Mid-2005 TPA Industry Report Excerpt: "What's the impact on SPBA and the TPA industry of entities with connections to former competitors of the TPA concept and/or from other outside entities such as medical, financial and other businesses? Frankly, we worried about that. SPBA members often refer to the association as 'family' and there has always been a special mindset and spirit in the industry." (Society of Professional Benefit Administrators) Overview: Court Enjoins EEOC Rule Allowing Coordination of Retiree Health Benefits With Medicare Excerpt: "Prompted by a lawsuit filed by AARP, a federal court in Pennsylvania has prohibited the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from issuing its final rule on coordinating retiree medical benefits with Medicare." (Watson Wyatt) The True Cost of Mental Healthcare: What You Don't Know May Be Hurting Your Bottom Line (PDF) At pp. 8-12 of 16-page document. (Milliman) Research Suggests Link Between Dental Health and Overall Health Excerpt: "Delta and other insurance companies have stepped up marketing efforts to employers, stressing the link between oral health and general health. They cite research suggesting oral infections could be a risk factor in cardiovascular and respiratory disease, diabetes, stroke and preterm low birth weight." (Workforce; one-time free registration required) Myths vs. Facts Regarding Association Health Plans Excerpt: "Myth: Small business health plans (SBHPs), also known as association health plans (AHPs) will allow organizations to 'cherry pick' only the healthiest individuals, leaving the states' small group markets to care for the sickest individuals. FACT: SBHPs are prohibited from being able to 'cherry pick.'" (U.S. Chamber of Commerce) A Shared Responsibility: U.S. Employers and the Provision of Health Insurance to Employees Excerpt: "[This report explores] the characteristics of workers who do not receive coverage from their own firms; examine how health care costs are spread across workers, employers, and the government; and recommend policy options to expand and strengthen employer-sponsored coverage." (The Commonwealth Fund) On Tax Credits for Health Insurance Excerpt: "This brief examines the implications of major expansions in tax credits, starting with the president's refundable tax credit proposal." (Urban Institute) Opinion: Everybody Into The Insurance Pool Excerpt: "The few rules of fairness in the market don't apply to individuals who buy insurance alone, only to groups of policyholders traditionally organized by employers and professional organizations." (Jamie Court in the Los Angeles Times via California Health Consensus) Backup Caregiver Services Help Keep Workers on the Job Excerpt: "[T]here are cost-effective steps that employers can take to reduce missed days of work, increase productivity and give a big boost to employee morale all at the same time, say proponents of employer-subsidized in-home backup care." (Workforce; one-time free registration required) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Listed Transactions involving Employee Benefits Plans Excerpt: "Many abusive tax shelters are identified as 'listed transactions.' Listed transactions require disclosure by participating corporations, individuals, partnerships and trusts, in accordance with Treasury Regulation section 1.6011-4." (Internal Revenue Service) Graying of the Workforce Is Better News Than You Think Excerpt: "Old. Smart. Productive. Rather than being an economic deadweight, the next generation of older Americans is likely to make a much bigger contribution to the economy than many of today's forecasts predict." (BusinessWeek) What Are Some of the Best and Worst Jobs? Consider Becoming an Actuary Excerpt: "Many children dream of one day being a cowboy or a cowgirl. Few, if any, want to be an actuary. Little do they know." (CareerJournal.com) Overview: Revised Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has significantly re-written the rules that apply to the expensing of equity-based compensation arrangements for financial accounting purposes." (Chang, Ruthenberg & Long) Two Grocery Chains Refuse to Race to the Benefits Bottom Excerpt: "While some supermarket chains slash benefits to cut costs, Wegmans and Stew Leonard's are bucking the trend, cementing employee loyalty and raking in big profits." (Workforce; one-time free registration required) Opinion: The End of the Private 'New Deal' Excerpt: "As Republicans loudly threaten the public New Deal, the corporate version quietly slips away.... The old corporate America that took responsibility for workers' pensions and health care is dying, and the nation's political leadership has hardly taken notice of the implications." (Paul Starr, in the American Prospect) Equity Compensation: The Future Is Now! Excerpt: "For the third time in four years, Mercer has conducted a Future of Equity survey to examine equity compensation trends. The most recent results, Compensation 2005: A Time to Question Everything, show continued and dramatic change in the marketplace." (Mercer) Late Career Faculty Perceptions: Implications for Retirement Planning and Policymaking Excerpt: "[I]nstitutions may have much to gain through policymaking that is attentive to late career faculty perceptions and faculty aspirations for life in retirement." (TIAA-CREF Institute) Newly Posted Events Benefits Management Web Seminar: Health Care Cost Containment Nationwide on July 20, 2005 presented by Employee Benefit News Newly Posted Press Releases PBGC To Protect Pensions At Techneglas Inc. (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)) Reports from Great-West Healthcare Help Employers Control Costs and Improve Health (Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Company) CPI Decides It's Time For Change - Selects New Enrollment Kit Provider (Metrics Partners) MetLife Introduces New Voluntary Dental Benefits for Small Businesses (MetLife) Atlantic Benefit Services Launches 2005 Employee Benefits Survey for New England Businesses (Atlantic Information Services, Inc) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings 401(k) Plan Administrator - Fluent in Spanish for Boston Financial Data Services in MA Employee Benefits for Primary Consulting, Inc. in ANY STATE Project Manager-CCI for Transamerica in CA Plan Compliance Manager for Union Bank of California in CA Retirement Plan Administrator for PensionOne Advisors in CA Senior Retirement Plan Specialist/ERISA Attorney for Florida Power & Light in FL Manager of Benefits for The Rosen Group in PA Account Executive for Transamerica in NJ Defined Contribution/Defined Benefit Senior Consultant for Actuarial & Benefits Consulting Firm in NY Employee Benefits Tax (EB) Manager for Deloitte in FL Qualified Plan Administrator for Lane Gorman Trubitt, L.L.P. in TX Pension Benefits Analyst for PPL in PA Plan Manager - Executive Deferred Compensation Plans for Atlanta based TPA in GA Retirement Services Relationship Officer for Community Trust & Investment Company in KY Retirement Programs Administrator for Ogilvy & Mather in NY Retirement Services Account Management Manager for SunTrust in VA Implementation Consultant for Administaff in TX Conversion Team Leader for Administaff in TX Plan Document Processor for RSM McGladrey Retirement Resources in MN Section 125 Compliance Analyst for Administaff in TX Pension Services Consultant for CUNA Mutual Group in WI 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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