BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 7, 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) Q&A on the Revised 'Use-It-or-Lose-It' Rule Excerpt: "The purpose of this article is to discuss the following issues: Why this change is necessary; Why the IRS made this change now; The requirements for the grace period; The questions the IRS failed to address in its notice; and Factors that an employer should consider before adopting the grace period." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC) Canadian Employers Turning to Flex Plans, According to Hewitt Survey Excerpt: "More than half of Canadian employers currently offer or plan to offer flexible benefit plans in the next two years, according to a new Hewitt Associates survey. In a survey of nearly 200 Canadian employers, Hewitt found that 52% currently offer or plan to offer flex plans in the next two years, while another 33% anticipate offering them in the future." (Business Insurance) Disease Management Is Moving to Smaller Employers and Health Plans Excerpt: "[T]aking the place of large managed care organizations (MCOs) are increasingly smaller payers and purchasers, including 50,000- to 100,000-member health plans, 5,000-member employers, and Medicaid and Medicare plans. These customer groups don't want different products, DM executives say, but do require a different approach to marketing and administration." (INSIDE DISEASE MANAGEMENT via AISHealth.com) Hospital Price Lists Trickle In: About 60% Meet State's Deadline for Service Charges Excerpt: "About 60 percent of California's hospitals met a Friday deadline for submitting to the state information on prices for services, a state agency said. A 2003 state law designed to show pricing disparities among hospitals required the state's 422 acute-care medical centers to disclose prices for their top 25 services or procedures last year. The law set a deadline of July 1 for providing the state a complete price list known as a chargemaster." (San Francisco Chronicle via The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights) Wall Street Journal Looks at Debate Over Federal 'Quality Improvement Organizations' Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday looked at the federal government's multibillion dollar quality-improvement program, which is 'coming under fire' by critics who question its effectiveness." (California HealthCare Foundation) Health Insurance Costs Linked to State Mandates, According to Study Excerpt: "States that impose mandates for high-deductible health-insurance coverage end up raising the premiums that individuals and families pay, according to a new study. 'State Health Insurance Regulations and the Price of High-Deductible Policies' examined 42 states' regulations, such as mandated benefits and guaranteed coverage. .... Among the findings: Regulations tend to be associated with higher prices, higher co-insurance rates and higher deductibles." (THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER via Council for Affordable Health Insurance) Medicare Part D Pres.cription Drug Benefits and Employer-Sponsored Health Plans (PDF) 8 pages. (Milliman) Payers Have Hit a Wall with Specialty Pharmacy Implementation Excerpt: "When health plans and employers began looking into specialty pharmacy (SP) a few years ago, they put a lot of innovative implementation strategies on their plates, but now payers' efforts have hit a stagnant period, agreed two leading health care consultants at a recent conference in New York sponsored by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA)." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com) Consumer-Directed Care Fosters Better Health Care Consumers, According to McKinsey Study Excerpt: "A landmark study released June 14 by McKinsey & Co. finds that consumer-directed health (CDH) enrollees are more value conscious, more likely to seek preventive care and more inclined to engage in healthy behaviors than are people who are enrolled in more traditional health plans." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com) New Hampshire Governor Signs Bill Barring Insurers from Using Geography & Health Status to Set Rates Excerpt: "AN ACT repealing health status and geographic location as small group rating factors, clarifying certain other issues relating to small group insurance, and establishing a reinsurance mechanism." (State of New Hampshire) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Federal Regulatory Update as of July 6, 2005 (PDF) 4 pages. Contents include items on Compliance Audits; DOL Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program: Corporate Governance; Retiree Medical Plans for Medicare-Eligible Retirees; Bankrup.tcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005; Long-Term Incentive (LTI) plans for U.S. Multinationals; FAS 123(R) (Stock Option Valuation) Extension; and, FAS 123(R) (Stock Option Valuation) Guidance. (Towers Perrin) Executive Pensions Survey: Pan-European Results (PDF) 6 pages. Excerpt: "The findings of this survey reveal the nature of executive pensions in Europe, as well as identifying what factors-- both internal and external to the company-- drive the design, governance and communication of executive pensions." (Towers Perrin) Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of July 5, 2005 Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates) Newly Posted Events 2005 NCCMP Annual Conference in Nevada on September 26, 2005 presented by National Coordinating Committee for Multiemployer Plans The Changing Face of the Retirement Plan Industry: Is Your Plan Prepared? in Tennessee on September 7, 2005 presented by Ward Financial Advisory of Wachovia Securities Newly Posted Press Releases EBRI Notes - The Impact of Immigration on Health Coverage in the United States (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)) EBRI Fact Sheet - The Basics of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)) MetLife Introduces New Employee Insurance Program: Business Travel Accident Insurance (MetLife) Assist America Supports Diveheart Foundation's Summer Adventure Program; Providing Emergency Medical Services to Disabled Scuba Diving Participants (Assist America, Inc.) Labor Department Sues Company Hired to Service Pension and Welfare Plans of Six Chicago Area Local Unions and Employer Associations (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Defined Contribution Plan Administrator for New York Life Investment management RPS in MA Pension Administrator for Lindsey Pension Corporation in CA Inside Sales Representative for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Internal Wholesaler for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Supervisor, Service for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Business Development Consultant (needed for MD & CA) for American Express Tax & Business Services, Inc. in CA, MD Defined Benefits Administrator- Roseville or Woodland Hills, CA for Polycomp Administrative Services in CA Pension Administrator - Roseville, CA for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc. in CA Consulting Actuary for New York Life Investment Management LLC in MA Actuarial Operations Associate for Towers Perrin in PA 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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