BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 11, 2005 Today's sponsor: NCEO (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) NCEO publications in the BenefitsLink Bookstore! The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO), a nonprofit membership and research organization that provides information on broad-based employee stock plans, now has over a dozen of its most popular publications available for purchase in the BenefitsLink bookstore. Topics range from employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) to stock options to employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs). (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) No Plan Documents and Worker Classification Confusion Are Common in ERISA-Covered Welfare Plans Excerpt: "The following case-- Ruttenberg v. United States Life Insurance Company-- illustrates the great struggle that courts are having with these long-term disability cases which fall under the purview of ERISA." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier on BenefitsBlog.com) Addressing Moms' Needs at Work: Breast-Feeding Issues Get More Employer Attention Excerpt: "[S]ince the 1990s, several large companies have developed formal, on-site lactation programs that offer services to facilitate breast-feeding needs, including specified space for pumping breast milk, small refrigerators for milk storage and guidance from experts." (Washington Post; one-time registration required) Can.ada's Pres.cription Drug Rates Lose Luster Excerpt: "Last year, many state Democrats and consumer advocates saw Can.ada as the promised land for cheap pres.cription drugs. So why didn't they even flinch when Can.ada's health minister recently announced plans to restrict the flow of drugs to the United States? By that time, California health care advocates had already decided that Can.ada couldn't do much to lower drug costs in the Golden State." (San Diego Union-Tribune) Solo Health Insurance: Possible, Yes, but Not Easy Excerpt: "If you let insurance lapse for more than two months, you will lose important consumer protections, allowing insurers to exclude certain medical conditions, for instance." (New York Times; one-time registration required) Overview: Clarification Regarding Preexisting Condition Exclusions for Individual-Market Issuers Excerpt: "This Program Memorandum clarifies which benefit exclusions meet the definition of a preexisting condition exclusion (PCE) for purposes of HIPAA's individual-market rules. These rules require that individual coverage be made available on a guaranteed-issue basis to certain eligible individuals, without the imposition of any PCEs." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)) Employers Will Feel the Push for Electronic Health Records Excerpt: "In addition to pay-for-performance, another issue garnering federal attention is health care IT. Electronic health information is a central component of any serious effort to modernize the industry." (BenefitNews.com) Court Rejects Individual Director's and Officer's Claims That They Were Not ERISA Fiduciaries Excerpt: "In this case, several terminated employees of a bankrupt company asserted that the company's directors and officers breached their fiduciary duty by failing to fund benefits under the terms of the company's health plan." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)) Overview: 'Any Willing Provider' Laws not Preempted for Insurance Under ERISA Plans Excerpt: "The Eighth Circuit has concluded that an Arkansas 'any willing provider' (AWP) law 'regulates insurance' and therefore is not preempted by ERISA except to the extent that it applies to self-funded ERISA plans." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)) Overview: New Employer Group Health Plan Notice Requirements for Medicare-Eligible Individuals (PDF) 8 pages. (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP) United Auto Workers President Questions Need for Health Benefit Concessions to General Motors Excerpt: "United Auto Workers President Ronald Gettelfinger on Friday in an interview with the Washington Post said General Motors officials have not produced evidence that the union must make concessions on health benefits to return the company to profitability." (Washington Post via KaiserNetwork.org) AP Examines State Legislation on Universal Health Care Excerpt: " The AP/Long Island Newsday on Sunday examined how a movement toward universal health care coverage is 'being rekindled in some states,' amid increasing health care costs and 'the lack of political support in Washington for federal changes.'" (AP via KaiserNetwork.org) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Overview: Recent Guidance on Selecting and Monitoring Service Providers Excerpt: "Below is a summary of the guidance along with suggestions for steps plan fiduciaries should take." (McDermott Will & Emery) Newly Posted Events 2007 Annual Conference in California on October 21, 2007 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Great Lakes Benefits Conference in Illinois on May 3, 2007 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Great Lakes Benefits Conference in Illinois on May 3, 2007 presented by ASPPA & IRS The 401(k) SUMMIT in California on February 25, 2007 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) The 401(k) SUMMIT in Florida on February 10, 2008 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) The 401(k) SUMMIT in California on March 22, 2009 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Plan Consultant/Senior Administrator for Boyce & Associates, Inc. in AZ 401(k) Enroller/Contractor - Bilingual for Transamerica in ANY STATE Benefits Outsourcing Manager for Client of Jan Hufnell, Certified Personnel Consultant, Hufnell, Inc Benefit Recruiters in PA Benefit Specialist for Towers Perrin in CT Employee Benefits Tax Group - Manager for Deloitte Tax LLP in IL Retirement Plan Administrator for Benefit Design & Administration, Inc. in VA Corporate Recruiter for Healthcare Consulting Firm in TX Manager, Client Services for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Senior Account Executive for Motivano (provider of the SmartFlex benefits debit card) in FL Health & Welfare Products Manager for Administaff in TX Human Resources Support Specialist for CitiStreet in FL Human Resources Contact Center Manager for CitiStreet 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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