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July 13, 2005
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EEOC Demands Retiree Health Benefit Case Rehearing
Excerpt: "The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has asked a Philadelphia federal judge to take another look at her March 30 decision that declared the agency had violated federal law in a controversial health benefit regulation." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

U.S. Senators Introduce New Health Coverage Legislation
Excerpt: "[Five Senators] have introduced proposals to change tax provisions relating to health benefit coverage. S 1360, sponsored by Senators Gordon Smith (R-Oregon), James Jeffords (I-Vermont), Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), and Charles Schumer (D-New York), would amend the US tax code to read that the term 'dependents' includes any individual who is an eligible beneficiary as defined in the accident or health insurance arrangement, providing coverage for domestic partners." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Overview: Justice Department Opinion Limits Prosecution under HIPAA
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently issued an internal opinion limiting DOJ criminal prosecutions under the federal health privacy law, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The DOJ Opinion was leaked to the Internet, see http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/pdf/hipaa_opinion_06_01_2005.pdf. [Target page originally published in June 2005.]" (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)

DOJ Opinion Muddies HIPAA Privacy Enforcement
Excerpt: "Press reports, particularly from the New York Times, characterized a recent Department of Justice opinion as cutting back on enforcement of the HIPAA privacy rule. But that characterization is incorrect, contends Mark Lutes, an attorney specializing in health care law .... 'A covered entity and the managers of a covered entity cannot conclude from the opinion that with impunity they can ignore facts and situations that could lead to a HIPAA privacy violation,' he says." (Health Data Management)

Disease Management Certification Changes Proposed by National Committee for Quality Assurance
Excerpt: "The National Committee for Quality Assurance is proposing changes to its disease management accreditation and certification programs regarding how patients are selected to participate in the programs and to strengthen patient privacy and confidentiality requirements." (Business Insurance)

Hope for Patient ID System Dwindles
Excerpt: "Some health information technology planners have waited for years for the federal government to issue every American a unique personal health identification code, similar to a Social Security number that would distinguish each of the 16,000 William Smiths in America from one another. But it's increasingly unlikely that will happen, despite its seemingly obvious appeal for the architects of the national health information network." (Government Health IT)

Study Shows that Private Insurers Pay for Most Weight-Control Surgery
Excerpt: "Private U.S. health insurers paid about $777 million for 'bariatric' surgical procedures in 2002, up from $117 million in 1998. Although the mean cost of the weight-control procedures increased only 13%, to $13,048 per procedure, the number of procedures covered by private insurers increased to 59,497, from 10,167, according to a team of researchers led by William Encinosa, an economist with the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required)

AAOHN Research Reveals Employers' Perceptions on the Issues Surrounding Employee Health
Excerpt: "The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses (AAOHN) has released its employer research findings that uncover employer perceptions of and attitudes toward employee health. The research ... was conducted to better gauge executive management's thoughts on issues surrounding their employee's health and wellness." (HR Hub)

Survey Indicates Company Wellness Programs Are Growing
Excerpt: "Businesses are increasingly turning to wellness programs to get a handle on rising health care costs, and most believe these programs will have a long-term impact but few short-term benefits, according to a survey released by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions and the ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC)." (AMonline.com)

Wellness Council of West Virginia Helps Businesses Create Workplace Wellness Environments
Excerpt: "[M]any West Virginia companies are taking steps to make their employees healthier For many, that is translating to lower insurance costs and greater productivity. And while work wellness programs have room to grow, they are increasing at a steady rate." (RedNova.com)

In the Southern California Surgery Capital, A Swirl of Health Insurance Fraud Charges
Excerpt: "Health insurance fraud is big business. The National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association has estimated that of the $1.7 trillion spent on health care in the United States in 2003, from 3 to 5 percent was lost to fraud, hurting insurers that pay claims, companies that pay premiums and patients who are asked to pay assume ever more of the burden." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)

HSA Guidebook Part 1: HSA Overview and Eligibility
Excerpt: "The first in a seven-part series analyzing the ins and outs of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), an increasingly popular consumer-driven health care option for employers." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC)

HSA Guidebook Part 2: The HDHP and Preventive Care
Excerpt: "Some state laws require certain services to be covered regardless of whether the deductible has been met. Whether such services are treated as 'preventive' for purposes of the exception for preventive care will be based on standards specified in guidance issued by the IRS, rather than how the care is characterized by state law. Remember, a transition relief exists until January 1, 2006 for any state mandates in effect as of January 1, 2004." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Down in Flames: Airlines Go for Broke While Executives Take the Cash
Excerpt: "In any case, according to a transcript of the congressional hearing, Steenlan said, the airline's pensions are going the way of the wooly mammoth: 'Northwest has concluded that defined benefit plans simply do not work for an industry that is as competitive as we are and that is as vulnerable to forces ranging from terrorism to international oil prices.' There's no word on whether Northwest will freeze its executives' pensions, ...." (City Pages Media, Inc.)

IRS Agents Training for Code Section 409A Audits
Excerpt: "RIA is reporting today that at a recent ALI-ABA session on Executive Compensation, Catherine Livingston Fernandez, Esq., Chief, Executive Compensation Branch in the IRS's Office of the Associate Chief Counsel and Keith Jones, Director, Field Specia.lists, Large and Mid-Size Business Division (LMSB) revealed that IRS agents are already receiving training in Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code, with the first wave of audits likely to begin in 2007." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via BenefitsBlog.com)

A Federal Employee's Letter about Federal Employee Benefits to Mike Causey's Federal Report
Excerpt: "I suspect that you get a lot of mail or telephone calls from federal workers who are unhappy with their job. I hear a lot of it. The primary complaint being that 'we' could make more money in the private sector, and get a better benefits package. I am here to tell you that ain't necessarily so." (Federal News Radio)

Opinion: Bigger is Better for Social Insurance Programs
Excerpt: "When it comes to providing broad-based social-insurance programs, it's the government that's rational and the market that's dumb. [Originally published 5/6/05.]" (The American Prospect via Physicians for a National Health Program)

Compliance Checklist 2005 for Plans that Are Subject to ERISA (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "The Checklist incorporates Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution and ERISA 403(b) requirements and provides information on the materials that you will need to file, filing due dates, and agencies to which the filings should be made." (Prudential Retirement)

Compliance Checklist 2005 for Benefit Plans that Are Not Subject to ERISA (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "The Checklist incorporates requirements for Governmental and Nonelecting Church Plans, Non-ERISA 403(b) Programs, 457 Plans, and Nonqualified Executive Benefit Plans, and provides information on the materials that you will need to file, filing due dates, and agencies to which the filings should be made." (Prudential Retirement)

Board Revokes Severance Pay of Ex-Pension Chief; Virginia Agency Offers $15,000 in Place of $263,000
Excerpt: "The panel that oversees Virginia's public pension system voted Tuesday to rescind a $263,000 severance package given to its former chief, acting after state officials said the payment was improper." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Newly Posted Events

Great Lakes Benefits Conference
in Illinois on May 15, 2006
presented by ASPPA & IRS

Newly Posted Press Releases

DataPath Concludes Survey On The IRS' Groundbreaking Ruling Regarding FSA Claims 86% Of Respondents Anticipate Rule Adoption At The Plan Level
(DataPath, Inc.)

Automatic Enrollment Could Have a Significant Impact On Raising 401(k) Balances at Retirement, Study Finds
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Cheri E. Havasi Joins BPA as a Senior Claims Evaluator
(Benefit Plan Audit Services, LLC)

Travis Software Releases TravisCobra Version 7.30, With Enhanced Premium Payment Systems, Disbursement Processes and HIPAA Features
(Travis Software Corp.)

New Online Course for Federal Employees in FERS Retirement System
(Snow-cap Agency, Inc.)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Senior Pension Plan Administrator
for Chicago TPA Firm
in IL

Assistant Vice President, Quality
for Great-West Corporate
in CO

Financial Planner/Investment Specialist
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in KY



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