BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 18, 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) Senators to Meld Health Information Technology Bills Excerpt: "A bipartisan group of senators on Thursday announced that they are melding their competing health IT bills .... Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) said they will combine their bill with one introduced by Sens. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), the committee's ranking Democrat ...." (California HealthCare Foundation) Health Insurers Latest Push: Getting Paid for Getting Critically Ill Excerpt: "The insurance industry is rolling out a new breed of products designed to lessen the financial blow of serious or life-threatening illnesses. An increasing number of insurers, including MetLife Inc., American International Group Inc. and UnumProvident Corp., recently have introduced new or expanded policies that pay a lump sum that you can use however you want if you're diagnosed with a covered health condition -- such as cancer, a heart attack or a stroke." (The Wall Street Journal via Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) Health Care Costs Slow Company Profits, According to Study Released Today Excerpt: "Employees are facing a double whammy when it comes to health care costs: Many companies are likely to ask workers to pay more for their insurance while rising health care costs means companies may dole out lower raises." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Health Care Payments at the Swipe of a Card Excerpt: "The paper-pushing method of paying medical bills, which has long been fairly resistant to the electronic age, is about to be challenged as new payment options like health savings accounts and prepaid medical cards gain wider acceptance in the workplace." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Educating Consumers about Health Care Still a Challenge: Information Can Boast New Health Plans Excerpt: "Employees are warming to the policies because they offer greater control over their care while offering the possibility of pocketing savings that result from making smart medical decisions. But how well the plans work hinges on consumer education. Insurers have responded to the need for health care information by beefing up consumer Web sites. Still, getting health care information to consumers has proven to be quite a challenge, experts say." (Pittsburgh Business Times via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Consumer-Driven Health Plans Give Members Greater Control over Health Care Benefits and Costs Excerpt: "The latest consumer-driven plans offer standard hospitalization and catastrophic illness coverage, but also high deductibles and tax-free medical savings accounts for future expenses, including pres.criptions, medical tests and doctors' visits. Money in the account can be rolled over from year to year and the funds may be 'portable,' much like an Individual Retirement Account, in the event the employee leaves for another job." (Pittsburgh Business Times via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Health Savings Account Fees Vary Widely from Institution to Institution Excerpt: "Officials at HSAFinder.com received so many complaints about HSA fees that it compiled a list of the top 10 cheapest and most expensive HSA account providers. .... 'We're not here to hang people, just to give accurate numbers,' said Don Mazzella, editorial director .... Still, the data show a definite problem with fees ... some institutions charge people for every little thing, including a fee to open accounts, to make transactions within the account and to close accounts." (Dow Jones News Service via Council for Affordable Health Insurance) Backup Caregiver Services Help Keep Workers on the Job -- Including Overnight and Weekends Excerpt: "Snow days, sick kids, babysitters with the flu, elderly parents who unexpectedly need some short-term assistance: It's not really a secret that situations like these lead to more than a few missed days of work. Yet there 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." (Business Insurance via Workforce Management; one-time registration required) Employees Electing Employer-Paid Disability Premiums as Income Will Receive Nontaxed Benefits Excerpt: "In this private letter ruling (PLR) directed only to the employer that requested it, the IRS responded to a query regarding the tax treatment of long-term disability (LTD) insurance benefits under an employer-sponsored plan." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Idaho Offers Break to Uninsured Workers Excerpt: "The state legislature created this pilot program to help uninsured workers get health insurance after a state task force found that small businesses struggle the most with providing health benefits." (The Idaho Statesman) Georgia State Employees and Dependents Who Smoke Will Pay Extra for Health Insurance Excerpt: "Beginning this month, more than 54,000 people covered by the insurance plan for state employees are paying an extra $40 per month because they smoke or use tobacco, state officials said Thursday. The new surcharge affects state workers, public school teachers and family members who admit to using tobacco in the past 12 months. The smoking fee sparked objections from employees." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; one-time registration required) What You Need to Know When Your Carrier is Administering COBRA Excerpt: "Assisting employers with COBRA administration is a common practice among carriers today. Although some employers find such services appealing, many are unaware of one very important fact: they cannot outsource their accountability for being in compliance with COBRA. According to the law, COBRA is the responsibility of the plan administrator alone, which is typically the employer, and no written agreement or promise can change that fact." (OnQue Technologies, Inc.) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Settlement Reached in Minnesota School District Age Discrimination Lawsuit Excerpt: "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that the Wells School District in Minneapolis has agreed to pay $98,000 to 12 teachers to settle an age discrimination lawsuit .... From June 1998 through 2000, the district provided retiring employees a cash incentive for retiring early, then reduced that benefit based on the employee's age .... As a result, certain teachers who retired during that time before they were 65 years old received fewer benefits than ...." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Overview: IRS Comments on Stock Sales, Dependent Coverage, and HSA Issues Excerpt: "[ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, Meeting with IRS and Department of Treasury Officials (May 21, 2005)] The JCEB report has not been reviewed by the IRS or Treasury, and the responses to the questions are 'unofficial, individual views of the government participants as of the time of the discussion, and do not necessarily represent agency policy.' Nevertheless, these Q/As provide helpful insight into the government's approach to the issues addressed." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Employee Ownership Update: New Deloitte Equity Comp survey and more In his Employee Ownership Update for July 15, NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses a new Deloitte survey that found most respondents are cutting equity grants in response to new accounting rules and shareholder pressure. In other news, Publix Supermarkets, an ESOP company with over 120,000 employees, tops the next revision of the Employee Ownership 100 list. Finally, the NCEO is conducting a survey on executive compensation in ESOP companies. Respondents will get free access to results. (National Center for Employee Ownership) Newly Posted Events ERISA Workshop Nationwide on September 21, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Newly Posted Press Releases Judith R. Starr Named General Counsel Of PBGC (Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)) New WorkplaceOptions Service Helps Family Members Coordinate Caregiving for Older Loved Ones (Workplace Options) New Online NCQA Reports Show How Well Health Plans Treat Key Illnesses (National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)) Harris, Rothenberg International Appointed to the New York Business Group on Health's Mental Health Task Force (Harris, Rothenberg International (HRI)) HRmarketer.com to Create Online Community for Human Resource Suppliers (HRmarketer.com) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Defined Contribution Professionals for John Mulligan & Associates in CA, CT, FL, GA, MA, MD, NJ, NY, SC, TX Director, Technical Marketing Support Life Insurance (COLI) for Well respected Philadelphia based Financial/Life Insurance Consulting Firm in Client Services Specialist, Pensions, ESG for CUNA Mutual Group in WI Sales Consultant for Benetech, Inc. in ANY STATE WySTAR Retirement Services Relationship Manager 1 for WySTAR Global Retirement Solutions in MN 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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