BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 19, 2005 Today's sponsor: BenefitsLink.com (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) Downloadable Software Available Now! Now you can buy employee benefits software on the Internet quickly and securely, through a web site you know and trust. Come back at any time and buy other software just by clicking a link and entering a password, without having to go through all the credit card info and other online forms all over again. The Downloadable Software page on BenefitsLink-- click for details! Valuable Lessons Learned Along the Road to HIPAA Security Compliance Excerpt: "In an interesting paradox, noncompliance in certain areas initially increased when Gila River Health Care Corporation implemented solutions to problems identified during its HIPAA security risk assessment. The health system would tell employees not to do something and, people being people, sometimes they took a bite of the forbidden fruit." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com) Opinion: How Small Employers Should Approach Disease Management Excerpt: "Folks, I know the DM RFP procurement process is very exciting. Vendors take you to lavish dinners and grovel at your feet and peel grapes for you. However, generally speaking, if your organization covers fewer than 5,000 people, you shouldn't be outsourcing your disease management directly to a vendor at all, grapes or no grapes. Reasons are as follows: ...." (Employee Benefit News) Unique Approaches to Healthcare Cost Management for Hospitals' Employee Health Plans Excerpt: "In a world of soaring healthcare costs for all employers, hospitals have unique opportunities in cost management which are unavailable to other employers. Hay Group and ASHHRA surveyed a variety healthcare organizations -- medical centers, hospitals, and health systems -- to gain insight into the use, frequency, and success of the latest hospital-specific cost management opportunities." (Hay Group; one-time registration required) National Committee for Quality Assurance Adds New Performance Data to Plan Reports Excerpt: "To help employers and consumers choose among health plans, the National Committee for Quality Assurance has added clinical performance information to its health plan report card to show how effectively health plans treat patients with four common chronic conditions: diabetes, cardiac care, asthma and mental illness. .... To view a sample report, visit www.ncqa.org/Programs/Accreditation/MCO/lwir.htm." (Business Insurance) Arkansas Clarifies Changes to Any Willing Provider Law Excerpt: "The Arkansas Insurance Department recently issued an advisory to all health maintenance organizations and accident and health insurers conducting business in the state about compliance with Arkansas' Patient Protection Act of 1995 and recent 'Any Willing Provider' legislation passed by the Arkansas State Legislature in 2005, in light of a recent decision by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals ...." (Insurance Journal) Why Health Plans Should Provide Customized Service for Retirees and Senior Employees Excerpt: "This article will describe the role that specialized customer service for seniors and retirees plays in providing superior overall care, how to create a customized service program, and how it can be beneficial to senior employees, retirees and their respective companies." (Employee Benefit News) Milliman Finds Health Care Cost Increases Are Slowing Excerpt: "Competition and efforts to give consumers financial incentives to hold down health care costs may be starting to put the brakes on health coverage renewal rates. Preliminary results from a U.S. group health insurance renewal rate survey organized by Milliman Inc., Seattle, suggest that 2006 rate increases may average 10.6%." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required) Governors Tackle High Health Care Costs: Expenses Put American Firms at 'Steep Disadvantage' Excerpt: "State leaders, faced with rapidly increasing health care costs, spent Sunday working on ways to contain those expenses as the nation's governors met in Des Moines." (The Des Moines Register) Pennsylvania Law Exempts Health Savings Accounts from State Mandates Excerpt: "Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell has signed legislation that clears the way for commercial insurers in the state to offer health savings accounts linked to high-deductible plans." (Business Insurance) Conservative Groups Lobby to Limit Employee and Employer Tax Breaks for Health Insurance Excerpt: "On his reelection, President Bush said he was going to use his political capital to press for both Social Security and tax reform. .... One aspect of this, a radical change to the tax treatment of employer-provided health insurance, is getting a push from such right-of-center think tanks as the Galen Institute, the American Enterprise Institute, the Heritage Foundation, and the Institute for Research on the Economics of Taxation." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required) Companies Should Know Legalities before Cutting Retiree Health Benefits, Review Plan Documents Excerpt: "It's important to review all the plan documents and any previous version to review summary plan descriptions and to review all communications to participants, and if there are any union employees you will want to review the collective bargaining agreement,' Sawyer said. 'You will want to review everything that is in writing that deals with retiree medical benefits.'" (Pittsburgh Business Times via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) 'Large' Health Savings Accounts Would Improve Consumerism, Researcher Says Excerpt: "While HSA-based health plans give consumers greater control over their health care spending, they do not eliminate the 'current bias' toward excess health insurance coverage, says Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the Cato Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General DOL Solicits Nominations for 5 Vacancies on ERISA Advisory Council (PDF) 2 pages. Excerpt: "The terms of five members of the Council expire on November 14, 2005. The groups or fields they represent are as follows: (1) Employee organizations; (2) employers; (3) corporate trust; (4) the investment management profession; and (5) the general public." (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor) House Bill Would Offer Domestic Partner Benefits to Unmarried Federal Workers Excerpt: "Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), joined by 52 other House members, has introduced legislation that would allow unmarried employees of the federal government to apply for health insurance, retirement and other benefits for their domestic partners." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Making a Business Case for Domestic Partner Benefits Excerpt: "Generous perks have long helped employers hire and keep some of their best workers. But can a company also use its benefit offerings to reach out to its customers? The g.ay workforce, and its spending clout, hasn't gone unnoticed by corporate America." (Employee Benefit News) Pennsylvania Adopts Legislative Fix for Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans Excerpt: "Pennsylvania's Governor Rendell recently signed House Bill 176 effectively overturning the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court's recent decision in Ignatz v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 2004 WL 1057453 (Pa. Commw. May 12, 2004). Under the House Bill, elective deferrals into nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements will now be taxed at the time of distribution and not at the time of deferral." (Buchanan Ingersoll PC) Install the BenefitsLink Search Engine in Your Mozilla Firefox Web Browser Here's an easy way to get quick access to the BenefitsLink Search Engine if you're using the Mozilla Firefox web browser! Click on the link on the target page to install the BenefitsLink Search Engine as one of the options in your drop-down search bar (usually located in the top-right corner of your Mozilla browser.) There is no charge to install or use the BenefitsLink Search Engine. (BenefitsLink) Newly Posted Events How Can We Make Private Pensions Better?; NCPA Briefing to Feature Reps. Boehner and Johnson Explaining Their Reform Bill in District of Columbia on July 19, 2005 presented by National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) Labor Department Sponsors Kentucky Workshop on Complying With Federal Pension and Health Law in Kentucky on August 3, 2005 presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans in California on March 22, 2006 presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association) Newly Posted Press Releases Two Step Releases Corporate Focus Version 5.0; Browser-Based Release Provides Easier Access to Corporate Governance and Capitalization Information for Attorneys and Their Clients (Two-Step Software, Inc.) Increasing Compensation of Executives Unaffected by Decreasing Performance of Companies (FreeERISA.com) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Pension Administrator for G.M. Pensions, Inc. in the San Diego Area in CA Testing & Reporting Specialist II for Fidelity Investments in MA Employee Benefits Trust Officer for Regions Financial Corporation in AL Call Center Representative/Receptionist for WESPAC in CA HRIS Analyst for Providence Health System in WA Retirement Programs Specialist for Providence Health System in WA Senior Retirement Program Specialist for Providence Health System in WA Retirement Plan Administrator for Heaton :: Eadie, PSC in IN Pension Administrator/Manager for The Benefits Consulting Group in IL Healthcare Operations Behavioral Analytics Trainer for Great-West Corporate in KS Benefits Specialist for Milliman, Inc. in WA Retirement Plan Communication Associate (Bi-Lingual), #0502078 for John Hancock in CA Operations Delivery Leader for Fidelity Investments in MA, NH Office Manager for Great-West Retirement Services in NY Client Communication Specialist/Sr. for Standard Insurance Company in OR Actuarial Services Associate - Pension Analyst for NRECA in VA Actuarial Services Associate - Actuary for NRECA in VA Internal Wholesaler for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Benefit Manager for Cottingham & Butler, Inc. in IA 401k/Tiered Plan Administrator for The Pension Group, Inc. in CA 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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