BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 21, 2005 Today's sponsor: World Congress (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) The World Congress 1st Annual Human Capital Management Congress The World Congress is proud to present the 1st Annual Human Capital Management Congress taking place this January 23 - 25, 2006 at the Ritz-Carlton Georgetown in Washington, DC. The HCMC will bring together the most innovative and knowledgeable industry experts addressing the most pertinent issues relating to health and human capital management. The event is uniquely designed to discuss the impact of benefits on employee productivity, healthcare costs and overall company competitiveness. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) U.S. Will Offer Doctors Free Electronic Records System Excerpt: "Medicare, which says the lack of electronic records is one of the biggest impediments to improving health care, has decided to step in. In an unprecedented move, it said it planned to announce that it would give doctors - free of charge - software to computerize their medical practices. An office with five doctors could save more than $100,000 by choosing the Medicare software rather than buying software from a private company, officials say." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Some Employers Choose Onsite Pharmacies to Help Manage Spiraling Drug Costs Excerpt: "Onsite, or 'worksite,' pharmacies are gaining popularity among many kinds of employers that wish to manage spiraling pharmaceutical costs. A handful of U.S. companies specialize in onsite pharmacies and contend this business model gives employers tighter control over employee pres.cription drug utilization and spending than they might have working with just a pharmacy benefit manager (PBM)." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com) Business Opposes Health Insurance Coverage Disclosure Bill Excerpt: "The California Chamber of Commerce is spearheading opposition to a state bill that would mandate publication of a list of businesses of 25 or more employees who get health coverage from Medicaid and other state programs." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required) General Motors Sees No Government Relief on Health Care Excerpt: "General Motors Corp. said on Wednesday that it sees no near-term relief from the U.S. government on its massive health-care costs. 'I don't think there's any enthusiasm at the political level to do anything on health care, period,' said GM Chief Financial Officer John Devine." (Reuters via The New York Times; one-time registration required) Two Boston University Scholars to Criticize Romney Health Plan for Massachusetts Excerpt: "Two Boston University professors plan ... to release a report critical of Governor Mitt Romney's health-care plan, arguing that it does not address the state's soaring medical costs and that it does not provide full insurance coverage to everyone." (The Boston Globe) Report Says Proposed Massachusetts Universal Health Plan Would Fail to Ease Medical Costs (PDF) 73 pages. The report was submitted as testimony on S. 755, An Act to Establish the Massachusetts Health Care Trust. (Boston University School of Public Health) Executive Summary: Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership (PDF) 22 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and IOM, ... initiated a project in 2002 to (1) identify engineering applications that could contribute significantly to improvements in health care delivery in the short, medium, and long terms; (2) assess factors that would facilitate or impede the deployment of these applications; and (3) identify areas of research in engineering and other fields that could contribute to rapid improvements in performance." (National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine) Overview of Recent Congressional Activity on Health Care-Related Bills Excerpt: "[The Senate HELP committee chair will introduce a joint health care information technology measure.] .... [T]he House Energy and Commerce Committee on Wednesday is scheduled to mark up several health care-related bills in an effort to move the bills to the floor before Congress adjourns for August recess. Bills to be marked up include the following: Health insurance pools: .... Medical error reporting: .... Pres.cription drug records: ...." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Two GOP Senators Introduce New Illegal Immigrant Bill Requiring Employment-Based Health Insurance Excerpt: "Two border-state Republican senators proposed legislation Tuesday that would require every illegal immigrant -- estimated at 10 million -- to leave the United States and return to the nation they came from within five years. The bill, by Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Jon Kyl of Arizona, would establish temporary work permits renewable for up to six years and would require employers to provide health insurance to workers." (The Contra Costa Times; one-time registration required) Minnesota Governor Signs Health Savings Account Tax Break Bill Excerpt: "Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has signed legislation that amends Minnesota law to conform with legislation Congress passed in late 2003 that gives federal tax breaks to health savings accounts linked to high-deductible insurance plans." (Business Insurance) Wall Street Journal Examines Fees Charged by Some Providers of Health Savings Accounts Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal ... looked at fees charged by some health savings account providers (Whitehouse, Wall Street Journal, 7/20). .... Although some HSA providers do not charge fees, others charge $100 or more in the first year, a time when 'savings tend to be small' because of federal contribution limits, the Journal reports. ...." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General News Scan: News Summaries for Benefit Professionals in the Benefits Industry, July 2005 Issue (PDF) 8 pages. This issue covers the following: IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on Benefit Limits Under IRC 415; IRS Approves Statewide Retiree Health Care Trust Under IRC 115; MI Supreme Court Rules Retiree Health Care Not Protected by State Constitution; West Virginia Closes Defined Contribution Plan to New Hires; IRS Modifies FSA 'Use-It-or-Lose-It' Rule; North Dakota Legislation Regulates Pharmacy Benefit Managers; New Jersey Task Force to Recommend Retirement and Health Benefit Cost Controls. (Gabriel, Roeder, Smith & Company) Deferred Compensation: Devising a Game Plan for Compliance with Section 409A (PDF) Pages 21-26. Excerpt: "Deferred compensation plans must be amended to achieve compliance with the new rules by December 31, 2005, ...." (Compensation and Benefits Review via Miller & Chevalier) Blog Posting: Think SERPs Make Sense? Look at Sandy Weill's Excessive SERP Excerpt: "Citgroup's Sandy Weill is in the news about how the Citigroup board is negotiating hard to try to recoup some of the lucrative perks that would be given to Mr. Weill post-retirement in exchange for him being allowed to run a private equity fund and leave as Chair earlier than contracted ...." (TheCorporateCounsel.net Blog) Opinion: A Tale of Two Classes in America -- The Working Class and the 'Executive' Class Excerpt: "Sometimes the real character of social relations in the United States manages to find its way into pages of the American press. Such was the case in Tuesday's edition of the Wall Street Journal. The front page of the newspaper's Marketplace section featured two articles, which when combined give a sense of the class division that cuts across American society." (World Socia.list Web Site) Newly Posted Events Advanced Actuarial Conference in Massachusetts on June 9, 2006 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Northeast Benefits Conference in New York on June 7, 2005 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Northeast Benefits Conference in New York on June 7, 2006 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Northeast Benefits Conference in New York on June 7, 2006 presented by ASPPA & IRS Northeast Benefits Conference in Massachusetts on June 8, 2006 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Northeast Benefits Conference in Massachusetts on June 8, 2006 presented by ASPPA & IRS The 401(k) SUMMIT in Florida on March 14, 2010 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Newly Posted Press Releases Who is More Likely to Save: Men or Women? (Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)) Thomas B. Travers Joins BPA as a Senior Claims Evaluator (Benefit Plan Audit Services, LLC) Long-Term Care: More Than a Health Issue; Planning for Long-Term Care Can Directly Impact Financial Well-Being In Retirement (Prudential Financial, Inc.) BasicPlus Vows to End Health Condition Discrimination (BasicPlus Insurance Services, LLC) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Contract Analyst for Transamerica in CA Retirement Plan Sales Executive for Ceridian in CA, IL, OR, TX, WA, WI 401(k) Manager for Established Midtown Pension Consulting and Investment Firm in NY Spending Account Shared Service Leader for Hewitt Associates in FL Account Executive for Transamerica in MD Plan Administrator for The Pension Alliance, Inc. in DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA Account Manager for Great-West Retirement Services in FL Account Relationship Managers for Beneco, Inc. in AZ, NY Defined Benefit Client Account Manager for New York Life Investment Management LLC in MA 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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