BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter July 25, 2005 Today's sponsor: The National Underwriter Company (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) National Underwriter publications in the BenefitsLink Bookstore! The National Underwriter Company is regarded as one of the premiere publishers of professional references. A leader in publications and online services in the areas of Financial Planning, Employee Benefits & Retirement Planning as well as Life & Health and Risk Management since 1897. Click above to see the list of informative publications. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Plan Must Give Participant Chance to Respond to Findings of Medical Professionals Consulted on Claim Excerpt: "[T]his is the third item in the last few months interpreting the DOL regulations' requirement that fiduciaries consult an independent medical expert during the appeal of a disability or health claim ...." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) ID-Theft Services Added to Workplace Benefits Excerpt: "A few forward-looking companies are starting to add identity-theft services as a workplace benefit. They're doing it to keep employees happy - and productive." (azcentral.com) Fresh Bone of Contention: Pay-for-Performance Gives Docs, Insurers New Issue to Chew On Excerpt: "UnitedHealthcare's plan to identify Kansas City-area physicians who provide high-quality services in an efficient manner has area doctors up in arms." (Kansas City Business Journal via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) A New Worry for Investors: Retirees' Medical Benefits Excerpt: "As double-digit inflation in health care siphons more and more cash from old-line companies with generous benefits, big investors are growing wary. 'Rapidly rising health care costs depress the returns of our pension fund,' said George Diehr, a health benefits official at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, the nation's largest public pension fund, with more than $180 billion in assets." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Wall Street Journal Praises Bill to Allow Purchase of Health Insurance in Any State Excerpt: "A bill (HR 2355) approved last week by the House Energy and Commerce Committee that would allow U.S. residents to purchase health insurance in any state could 'reduce the ranks of the uninsured and spur general economic growth -- all without costing a dime to the Treasury,' a Wall Street Journal editorial states." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Senate Votes to Give Military Health Care to National Guard and Reserves Excerpt: "The Senate opted [July 21, 2005] to extend military health care to all participating members of the National Guard and Reserve, setting the stage for a major debate with House members when the $441.6 billion fiscal 2006 defense authorization bill heads to conference committee." (National Journal Group Inc. via GovExec.com) Businesses Backing Health Insurance Pools Excerpt: "A handful of Atlanta executives and politicians are leading the charge in Washington to seek relief for small businesses struggling with rising health insurance costs." (Atlanta Business Chronicle via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Opinion: A Good Start: The House Health Care Reform Bills Excerpt: "The House of Representatives will soon consider a major package of health care bills. The package, if enacted, would significantly improve the functioning of America's health insurance markets and establish a solid foundation for further transformation of America's health care system." (The Heritage Foundation) HSA Marketplace Excerpt: "Periodically, Spencer Benefits Reports summarizes recent activity in the health savings account (HSA) marketplace. Click here is the most recent news." (Spencer Benefits Reports) Long-Term-Care Insurance: How Much Is Too Much? Excerpt: "After more than two decades on the market, long-term-care insurance remains a tough sell. Only 10 percent of people over 65 own policies, with many holdouts saying that they are intimidated by high costs and the bewildering array of benefit levels, deductible periods and other features." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) American Academy of Actuaries Health Practice Note 2005-7, July 2005, Medicare Supplement (PDF) 15 pages. Excerpt: "This practice note was prepared by a work group organized by the Health Practice Financial Reporting Committee of the American Academy of Actuaries. The work group was charged with developing and updating a description of some of the current practices used by health actuaries in the United States for determining actuarial reserves and liabilities for individual and group Medicare supplement business." (American Academy of Actuaries) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General So You Think You Can Outsmart the Market-- Remember the Fears about Accounting for Stock Options? Excerpt: "Remember the debate about the accounting treatment of employee stock options? The fight was intense. One side said that companies should be required to count options as expenses, in order to give a truer picture of profits, while the other said that such a move would lead to some companies' financial ruin. Well, the rules did change: the shifts were announced in December and took effect in June." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) Three Questions on a Neglected Area of Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Excerpt: "Has Sarbanes-Oxley increased the responsibility of corporate executives and board members with respect to the management of pension funds? .... What are the implications of what appears to be a lax compliance approach when it comes to retirement plans? .... What role does IT play in this mess?" (IT Business Edge) Employees and Retirees Being Squeezed by Company Bankruptcies Excerpt: "The AFL-CIO estimates that hundreds of thousands of steelworkers have lost their retirement security as well as health care benefits as one result of some 40 bankruptcies since 1997." (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) Overview: Proposed Regs Address Electronic Media to Provide Benefit-Related Notices, Elections, ... Excerpt: "These regulations would conveniently consolidate existing retirement plan guidance for electronic communications required by the Code, and would provide new guidance for other employee benefit arrangements. Until final regulations are issued, however, plan sponsors and administrators should continue to follow existing IRS guidance regarding electronic communications." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Overview of the DOL Investigative Agenda -- 2005 Excerpt: "The DOL has published a list of its enforcement initiatives at both a national and regional level. The list includes: Employee contributions ...; ESOPs ...; MEWAs ...." (Reish Luftman Reicher & Cohen) The Executive Edition, No. 2, 2005, on the Design and Implementation of Executive Packages (PDF) 7 pages. Excerpt: "The articles in this issue include: Design - Peer Group Selection: Best Practices, and The Role of Boards and Compensation Committees; Data - Changes in Director Compensation; and, Worldwide - Share Grants: Recent Changes in French Law." (Hay Group) AFL-CIO Preps for Contentious Convention in Chicago -- Health and Pension Benefits Major Issues Excerpt: "The loss of pensions at United Airlines and the successful unionization of area home day care workers will make Chicago more than a benign host of next week's AFL-CIO's 50th anniversary convention. As officials of the nation's largest federation of labor unions gather from around the country for the quadrennial convention on Chicago's Navy Pier, union delegates are preparing for a showdown that could result in the splitting away of 35 percent to 45 percent of its membership." (Daily Herald) Renewing the Benefits Outsourcing Relationship (PDF) 4 pages. Excerpt: "Considering the substantial cost and business impact of a multiyear benefits outsourcing relationship, it's often well worth the up-front time and expense required to effectively research and implement the best option for your company." (Hewitt Associates) The Future of the Compensation and Benefits Professions-- As Predicted by You (PDF) 40 pages. Excerpt: "[Research conducted with members of WorldatWork and the Chicago Compensation Association] Hay Group wanted to take stock of what some of the most knowledgeable, in-tune people had to say about the future of these professions: We asked today's 'in the trenches' working professional. From over 200 responses, we gained unique opinions and invaluable insights into what the future holds." (Hay Group) Newly Posted Events Defined Care 2006 Web Summit Nationwide on March 13, 2006 presented by MCOL Future Care 2006 Web Summit Nationwide on January 16, 2006 presented by MCOL Managing Health Care Costs Web Summit Nationwide on November 1, 2005 presented by MCOL Marketing Medicare Prescription Drug Plans Audio conference Nationwide on September 15, 2005 presented by MCOL Pension Strategy: Designing Resilient Retirement Systems in Pennsylvania on September 19, 2005 presented by Wharton Executive Education The Complete Program for Integrating HSAs Into Your Company Audio conference Nationwide on October 6, 2005 presented by MCOL Newly Posted Press Releases ERIC Urges Senate Finance Committee to Clarify Law on Hybrid Pension Plans (ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)) Labor Department Releases Advance Form 5500 Annual Report And Filing Requirements (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration) Court Rejects Arguments of CNA Financial Corp. and Orders that Fraud, ERISA and Breach of Contract Lawsuit go Forward (Meites, Mulder, Burger & Mollica) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Employee Benefits Attorney (emphasis on Executive & Equity Comp.) for McDermott Will & Emery LLP in MA Benefit Administrator Part-time for Pinnacle Financial Group in MA Pension Administrator/Accountant for Boulay, Heutmaker, Zibell & Co. P.L.L.P. in MN Client Relations Assistant for The Allocation Company, Inc. in TX Assistant Account Administrator for McCready and Keene, Inc. in IN 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. Published by: BenefitsLink.com, Inc. https://benefitslink.com/about.html 1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H Winter Park FL 32789 (407) 644-4146 Fax: (407) 644-2151 Editor and Publisher: David Rhett Baker, J.D. Housekeeping: How to Sponsor an Issue Subscribe to a Daily Email Announcing Publication of Each Day's Newsletter Privacy Policy Archive of Previous Newsletters If you'd like to STOP this newsletter, just click on this link: STOP sending this newsletter to me