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July 28, 2005
Today's sponsor: IQPC/Healthcare IQ

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2nd CREATING, DESIGNING & MARKETING HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS

The 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)
Health Care Company Administration Cost Cuts Do Not Snip Broker Commissions
Excerpt: "Research shows that health care companies appear to be whittling down their plan administration expenses as much as they can. Broker commissions, which actually have grown, may be next on the chopping block. A report from Gwynedd, Pa.-based Sherlock Co., a health plan financial management firm, states that administrative cost increases per enrollee for select Blue Cross Blue Shield plans fell to 2.1% from 9.8% in 2004." (The Adviser)

Overview: House Passes Bill for Small-Employer Health Plans
Excerpt: "Legislation passed by the House of Representatives on [July 26, 2005] would allow small employers to band together through trade associations to purchase health insurance plans that would be subject to federal rather than state regulation." (Business Insurance)

Opinion: Health Insurance Choice and the Shadegg Bill
Excerpt: "A citizen who lives in any one state can buy a toaster produced in any other state. The same citizen can also buy a lawnmower, a sofa, an automobile or virtually any other product -- regardless of the state where the product is made. This same freedom does not exist in the market for health insurance, however." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

Opinion: Would Association Health Plans Create an Increase in Health Care Fraud?
Excerpt: "Reality: Rather than complying with 50 different regulations, the association would follow federal regs identical for all of their member companies." (Health Policy Fact Checkers.org)

Social Security Administration Revamps Disability Benefits' Application and Appeal Process
Excerpt: "When designing the new system, the Social Security Administration determined that it could take an individual 1,153 days to move through the entire application and appeal process if the claim had been denied at each step. Combining the new procedures with an electronic system that alleviates the need for Social Security officials to mail paper files around the country, Barnhart said that process should shrink about 25 percent." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)

Audio: The Rise and Fall of Flex Time
Excerpt: "Nine to Five' just doesn't work for a lot of people, which may explain why some studies show that flexible hours increase productivity. So why are fewer companies offering them?" (Talk of the Nation via National Public Radio)

eHealth / HIPAA Law Updates
Excerpt: "[T]hird party links provide additional resources to help you stay abreast of nationwide trends and happenings: ...." (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)

Patients Willing to Pay for Electronic Medical Records, Surveys Show
Excerpt: "Consumers are willing to pay as much as $60 a year for EMRs, according to a Web survey released this week by the consultancy group Accenture. But companies may not be able to provide the service necessary to make them useful, implies another Web survey of IT executives by CIOInsight." (CIO Insight)

eHealthInsurance Study Finds Drop In Health Savings Account Rates
Excerpt: "Consumers may be paying less for high-deductible, health savings account-compatible health insurance. Researchers at eHealthInsurance Services Inc., Mountain View, Calif., a Web-based health insurance broker, have published data supporting that conclusion in a report based on records for several thousand consumers who bought HSA-compatible individual or family coverage through eHealthInsurance between Jan. 1 and June 30." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free one-time registration or paid subscription required)

Wall Street Journal Examines 'Continuing Gap' in Preventive Health Care in U.S.
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal ... examined the 'continuing gap' in preventive care in the U.S. and efforts that seek to 'increase the rate at which Americans get preventive services.' Recent studies have found that patients 'routinely fail to receive' preventive care, a practice that can lead to 'serious and costly' medical conditions and increase the number of unnecessary tests and procedures performed by physicians." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Options and Considerations on Paying for Your Own Health Care Plan
Excerpt: "Since the health-care coverage that my employer provides went up over 38 percent this year, I have decided to carry my own health insurance, which is cheaper than that which my employer can provide. Since I am still employed, can I write off payments I make for my own health care? What if my employer reimburses me for these payments to my own individual policy?" (Bankrate.com via Yahoo! Finance)

Health Savings Accounts Make Cents for Some but Not All
Excerpt: "Investment advisers looking to make a few dollars from the health savings account craze need to carefully consider whether it makes financial sense for them, according to a new analysis (http://www.towergroup.com/research/content/news_view.jsp?newsId=620) from TowerGroup." (The Adviser)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Text of Rev. Rul. 2005-55: Use of Medical Reimbursement Accounts in a Profit-Sharing Plan (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "Does a profit-sharing plan fail to satisfy the requirements of § 401(a)(7) of the Internal Revenue Code if it provides a medical reimbursement account for each participant from which payments may only be distributed to reimburse the participant for expenses for medical care?" (Internal Revenue Service)

Revenue Ruling 2005-55 Addresses Profit Sharing Plans with Medical Reimbursement Accounts
Excerpt: "A new IRS Revenue Ruling says a Profit Sharing Plan violates vesting requirements and possibly other Internal Revenue Code sections if it imposes conditions on the use of amounts held in participant's accounts. Specifically, IRS RR 2005-55, considers the case of a Profit Sharing Plan which applies 25% of the employer's contribution to medical reimbursement accounts for each participant." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

Overview: Board Approval Not Considered Equity Grant Date under FAS 123(R)
Excerpt: "At least one Big Four accounting firm has opined that companies cannot fix the equity grant date at which expensing would begin until the terms of the award have been communicated to employees. Most companies had previously believed the grant date to be when the Board approves specific grant levels to employees, which was also the date on which the grant price is established." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Monographs from the Living to 100 and Beyond Symposium Held January 2005
At this site, you can download a single PDF of all papers from the Living to 100 and Beyond Symposium, or you can download each paper individually. (Society of Actuaries)

Letter to the Editor: Only Trustees Can Change Benefits for Pennsylvania State Employees
Excerpt: "As a state employee, I understand -- apparently better than do the Republican legislators -- that the benefits are decided by trustees of the PEBTF as my agents. These trustees now want to study the feasibility of extending benefits to employees who are in committed relationships other than conventional marriage, that is, domestic partners." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements, February 2005
Excerpt: "The proportion of U.S. workers holding contingent jobs was little different in February 2005 than in February 2001, .... Contingent workers are persons who do not expect their jobs to last or who reported that their jobs are temporary. Using three alternative measures, contingent workers accounted for 1.8 to 4.1 percent of total employment inFebruary 2005. ... In February 2001, the last time the survey was conducted, they ranged from 1.7 to 4.0 percent." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)

Newly Posted Events

Advanced IRA Rollover and Distribution Training
in Florida on November 4, 2005
presented by NF Communications, Inc.

Certified Retirement Financial Advisor Training
in District of Columbia on August 17, 2005
presented by Society of Certified Retirement Financial Advisors

Certified Retirement Financial Advisor Training
in California on October 19, 2005
presented by Society of Certified Retirement Financial Advisors

Certified Retirement Financial Advisor Training
in Florida on November 30, 2005
presented by Society of Certified Retirement Financial Advisors

Newly Posted Press Releases

Disaster Relief Announcements
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Council Praises Congress For Focus On Health Care, Urges Efforts To Promote Flexibility And Choice
(American Benefits Council)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Compensation and Benefits - Manager
for Grant Thornton LLP
in CA, CO

Sales Vice President Insurance And Specialty Markets
for ING US Financial Services
in IL, MI, TX

Project Manager-Medicare
for Premier Recruiters & Associates
in VA

Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Federated Investors
in PA

Senior Vice President
for ING US Financial Services
in AZ

Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for ALCOS
in MI

Senior Plan Administrator
for The Allocation Company, Inc.
in TX

2nd Vice President, Plan Administration
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA

Retirement Plan Administrator US-WA-TACOMA
for Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc.
in WA

Pension Paralegal/Legal Assistant
for Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc.
in WA

Defined Contribution Administrator
for Established Oak Brook Administration Firm
in IL

Benefit Analyst I
for ProView
in CA

Employee Benefits Administrator (TBO)
for National TBO Practice
in NJ, NY



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