BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter August 5, 2005 Today's sponsor: BeneCom Associates, LLC (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) BeneCom Associates, LLC, for one-stop benefit communications Since 1992, BeneCom has provided one-stop benefit communications for organizations large and small, nationwide. Staffed by people who know benefits, we write, design and produce effective media, including SPDs, enrollment materials, newsletters, benefit statements and more. So whether you're an employer, plan administrator or consultant in need of traditional or online capabilities, we're here to help. Call (860) 674-2626 today. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Health Information Technology Bills Pile Up in Congress -- An Overview Excerpt: "In the first six months of 2005, members of Congress introduced nine pieces of legislation to promote health care information technology. That level of activity, Washington observers say, bodes well for some sort of health I.T. legislation passing during the 109th Congress, which ends in December 2006." (Health Data Management) Business Group Criticizes Health Care Plans on Mental Health Treatment Excerpt: "Health plans are doing a poor job of identifying and treating employees with mental health and chemical dependency problems, the National Business Coalition on Health said ...." (Business Insurance) Drug Benefit Firms Blamed for Rising Costs, but Industry Execs Say Competition Keeps Prices Down Excerpt: "The firms that manage drug benefits for other companies pay pharmacies so little and charge employers so much that they're pushing up the costs for everyone, a pharmacy official said Wednesday. 'This should scare people,' Mark S. Riley, executive vice president for the Arkansas Pharmacists Association, told members of Colorado's Health Care Task Force." (Rocky Mountain News) Google Searches the World for Gourmet Chefs: Free Food Perk Dished Up for Its Employees Excerpt: "Google on Thursday announced a global search for two executive chefs to oversee preparation of the Mountain View company's most celebrated employee perk: free gourmet meals. To help feed the rapidly growing company's 4,100 employees, Google advertised an opening in December for a second lead chef to help Charlie Ayers, who formerly cooked for the Grateful Dead." (Los Angeles Times via SFGate.com) North Carolina Stops Paying Hospitals: Insurance Payments Are Suspended During Budget Negotiation Excerpt: "The state health plan for state workers, teachers, retirees and their dependents hasn't paid hospitals since July 1 -- and won't until lawmakers pass a state budget that finalizes proposed changes to plan benefits.' (The News & Observer) Doctors, Consultants Allege Abuses by Health Insurers Excerpt: "Bridgetown [Ohio] orthopedic surgeon Dr. George Griffin, along with other physicians and patients, plans to detail what he says are abusive business practices being used by health insurers against small physician groups." (Cincinnati Business Courier via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required) Two Non-Profit Groups Announce Standards for Physician Outpatient Care, Health Plan Care Management Excerpt: "The National Quality Forum ... announced the endorsement of a series of voluntary standards to determine and publicly report the quality of outpatient care provided by physicians, .... .... In related news, the National Committee for Quality Assurance ... announced that 57 health plans have agreed to implement voluntary care management standards developed to encourage wellness and disease prevention, CQ HealthBeat reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Basic Questions & Answers about Medicare Pres.cription Drug Coverage (PDF) 8 pages. Excerpt: "Consistency in education and outreach materials helps with clarity. To achieve consistency in explaining Medicare Pres.cription Drug Coverage to people with Medicare, use these basic questions and answers. These can be used to respond to questions from people with Medicare. Partners can use these questions and answers to respond to direct questions from people with Medicare or can use them in their materials." (U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) Overview: Retiree Drug Subsidy Application Process Begins (PDF) 2 pages. Excerpt: "This issue discusses recent guidance by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the paperless, online retiree drug subsidy (RDS) application process managed through the RDS Center, a secure Web site. The Bulletin also describes several key roles in the application process. An online supplement to the Bulletin at http://www.segalco.com/publications/presentations/RDSapp.pdf outlines the RDS application process in the form of eight steps." (The Segal Company) Mail Order Drugs Could Save U.S. Billions, According to Association Study Excerpt: "Ordering pres.cription drugs by mail rather than at a store pharmacy could save the nation's insurance program for the elderly and disabled up to $86 billion over 10 years, a study released on Tuesday found. The study, released by the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA), also found drugs-by-mail are 10 percent cheaper than those bought at retail outlets." (Reuters) Can.ada Supreme Court Weighs Privatized Health Care Excerpt: "The Supreme Court on Thursday granted a one-year stay of its ruling that had cleared the way for private health insurance in Quebec _ and potentially the rest of Can.ada." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General JPMorgan Stock Option Plan Throws a Lifeline to Employees When Shares Are Underwater Excerpt: "JPMorgan's program allows workers to get value out of worthless options and could benefit companies facing new rules on expense reporting." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required) Workforce Aging Trend a Threat to the Utility Industry (PDF) 12 pages. Excerpt: "In this paper, [the authors] offer insight into the dilemma at hand, and outline what the utilities industry must do to come out on top. In particular, [they] focus on ways to attract new talent and ensure that experienced employees pass down their knowledge and expertise before retiring." (Hay Group; one-time registration required) Proposed Electronic Participant Communications for Employee Benefit Arrangements-- Part Two Excerpt: "The DOL issued final rules on electronic delivery (specifically, the delivery of ERISA-required participant disclosures such as SPDs) in 2002. This article compares the ERISA electronic rules with the newly proposed IRS rules." (McKay Hochman) Proposed Electronic Participant Communications for Employee Benefit Arrangements-- Part One Excerpt: "Scope of Regulation: The regulations only apply to employee benefit arrangement notices and elections and not to other IRS areas such as tax reporting, tax records or substantiation of expenses or COBRA. The IRS regulations will not cover areas within the authority of the department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation (PBGC). For example, DOL regulations provide the standards for employee benefit plan disclosures." (McKay Hochman) States Act to Ease National Guard and Reserve Troops' Financial Pain While on Active Duty Excerpt: "Thirty states and Puerto Rico have responded to the largest mobilization of the National Guard and Reserves since World War II by guaranteeing to make up the difference between civilian and military pay for state employees called to active duty." (Stateline.org) Newly Posted Press Releases ASPPA Eidson Award Recognizes G. Patrick Byrnes (ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)) Hewitt Associates to Provide HR BPO Services to Wachovia Corporation; Companies Expand Long-Standing Benefits Outsourcing Relationship (Hewitt Associates LLC) PSCA Provides New Materials for National 401(k) Day 2005 (Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)) 2006 Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey (The Segal Company) Social Security Turns 70 -- The Principal Financial Group Reflects on Contributions of Social Security, Recommends Workers and Retirees Alike Examine Their Financial Futures (Principal Financial Group) 2005 eValue8 Behavioral Health Results Reveal Health Plans Struggle to Identify and Treat Mental Health and Chemical Dependencies (National Business Coalition on Health) NCQA To Develop Program That Will Help Improve Care For 31 Million Individuals With Chronic Back Pain (National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)) Ameriprise Retirement Services and Aon Consulting Form Alliance To Offer Comprehensive Retirement Plan Solution for Employers and Employees: Retirement3 (Ameriprise Retirement Services and Aon Consulting) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Pension Administrator/Calculation for The Rosen Group, leader in placement of Benefits Professionals in NC, VA Compliance Consultant for American United Life Insurance Company in IN Compliance Analyst for Milliman, Inc. in TX Senior Pension Actuary for Lynchval Systems Worldwide Inc in VA Vice President of Operations for Associated Pension Consultants in CA Pension Consultant for Associated Pension Consultants in CA Pension/Benefits Specialist for RubinBrown LLP in MO Commercial Trust Plan Coordinator for Marshall & Ilsley Corporation in MO 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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