BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter August 10, 2005 Today's sponsor: WorldatWork (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) WorldatWork publications in the BenefitsLink Bookstore WorldatWork, a not-for-profit professional association, is a leading publisher of compensation, benefits and total rewards information. With a portfolio of books, reports, survey briefs, booklets and online learning programs, WorldatWork creates, markets and distributes publications that are critical to improved organizational performance. WorldatWork has contributed to the education and development of business professionals worldwide since 1955. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Accommodating Employees with Long-Term Illnesses Can Be Healthy for Business Excerpt: "Having a clear and concise written leave policy benefits the ailing employee, too, says dealer Mark Hendren, Joplin (Mo.) Ford. 'It lets the employee know what's going to happen. With the medical problems and all the headaches that go with that, they at least don't have to worry about [their leave], because you've made clear what the parameters are.'" (AutoExec) Actuarial Issues in Care Management Interventions -- Part 2 Excerpt: "This part is composed of three papers examining methodologies for measuring financial outcomes of disease management and other care management intervention programs. [The papers are titled: Understanding the Economics of Disease Management Programs; Outcomes and Outcome Measurement Methodologies; and, An Actuarial Methodology For Evaluating Disease Management Outcomes.]" (Society of Actuaries) Monopoly Is Not The Answer -- A Response to the 'Specialty Versus Community Hospitals' Article Excerpt: "The cost burden on individual Americans should clinch the argument against tolerating, let alone fostering, health-sector monopolies. Certificate-of-need (CON) regulation was originally intended to correct market failures that no longer afflict health care markets. It is ironic that Sujit Choudhry and colleagues now invoke it to deal with situations where, in their view, competition is working altogether too well." (Health Affairs) Specialty Versus Community Hospitals: What Role for the Law? Excerpt: "U.S. health care has long featured a struggle between regulation and markets as vehicles of reform, and the community hospital is at the center of this struggle. The key to its financial viability is cross-subsidization, whereby revenues from insured patients subsidize the care of the uninsured and underinsured, and profits from well-compensated services support those operating at a loss." (Health Affairs) The Relationship Between Quality and Utilization in Managed Health Care Excerpt: "Objective: To examine correlations of commercial health plan performance on Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) effectiveness-of-care measures with utilization rates, as a proxy for cost. Study Design: Cross-sectional study of 254 commercial health plans." (National Committee for Quality Assurance via The American Journal of Managed Care) Average Annual Cost of Employment-Based Health Insurance for Single Coverage, 2003, by State Excerpt: "The Medical Expenditure Panel Survey IC is an annual survey of establishments that collects information about employer-sponsored health insurance offerings in the United States." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Report: Seeing Red -- Americans Driven into Debt by Medical Bills -- Results from a National Survey (PDF) 12 pages. Excerpt: "New analysis of the 2003 Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey reveals that an estimated 77 million Americans age 19 and older -- nearly two of five (37%) adults -- have difficulty paying medical bills, have accrued medical debt, or both." (The Commonwealth Fund) Growth in Medical Costs for Health Insurers Slowing, According to Earnings, Forecasts Excerpt: "The growth in medical costs for major U.S. insurance companies is continuing to stabilize or slow, according to recent corporate earnings reports and forecasts, Dow Jones/Wall Street Journal reports. WellPoint, Aetna, UnitedHealth Group, Humana and PacifiCare Health Systems all have reported steady or moderating trends for medical costs in their commercial health plans." (Kaiser Family Foundation) More Than 50 Employers to Announce New Purchasing Model for Pharmacy Benefit Managers Excerpt: "A coalition of 52 large employers ... is expected to endorse a new purchasing model for pharmacy benefit managers that would require greater disclosure of acquisition costs and rebates, the Wall Street Journal reports. The group -- which includes Caterpillar, IBM, Starbucks and Verizon Communications -- said that it could collectively reduce by about 9% its $3.7 billion in annual pres.cription drug spending by contracting with PBMs that agree to the plan." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Mail-Service Pharmacy Savings: A Ten-Year Outlook for Public and Private Health Care Purchasers (PDF) 17 pages. Excerpt: "Mail-service pharmacies -- technologically advanced facilities operated primarily by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) -- dispense millions of pres.criptions each year with a high degree of accuracy and cost efficiency. This study seeks to quantify the savings associated with the mail-service pharmacy distribution channel being used to full potential." (Pharma.ceutical Care Management Association) Overview: Disclosure Requirement for Employers Providing Pres.cription Drug Coverage Excerpt: "This disclosure requirement potentially applies to all employers offering pres.cription drug coverage-- not just those offering programs for retirees. .... CMS has published a simplified safe harbor method for determining whether an employer's pres.cription drug coverage meets the actuarial equivalence test. A copy of the safe harbor is available at: [http://www.faegre.com/articles/article_1646.aspx]." (Faegre & Benson LLP) Lower Costs Seen for Premium in Medicare Drug Benefit Plan Excerpt: "The Bush administration said Tuesday that the average premium for the new Medicare drug benefit would be $32.20 a month, about $5 less than previously estimated. Officials said that aggressive competition among private insurers had driven premiums below their expectations." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) AARP Data Digest: Health Coverage Among 50-64 Year-Olds in 2003 (PDF) 8 pages. Excerpt: "The aging of the population focuses attention on how those in midlife get health insurance. Because medical problems and health costs commonly increase with age, having health coverage takes on growing importance. This Data Digest provides an overview of health coverage among persons ages 50 through 64 in 2003. The information primarily comes from analysis of the March 2004 Current Population Survey." (AARP) Policy Brief: Mass. Governor Individual Mandate Proposal Part of Solution for Universal Coverage? (PDF) 2 pages. Excerpt: "This Policy Brief provides a summary of the proposal based on available information (no legislation has been introduced), arguments that have been put forth for and against it, including issues that could potentially impact employers under such a scheme." (HR Policy Association) 1996-2004 Uninsured Estimates for the U.S. Civilian Noninstitutionalized Population under Age 65 (PDF) 5 pages. Excerpt: "The Household Component of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS-HC) provides critical information for evaluating trends in the health insurance status of the population. This Statistical Brief presents estimates on the uninsured in America under age 65 for calendar years 1996 through 2003, as well as the first half of 2004. All differences between estimates discussed in the text are statistically significant at the 0.05 level unless otherwise noted." (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) HSA Guidebook Part 4: Contributions to an HSA: Tax Treatment of Permissible Contributions Excerpt: "The fourth of our seven-part HSA series takes a closer look at the parts of an HSA that an employee can control." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Hewitt Associates' Benefit Cuts to Save $45 Million Annually Excerpt: " Hewitt Associates, which advises large companies on how to craft their benefits, announced Monday it would restructure its own benefits to save the company $45 million annually. The Lincolnshire-based firm is raising health insurance premiums and making significant changes to its retirement benefits." (BenefitNews Connect) FAS 123(R) Resource Group Discussion Document -- Meeting No. 2 on July 21, 2005 (PDF) 15 pages. Excerpt: "On July 21, 2005, the FASB staff ... held a meeting with the FASB Statement 123(R) Resource Group ... to discuss several issues relating to the implementation of Statement 123(R), Share-Based Payment. The information [on the target page] summarizes the issues and discussion of the Group." (Financial Executives International) Wal-Mart's New Workforce Management Plans Will Cut Pay and Benefits Excerpt: "The world's largest retailer has instituted a new computerized plan for matching customer traffic with employee schedules, forcing many workers to lose pay and benefits as their hours fall below the full time level." (The NewStandard) Newly Posted Events Consumer Driven Benefits...Providing Solutions to Control Benefit Costs in New York on September 8, 2005 presented by Mass Marketing Insurance Institute (MI2) Newly Posted Press Releases Ceridian Adds Streaming Video Tips To Its EAP And Work-Life Online Services; Enhanced Service Available to Employees of Companies Offering Ceridian's LifeWorks Online Service (Ceridian) New Model Predicts Retirement Satisfaction for Business Owners (Christman Group) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Retirement Analyst for Stanford University in CA Retirement Benefit Specialist for Stanford University in CA Pension Analyst I for Milliman, Inc. in WA OmniPlus Consultant for DC Specialists, Inc in ANY STATE Manager, Employee Benefits for MTA - New York City Transit in NY Compliance Administrator - PA for Vanguard in PA Compliance Analyst for ING US Financial Services in CA Pensions Plan Consultant for Nationwide Financial Services in OH 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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