BenefitsLink
Welfare Plans
Newsletter		To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

August 12, 2005
Today's sponsor: The BenefitsLink Jobs Board

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for The BenefitsLink Jobs Board

Where the best benefits employers find the best candidates

Fill your employee benefits job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink. What better place to find qualified candidates?

Your help wanted ad will be listed in the BenefitsLink Newsletter, will be seen by thousands of candidates who view our listings online, and will be emailed to over 2,800 job-seekers.

Click here to see how easy it is to place an ad!
Momentum Shifts Toward Consumer-Directed Plans
Excerpt: "Looking at past enrollment shifts and at the evolution of managed care can shed light on how to compete in the new market for account-based consumer-directed care, now expected to become one of the predominant health plan models." (Managed Care magazine)

Opinion: Setting Garamendi Straight
Excerpt: "Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi grabbed the spotlight this week by blasting Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) in his latest report 'Priced Out. Health Care in California' while stressing his demand for a universal, government-run health care system. But his accusations against consumer-directed health care (CDHC) products are not backed by actual experience of people in the plans." (The Galen Institute)

Opinion: Early Evidence Is Positive for Consumerism in Health Care (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "HSAs are only one example of a constellation of offerings that give consumers more power and control over health care decisions. Other consumer-directed products, such as Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs), also are helping companies to lower their health costs while providing incentives for employees to be more engaged in managing costs and care." (The Galen Institute)

Towers Perrin Legislative Tracking Chart: Health and Welfare (Updated Aug. 9, 2005) (PDF)
25 pages. (Towers Perrin)

Overview: DOL Regulations Bar Employee's Waiver Of Rights Under FMLA, According To Fourth Circuit
Excerpt: "Department of Labor regulations bar both the prospective and retroactive waiver of rights under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). This was the decision of the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Taylor v. Progress Energy, Inc. (No. 04-1525)." (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Care Managers Help Patients Navigate Medical Maze
Excerpt: "As medical care becomes more fragmented and complex, people are turning to professional care managers who help with filing insurance claims, finding the right doctors or managing the care of an elderly relative who lives far away." (National Public Radio)

Winning Fights with Your HMO
Excerpt: "While most people would rather chew on tinfoil than hassle their HMO over a rejected medical claim, those souls brave enough to try now can get some much-needed help. This month, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Consumers Union published a revamped step-by-step guide to resolving disputes with health plans." (U.S. News and World Report)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Overview: GASB Issues Final Statement on Accounting for Termination Benefits (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently issued Statement No. 47, Accounting for Termination Benefits, which provides guidance for state and local governmental employers on accounting and financial reporting for termination benefits. These benefits include incentives for voluntary terminations (e.g., early retirement window programs) and severance payments with respect to involuntary terminations." (Buck Consultants LLC)

Towers Perrin Legislative Tracking Chart: Human Resources (Updated Aug. 9, 2005) (PDF)
7 pages. (Towers Perrin)

Newly Posted Events

Expensing of Stock Options: What Are The Alternatives
Nationwide on August 23, 2005
presented by Retirement Capital Group

Newly Posted Press Releases

Ceridian Enhances Its Retirement Planning Education Service With New, First-Of-Its-Kind Interactive EAP/Work-Life Tool
(Ceridian)

CPI Opens Atlanta Consulting Office
(CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.)

Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Insurance Instructor (P&C)
for Aon
in NC

Sr. Administrative Assistant
for ING US Financial Services
in PA

Plan Accountant
for Benefit Consultants Group
in NJ

Account Executive
for The Principal Financial Group
in MD



Handy Links:
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:
If you'd like to STOP this newsletter, just click on this link: STOP sending this newsletter to me