BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter August 18, 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) Overview: What All Employers Need to Know About Medicare Part D (PDF) 4 pages. Excerpt: "Medicare Part D deadlines are approaching quickly. Employers applying for the pres.cription drug subsidy must submit their completed applications and actuarial equivalence attestations by September 30, 2005. All employers with Medicare Part D eligible employees or dependents-even employers without retiree pres.cription drug coverage-must provide creditable coverage notices by November 15, 2005." (Dorsey & Whitney LLP) Blues Plans Increase Information Technology Investments to Get Consumers More Involved in Care Excerpt: "A variety of Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans are increasing their investments in information technology (IT), providing redesigned Web sites, personal health records and even telemedicine services to their members. The plans say many of the investments are part of a trend toward empowering members to control and improve their own health care and to make their own decisions about care, even if they're not enrolled in a consumer-directed product." (AIS Report on Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plans via AISHealth.com) Oregon's Governor Signs Mental Health Parity Bill Excerpt: "Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has signed into law a measure that requires the state's group health insurers to offer insurance parity for mental health and substance abuse disorders." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) Majority of U.S. Employees Satisfied with Work-Life Balance, According to Survey Excerpt: "All work and no play making anyone a dull person is no concern according to the 70% of Hudson survey respondents who said they actually have fun at work." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) Abstract of Working Paper: Work Disability is a Pain in the *****, Especially in the United States Excerpt: "This paper investigates the role of pain in determining self-reported work disability in the US, the UK and The Netherlands. Even if identical questions are asked, cross-country differences in reported work disability remain substantial. In the US and the Netherlands, respondent evaluations of work limitations of hypothetical persons described in pain vignettes are used to identify the extent to which differences in self-reports between countries or socio-economic groups are due ...." (National Bureau of Economic Research) Partnership Doesn't Trump Participant Status in Long-Term Disability Plan, Says District Court Excerpt: "US District Judge Glen Conrad of the US District Court for the Western District of Virginia turned aside an argument by Thomas Hall, a partner in the Roanoke, Virginia law firm Woods Rogers, who claimed that his long-term disability benefits under the plan were not subject to ERISA pre-emption because he was a partner, not an employee." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) Opinion: Tighten the Rules on Disability Pensions Excerpt: "We work because we need the money. We also work because we want to show our kids that a job done well, no matter how poorly it pays, has dignity. What fools we are. Because if we worked in public safety, we could claim that the stiff back that routinely seizes up is in fact a job-ending disability. Yes, we could qualify for tens of thousands of dollars of tax-free money each year -- and a whole new career, perhaps as a political appointee, security guard or contractor." (Lexington Herald-Leader) Overview: Managing Intermittent Leave under the FMLA (PDF) Pages 10-13 of 18. Excerpt: "While employees will often take their leave all in one stretch, the FMLA also allows for the 12 weeks of leave to be taken on an 'intermittent' basis in certain circumstances. 'Intermittent' leave under the FMLA is leave taken in separate blocks of time due to the same qualifying reason." (Troutman Sanders LLP) Pollyanna Predictions? Historical Perspective & SPBA's Record, from SPBA President Fred Hunt Excerpt: "I've been asked to explain why my predictions in the annual Report & Forecast and the recent Q&A on the TPA industry seem so optimistic, when many TPAs are facing strangling challenges from insurers, 'discounts', etcetera. It is a fair question. Let me give you an explanation of the historical perspective...and give you some gratifying chuckles. It's important to understand the historical context of your work." (Society of Professional Benefit Administrators) New York City Council Passes Health Insurance Coverage Mandate for Sellers of Groceries Excerpt: "Legislation overwhelmingly approved Wednesday by the New York City Council would require grocery stores and other retailers that sell groceries to make substantial contributions toward their employees' health insurance coverage costs." (Business Insurance) Health IT Trends: Electronic Health Records -- Synthesizing Recent Evidence and Current Policy (PDF) 4 pages. Excerpt: "This issue brief draws on [Mathematica's] review of the literature on health care providers' use of EHRs, which currently seems modest among office-based physicians. As a result, it may take several years before EHRs can be used to monitor performance and quality-based payments, although current policies and recent legislation may expedite their adoption." (Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.) Aetna Will Post Physician Fees Online for Health Plan Members Excerpt: "Connecticut-based Aetna on Friday will make available to members information on the exact prices it has negotiated with in-network doctors in the Cincinnati area, the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Report: Equity Measures and Systems Reform as Tools for Reducing Disparities in Health Care (PDF) 24 pages. Excerpt: "Performance measurements that do not track data by race and ethnicity ... not only miss inequities but are likely to overlook promising techniques for reaching patients of particular racial and ethnic backgrounds. .... This report provides a template for developing new administrative policies to mandate equity QAPIs and use financial incentives to encourage their adoption." (The Commonwealth Fund) Abstract of Working Paper: Real Output in Mental Health Care During the 1990s Excerpt: "Health accounts document changes over time in the level and composition of health spending. There has been a continued evolution in the ability to track such outlays. Less rapid has been the ability to interpret changes in spending. In this paper we apply quality adjusted price indexes for several major mental disorders to national mental health account estimates to assess changes in real 'output'. We show that using the new price indexes reveals large gains in real output ...." (National Bureau of Economic Research) Racial Gap Persists in Health Care, Three Studies Say -- Blacks Get Fewer Tests and Less Treatment Excerpt: "Black Americans still get far fewer operations, tests, medications and other life-saving treatments than whites, despite years of efforts to erase racial disparities in health care and help African Americans live equally long and healthy lives, according to three major studies being published today." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Chemical Company Worker Wants Employer to Monitor Workers for Cancer Excerpt: "A chemical company worker is suing his employer to force it to provide MRIs and neurological testing for thousands of current and former employees after he and more than a dozen others developed brain tumors." (AP via The Washington Post; one-time registration required) Plaintiff Timely Filed Suit Seeking LTD Benefits, According To Eighth Circuit Excerpt: "A plaintiff timely filed a lawsuit seeking to recover long term disability benefits and, as a result, the plaintiff may proceed with the suit. This was the ruling of the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Weyrauch v. Cigna Life Insurance Company of New York (No. 04-3182)." (Spencer Benefits Reports) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Analysis: FASB's Interpretation of 'Grant Date' under FAS 123/123(R) Excerpt: "The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) staff has confirmed that in order for a company to fix the 'expense' amount of an equity award under FAS 123 and FAS 123(R), it is not enough for the Board of Directors or Compensation Committee to merely approve the equity awards. Instead, the date for fixing the expense (what FASB refers to as the 'measurement date') does not occur until the terms of the award actually have been communicated to employees. " (McDermott Will & Emery) Opinion: Demand Change or Pay More for Lawmakers' Salary and Perks Excerpt: "The greed of Pennsylvania legislators extends far beyond the pay raises of 16% to 34% that they recently gave themselves. For example, who else gets insurance coverage for five years of costly nursing home care? Who else gets paid extra for showing up to work in Harrisburg? Who else gets a pension after just a few years on the job?" (Public Opinion) Overview: Supreme Court Approves of Disparate Impact Claims Involving Age Discrimination (PDF) Pages 1-2 of 18. Excerpt: "In light of the Court's ruling, employers should review their policies and procedures to confirm that they do not, in their application, adversely impact protected classes of employees, including those over 40. Further, employers should document the business reasons for employment decisions that impact a broad group of employees, and contact an attorney before implementing any policy that may adversely effect a large number of older workers." (Troutman Sanders LLP) Overview: IRS Proposed Regulations on Electronically Transmitted Employee Benefit Notices Excerpt: "A public hearing will be held in November 2005 on proposed regulations on the use of electronic media for certain employee benefit plan notices." (Hewitt Associates) Overview: Treasury Proposes Electronic Communications Regulations Excerpt: "The proposed regulations pull together, simplify and in some cases extend guidance previously published, in the form of notices and regulations, on the issue of electronic employee benefit notices." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC) Suit Says Michigan Amendment on Marriage Didn't Kill Public Employment-Based Same-Sex Benefits Excerpt: "A group of 21 g.ay couples told a Michigan judge that the state's 2004 constitutional amendment defining marriage as involving one man and one woman does not preclude public employers from providing domestic partner benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) The 2005 Form 5500 -- Overview with Outline of Changes on Front Page of the 'form 5500 help' Site Excerpt: "On July 25, 2005, the U.S. Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) announced the release of the 2005 Form 5500 [www.dol.gov/ebsa]. Don't underestimated the early release date - there are several significant revisions." (form 5500 help) Overview: IRS Revenue Ruling Addressing Medical Reimbursement Accounts within Profit Sharing Plans Excerpt: "IRS Revenue Ruling 2005-55 concludes that such accounts cannot make distributions to reimburse for medical expenses unless they are made on a taxable basis." (Hewitt Associates) Newly Posted Events The Updated DOL Voluntary Fiduciary Correction Program Nationwide on September 15, 2005 presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries) Newly Posted Press Releases Pension Liabilities Pose Little Threat to Financial Health of Most U.S. Companies, Watson Wyatt Study Finds (Watson Wyatt) Transamerica Retirement Services Provides Employers with a Guaranteed Blueprint for Increasing Participation (Transamerica Retirement Services) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Client Services Consultant- NJ for American United Life Insurance Company in NJ Pension Administrator for Preferred Pension Planning Corporation in NJ Install/Conversion Consultant for Wachovia in MN COBRA/FSA Staff for RSM McGladrey Insurance Services in CA Senior Plan Administrator / Actuarial Assistant / ERISA Compliance Assistant for Actuarial Consulting Group, Inc. in IL, NY Financial Planner / Investment Specialist for Diversified Investment Advisors in IA 401(k) Plan Administrator for Northeast Planning Services, Inc. in MA Client Relations Manager for RSM McGladrey Retirement Resources in IL Director, Service for BISYS Retirement Services in PA Relationship Manager for BISYS Retirement Services in PA ERISA/Employee Benefits Attorney for Parsinen Kaplan Rosberg & Gotlieb P.A. in MN Sr. Implementation Consultant for AIG VALIC in TX 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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