| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
August 26, 2005
Today's sponsor: World Congress
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Consumer-Centric Healthcare Strategies for Employers, Payers and Providers |
| 1st Annual World Congress Leadership Summit on Consumer-Centric Healthcare Strategies for Employers, Payers and Providers, November 2 - 3, 2005- Marriott Fisherman's Wharf Hotel- San Francisco, CA.
The Summit will address the major opportunities and challenges in the growing consumer-centric marketplace. For more information, please visit: www.worldcongress.com/consumer, call 800-817-8601 or email e.musto@worldcongress.com. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Text of Proposed Regulations on 'Comparable' Employer Contributions to Employees' HSAs (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "These proposed regulations incorporate the rule in Notice 2004-2, Q & A-32 that contributions are comparable if they are either the same amount or the same percentage of the deductible for employees who are eligible individuals with the same category of coverage." (Internal Revenue Service)
Text of Rev. Rul. 2005-60: Effect of Employer Pres.cription Drug Subsidy on Minimum Cost Requirement
Excerpt: "Is the employer subsidy for maintaining pres.cription drug coverage provided under section 1860D-22 of the Social Security Act (SSA), as added by section 101 of the Medicare Pres.cription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003, Pub. L. 108-173 (MMA) taken into account in computing the applicable employer cost for purposes of determining whether the minimum cost requirement of section 420(c)(3) is satisfied?" (Internal Revenue Service)
Employee Benefits In Bankrup.tcy: COBRA Health Continuation Coverage Rules (PDF)
5 pages. (Charles K. "Chip" Kerby III of McDermott, Will & Emery via Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, American Bar Association)
Attitudes Shift In Medicare Drug Plan
Excerpt: "Elderly patients are warming up to the pres.cription drug benefit that begins next year for Medicare recipients, a survey shows." (AP via CNN)
A Response to Jonathan Cohn: Healthy Choice
Excerpt: "In last week's TRB, Jonathan Cohn takes aim at one of the most innovative health policy proposals in recent memory: the Health Care Choice Act, a bill sponsored by Representative John Shadegg of Arizona. Currently, if you buy health insurance you are allowed only to buy a policy licensed within the state where you live. Shadegg's bill would allow you to buy a policy from anywhere in the country." (The Cato Institute)
Reading Fine Print, Insurers Question Some Drug Studies
Excerpt: "As the cost of drugs in the U.S. approaches $250 billion a year, pharma.ceutical companies are running up against a growing breed of detective trained to see through marketing spin. Working for insurers, state Medicaid programs and nonprofit bodies, these detectives cast a wary eye on published studies in medical journals, once considered an unimpeachable source." (Wall Street Journal (featured free content for Aug. 24, 2005))
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Employee Benefits for Same-Sex Married Spouses and Domestic Partners (PDF)
21 pages. (Hogan & Hartson L.L.P. via Section on Labor and Employment Law, American Bar Association)
Primer on Bankrup.tcy Issues in Labor Law and Employee Benefits (PDF)
20 pages. (Babette Ceccotti of Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP via Section of Labor and Employment Law, American Bar Association)
A Microhistory of Employee Benefits and Compensation 1794-2005
Excerpt: "Beginning with the first profit sharing plan in 1794, through the corporate scandals that filled the headlines as the 21st century dawned, Hewitt's report highlights events and legislation that influenced the growth and quality of employee benefit plans and compensation practices in the United States over the past 200-plus years." (Hewitt)
Pension Rights Center Proposes Improvements to ERISA Reporting and Disclosure Requirements (PDF)
18 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he continuing stream of pleas for assistance from countless participants over the years make it clear that the [reporting and disclosure] system remains imperfect, and that there are a number of ways in which ERISA's reporting and disclosure requirements might be improved to ensure that every participant and beneficiary understands and can verify the full value of the benefits they have earned." (Pension Rights Center)
Newly Posted Events
Benefits Cost Management - Solutions Both HR & Financial Executives Should Consider
Nationwide on September 13, 2005
presented by UltraLink
Newly Posted Press Releases
Treasury and IRS Issue Proposed Regulations Relating to Deductibility of Dividends Paid on Employer Securities Held by an ESOP
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
Treasury and IRS Issue Proposed Regulations Concerning Health Savings Account Comparability Rules
(U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service)
Travis Software Releases WebCOBRA.com's August '05 Release
(Travis Software Corp.)
Cowden Advisers, Inc. Introduced to Provide Investment Advice to 401(k) Plans and Participants
(Cowden Associates, Inc.)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Manager, Client Services
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA
Retirement Plan Specialist
for American Funds, A part of the Capital Group Companies, Inc
in TX
Employee Benefits Paralegal
for Seyfarth Shaw LLP
in IL
Pension Administrator
for Kropkof, Kingsley & Associates, Inc.
in NV
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Noble Consulting Services, Inc.
in OH
Benefits Specialist
for CitiStreet
in FL
Manager- Product Management
for Wachovia
in NC
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Raley's
in CA
401(k) Part Time or Per Diem Enroller & Investment Education Representative
for Southern California Company
in CA
Manager - Product Management
for Wachovia
in NC
Financial Advisor/Producer
for ALCOS
in MI
Implementation Project Manager
for Fidelity Investments
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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