BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter August 30, 2005 Today's sponsor: The National Underwriter Company (Click on company name or banner to learn more.) National Underwriter publications in the BenefitsLink Bookstore! The National Underwriter Company is regarded as one of the premiere publishers of professional references. A leader in publications and online services in the areas of Financial Planning, Employee Benefits & Retirement Planning as well as Life & Health and Risk Management since 1897. Click above to see the list of informative publications. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) Overview: IRS Issues Proposed Regulations on HSA Comparability Excerpt: "Treasury and the IRS have just released proposed regulations addressing the comparability rules that apply to HSA contributions made by employers. The proposed regulations also deal with the exception to the comparability rules that applies when employer contributions are made through a cafeteria plan." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Work/Life Balance Perks Aren't Designed for People Who Want to Shoot for the Top Excerpt: "There are in fact trade-offs to be made between careers and family life. There is something to be said about being in the office day in, day out." (Workforce Management; one-time registration required) Arbitration Clause in Employment Agreement Was Enforceable as to COBRA Claim Excerpt: "[T]his decision involved only the applicability of an arbitration clause and did not resolve the employee's COBRA claim. Courts often resolve doubts in favor of arbitration when dealing with a general or 'generic' arbitration provision such as the one in this case, and this result is not surprising." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Privacy Recordkeeping: The Paper Trails You Need to Document Compliance Excerpt: "[T]his checklist pertains only to HIPAA privacy requirements and does not address security, TCS or other HIPAA issues." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com) Three-Month Delay in Notifying Employees of Plan Termination Was a Breach of Fiduciary Duty Excerpt: "A participant who was injured after the policy was canceled, but before the human resources manager gave notice of the cancellation, made a claim for long-term disability benefits. The claim was denied because the policy had been canceled, and the participant sued the employer, alleging that it had breached its fiduciary duty by failing to provide adequate notice of the plan's termination." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Overview: Plan Sponsor's Ability to Obtain PHI and Submit to CMS to Obtain Pres.cription Drug Subsidy Excerpt: "This new FAQ is helpful to group health plan sponsors that are seeking to obtain the retiree drug subsidy. This guidance seems to expand what activities constitute 'plan administration' functions. It was previously unclear whether gathering and submitting the necessary PHI to CMS for the retiree drug subsidy would constitute a 'plan administration' activity, because the subsidy is paid to the sponsor and would not directly benefit the plan." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Some Insured Patients Willing to Pay Full Cost for Some Services, Survey Shows Excerpt: "About one in every six insured patients said they sometimes use a physician who does not accept their health insurance, according to a Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive poll, the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation) Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts to Fund Electronic Health Record Systems in Three Cities Excerpt: "Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts is preparing to launch a $50 million 'experiment' to fully implement electronic health records in three Massachusetts cities, the Boston Globe reports. In Brockton, the largest of the test sites, a 'diverse array' of hospitals, clinics, group practices and independent physician offices will have patient records transferred to electronic files." (Kaiser Family Foundation) AHA Says Hospitals Can't Stop Rising Costs:Study Cites Prices for Goods and Workforce Shortage Excerpt: "Spending on hospital care is rising and there's little hospitals can do about it, the American Hospital Association said about an AHA-commissioned study released last week." (Modern Healthcare; one-time registration required) Medical Insurance that Leaves Insureds with Big Bills Excerpt: "In late March, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners named the states of Washington and Alaska to lead 'a multistate examination' into the conduct of three UICI affiliates, including Mega, Mid-West National and the Chesapeake Life Insurance Co." (Sacramento Bee via The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights) The 2005 UBA/Ingenix National Health Plan Survey Is Released Excerpt: "[United Benefit Advisors presents] the results of the 2005 UBA/Ingenix Health Plan Survey. The survey was conducted during the second quarter of 2005 through the joint effort of 125 of the nation's premier independent benefit advisory firms who comprise UBA. With responses from 12,176 health plans sponsored by more than 8,700 employers nationwide, the 2005 UBA/Ingenix Health Plan Survey is by far the largest and most comprehensive survey of plan design and plan costs ever conducted." (United Benefit Advisors) Workers Say They're Falling Behind, According to AFL-CIO Survey Excerpt: "U.S. workers are dissatisfied with the current economy and fear their standard of living is declining, according to a survey released on Tuesday by the AFL-CIO. Some 53 percent of the 805 workers surveyed said their income is not keeping up with rising health care and gasoline prices, and 70 percent said employers aren't giving them raises to keep up with the higher costs, the labor organization found." (Reuters via The New York Times; one-time registration required) 2005 Pres.cription Drug State Legislation: Mid-Year Edition -- Updated August 15, 2005 Excerpt: "In 2005, state legislatures have a stronger than ever health policy focus on pres.cription drugs. .... As of June, more than 600 separate bills and resolutions in all 50 states proposed to address a wide array of policies affecting access, affordability, payment and other regulation of pres.cription drugs." (National Conference of State Legislatures) Overview: Guidance on Coordination of Medicare Part D Benefits with Other Pres.cription Drug Coverage Excerpt: "Although much of the guidance on the Medicare Part D program is of interest mainly to Part D plans and employers that will be applying for the retiree pres.cription drug subsidy, Part D will also have an impact on other employers that sponsor group health plans that provide pres.cription drug benefits to Medicare-eligible individuals. This guidance on coordination of benefits ... addresses ... whether a Part D plan or a group health plan will be primary, as well as how amounts paid ...." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Bulging Balances and Increased Demand Could Lure Mutual Fund Firms Into HSA Market Excerpt: "Driven by a demand among consumers for more and better services, HSAs eventually will evolve into something that looks more like a 401(k) retirement account than a component of a health care plan, says Brad Arends, a principal in the Minneapolis office of the Alliance Benefit Group (ABG) Financial Services, Inc., an employee benefits consulting and administration firm." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com) Milliman Experts Address Benefits of 'True Group Long-Term Care' in White Paper for Employers Excerpt: "The American employer has for decades provided a safety net to employees in the form of employee benefits. However, the absence of long-term care coverage is the most serious potential financial catastrophe against which employees generally have no protection. The Milliman paper addresses how employers can establish long-term care as a cost-effective healthcare benefit that is both a valuable and essential safety net for employees." (dBusinessNews) Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General Overview: Third Circuit Court Decision Favorably Cites Dissent in Milofsky v. American Airlines Excerpt: "The Third Circuit Court of Appeals in In re Schering-Plough Corporation ERISA Litigation has ruled in favor of a limited subset of ERISA plan participants in their appeal from a Motion to Dismiss. The Third Circuit has held that a subgroup of plan participants may file a derivative action on behalf of an ERISA employee benefits plan under ERISA §502(a)(2) (29 USC §1132(a)(2)) for an alleged breach of fiduciary duty." (The ERISA Industry Committee) Third Circuit Permits Fiduciary Breach Suit Even Though Only Subset of Plan Participants Affected Excerpt: "As noted in the opinion, the Sixth and Eighth Circuits also have ruled that a subset of participants can sue an ERISA plan for breach of fiduciary duty under ERISA Section 502(a)(2). And as the court points out in a footnote, the Fifth Circuit has granted a rehearing in the Milofsky case, effectively vacating that opinion." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.) Text of DOL Proposed Regs Requiring Electronic Filing of Form 5500 for 2007 Plan Year (PDF) 13 pages. Excerpt: "[I]mprovements and cost savings in the filing processes can best be achieved by adopting a wholly electronic filing processing system and eliminating the currently accepted paper filings. The Department believes that a wholly electronic system will result in ... reduced filer errors ...; more timely data for public disclosure and enforcement ...; and lower annual report processing costs, benefiting taxpayers generally." (Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor) Governments Have the Most Generous Employee Benefit Packages Excerpt: "A news release from Mercer Human Resource Consulting said that in terms of overall benefits provided to employees, including health care coverage and retirement benefits, government employers offer the highest level of total benefits at 126% of the market median." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required) Newly Posted Events e-Health Promotion with WebMD: Navigating the Future of Health Care Nationwide on September 20, 2005 presented by Precept Human Capital Management ERISA Workshop in Oregon on October 21, 2005 presented by SunGard Corbel Legislative Update: Are You In Compliance? in Georgia on September 15, 2005 presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - Atlanta Chapter Quarterly Meeting in Montana on September 14, 2005 presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Montana Chapter Newly Posted Press Releases Newkirk Introduces Comprehensive Roth 401(k) Communications Services To Educate Providers' Administrative Staff, Sponsors, and Participants (Newkirk) Employee Benefits that Work: The Principal Financial Group Rolls Out Revolutionary New Worksite Voluntary Benefit Program (Principal Financial Group) United Benefit Advisors (UBA) Announces Results of the Largest National Health Plan Benchmark Survey Ever Conducted (United Benefit Advisors) New Employee Wellness Benefit: The "Managing My Life" Online Library Series (Planning For Life) Labor Department Proposes Electronic Filing of Form 5500 Annual Reports (U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration) CalSTRS "Walks the Walk" on Climate Change: Will Disclose Its Own Greenhouse Gas Emissions (California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)) Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Life & Health Sales Representative for Great-West Healthcare in IL, MI, NJ, OH Benefit Analyst for Edward Hospital in IL HGB Benefits Operations Manager for Hewitt Associates in FL Retirement Plan Consultant for Invesmart, Inc. in OH Relationship Manager / Account Coordinator for T. Rowe Price in DC, MD Retirement Plan Sales Consultant for Invesmart, Inc. in CA, CO, IL, MN, MO, 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. 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: How to Sponsor an Issue Subscribe to a Daily Email Announcing Publication of Each Day's Newsletter Privacy Policy Archive of Previous Newsletters