| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
September 15, 2005
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Overview: IRS Removes Obstacle in Providing Grace Period for DCAPs (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS guidance shows IRS' willingness to find ways to make the new grace period easier for employers to administer. Although there is a potential issue regarding taxation to the employee of amounts that exceed the statutory maximum, it would not complicate the employer's administration of the grace period." (Buck Consultants LLC)
Overview: Hurricane Katrina Spurs IRS to Give Tax Relief for Employee Leave Donation Programs (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, the IRS has released guidance that gives employers the opportunity to offer tax effective vacation or leave donation programs to their employees. In Notice 2005-68, the IRS states that it will not consider amounts paid to charities on behalf of an employee who elects to forgo vacation or other leave as taxable income to the employee. Importantly, this treatment applies to amounts donated through 2006." (Buck Consultants LLC)
Federal Travel Math for Compensatory Time Off
Excerpt: "If Sally travels from point A to point B on a train for 3 hours and Theo travels from point B to point C on a plane for 4 hours but stops to eat in the terminal for half an hour.... No, this isn't your high school math class. This brainteaser is courtesy of the government's complex rules on compensatory time off for travel. The new time-off regulations came in response to provisions in the 2004 Federal Workforce Flexibility Act, and they went into effect in January 2005." (GovExec.com)
Can Health Information Technology Lower Costs and Improve Quality? (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Other industries have lowered costs and improved quality through heavy investments in information technology. Could healthcare achieve similar results? RAND researchers have estimated the potential costs and benefits of widespread adoption of Health InformationTechnology (HIT). The team also has identified the actions needed to turn potential benefits into actual benefits." (RAND)
Health Care Coverage Cost Takes Its Toll on Starbucks
Excerpt: "Starbucks Corp. will spend more on health insurance for its employees this year than on raw materials needed to brew its coffee, the company's chairman said Wednesday. Howard Schultz, whose Seattle-based company provides health care coverage to employees who work at least 20 hours a week, said Starbucks has faced double-digit increases in insurance costs each of the last four years." (MSNBC via BlueCross BlueShield Association)
Workers' Family Coverage Reaches $10,880 Average: Small Employers Dropping Plans as Costs Swell
Excerpt: "The cost of health insurance for working Americans climbed 9.2 percent this year, the lowest rate of increase since 2000 but still far ahead of both general inflation and workers' pay increases, according to a nationwide survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
Pres.cription Drug Issues Addressed By State Legislators Include Medicare, Discounts
Excerpt: "Pres.cription drug issues were the primary concern of state legislatures in 2004 and 2005, according to a study recently released by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). As of June 2005, more than 600 separate bills and resolutions in all 50 states were proposed to address a wide array of policies affecting access, affordability, payment, and other regulation of pres.cription drugs. Most of the states (37) had pres.cription drug bills signed as of August 2005." (Spencer Benefits Reports)
Health Plans Expect Generics to Reduce Drug Costs in 2006
Excerpt: "Insurers are likely to see pharmacy cost trends fall significantly by the end of 2006, driven down by several generic-drug switches, say managed care organizations (MCOs) and analysts. But one health plan warns that it expects pharmacy costs for Allegra, the popular allergy medication, to rise in the short term as a result of the generic launch." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)
What High-Deductible Plans Look Like: Findings from A National Survey of Employers, 2005
Excerpt: "This paper documents the availability, enrollment, premiums, and cost sharing for high-deductible health plans that are offered with a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA) or are health savings account (HSA)-qualified plans." (Health Affairs)
NBER Working Paper: Insurance and Innovation in Health Care Markets
Excerpt: "Innovation policy often involves an uncomfortable trade-off between rewarding innovators sufficiently and providing the innovation at the lowest possible price. However, in health care markets with insurance for innovative goods, society may be able to ensure efficient rewards for inventors and the efficient dissemination of inventions. Health insurance resembles a two-part pricing contract in which a group of consumers pay an up-front fee ex ante in exchange for a fixed unit ...." (National Bureau of Economic Research)
Summary: Toward a High Performance Health System -- New Commonwealth Fund Commission (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Aiming to help move the U.S. toward a health care system that provides better access, improved quality, and greater efficiency, The Commonwealth Fund has formed the Commission on a High Performance Health System." (Health Affairs)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview of Lattice Models: Why and When to Use Them
Excerpt: "This closer look at Lattice Models overviews the arguments for them in FAS 123 valuation, their limitations, and explanations of binomial, trinomial and Hull-White models." (Chicago Consulting Actuaries, LLC)
As Enrollment Season Nears, Plan Sponsors Still Waiting for Clarity on Deferred Compensation Rules
Excerpt: "The concern that most practitioners and companies have is around the timing of the next round of guidance. The first notice indicated that companies have until December 31 of this year to amend their plans to bring them into compliance .... Until that point, they must operate their plans in compliance with the notice and the law. If there is no extension on the time to amend their plans and, if the second round of guidance comes out this September or October, ...." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Newly Posted Events
2005 Annual Employer Health Benefits Survey
Nationwide on September 15, 2005
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation
Canadian HR & Corporate Benefits Summit
Nationwide on March 19, 2006
presented by marcus evans
Corporate Benefits Summit
in Florida on March 19, 2006
presented by marcus evans
Employee Benefits Program - 23rd Annual National CLE Conference
in Colorado on January 3, 2006
presented by Law Education Institute - Colorado Bar Assoc. CLE
Employees In a Disaster: What To Do After Katrina
Nationwide on September 22, 2005
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in Illinois on October 20, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of 401(k) Plans
in Pennsylvania on October 27, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans
in Texas on October 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans
in Kansas on October 20, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Fundamentals of Qualified Plans
in Massachusetts on October 27, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel
Medicare Part D is almost here. Are you ready?
in District of Columbia on September 22, 2005
presented by Capital Chapter ISCEBS
National Healthcare Consumerism
in New Jersey on January 12, 2006
presented by marcus evans
New Guidance on Section 409A
Nationwide on September 28, 2005
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Newly Posted Press Releases
Statement by the U.S. Treasury Regarding Requests to Postpone Pension Payments Due on September 15
(U.S. Department of Treasury)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
HRIS Analyst
for Providence Health System
in WA
Account Executive - Client Services
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in MA
Business Development Bank Channel Management
for Transamerica
in ANY STATE
Benefits Professional
for Prestige Staffing
in CO
401(k) Plan Administrator
for ePlan Services, Inc.
in CO
Relationship Manager - Employee Benefits
for Reliance Trust Company
in GA
Benefit Administrator
for Independent Benefit Services
in MD
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Search BenefitsLink
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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