| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
October 17, 2005
Today's sponsor: Trustgenix
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Free White Paper: Connecting HR applications through Single Sign On |
| Federated Single Sign-On provides benefits providers and employers with an off-the-shelf solution for securely connecting online applications. Benefits include:
* Seamless single-sign on to outsourced HR services from internal portal To learn more, request a free white paper by clicking on the link above. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
General Motors and UAW Move toward Agreement to Cut GM's Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "GM has complained that rising health care and pension costs weigh on the company's bottom line. In European countries and in Japan, the home of major competitors, workers are covered by publicly funded health care programs. In addition, foreign automakers with plants in the United States typically have a younger workforce and few retirees. The UAW has failed to organize those workers. The UAW has repeatedly called for national health care." (The Washington Post; one-time registration required)
General Motors Calls for Agreement with UAW on Health Benefits Within Days
Excerpt: "Officials for General Motors have indicated to the United Auto Workers that they might 'act unilaterally' to reduce the $5.6 billion the company spends annually on U.S. health care in the event they cannot reach an agreement with the union on concessions on health benefits within the next few days, the Wall Street Journal reports ...." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
New York Times' Columnist Suggests Automakers Back Universal Health Care System Efforts
Excerpt: "A 'reason to be angry with auto executives is that they never threw their support behind national health care' in the U.S., although such a system is 'clearly in their companies' interest' because the cost of health benefits for employees and retirees accounts for a large part of the financial problems faced by the industry, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman writes in an opinion piece." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Alleged Error Did Not Protect Employer from Liability for Failure to Provide COBRA Coverage
Excerpt: "The court concluded that there was 'no dispute that the regulations were violated.'" (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Summary: 7th Annual Report - Implementation of the Administrative Simplification Provisions of HIPAA
Excerpt: "This report describes the status of implementation of the Administrative Simplification provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA.) The major purpose of the HIPAA provisions is to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the nation's healthcare system, specifically Medicare and Medicaid programs and, in general, the overall healthcare system by encouraging the electronic transmission of health information ...." (National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics via HIPAAdvisory.com)
Recovering Money Owed to Plans: Subrogation Agreements Can Be Enforced (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Welfare benefit plan participants who receive plan benefits because of injury by a third party are often required to reimburse their plan for those benefits, if they later recover money from the third party. This article covers whether participants can be required to sign subrogation agreements before becoming eligible for plan benefits, and whether a claim to enforce a subrogation agreement seeks equitable relief or money damages." (Journal of Pension Benefits via Gardner Carton & Douglas)
Summary: A 2020 Vision of Patient-Centered Primary Care (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The concept of patient-centered healthcare is beginning to take hold. Increasingly, patients expect physicians to be responsive to their needs and preferences, to provide them with access to their medical information, and to treat them as partners in care decisions. But despite being named one of the key components of quality health care by the Institute of Medicine, 'patientcenteredness' has yet to become the norm in primary care." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Cross-Border Health Insurance Is a Hit with Employers and Workers
Excerpt: "[A] growing number of California employers ... offer workers health insurance that provides care in Mexico. At least 150,000 California workers are enrolled in such plans, according to insurers. The plans are cheaper for employers and employees than traditional insurance, with premiums that can be half that of a U.S. plan. And the option provides a more convenient, culturally comfortable environment for some of the thousands of Mexican citizens working in San Diego County." (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Question Is Not Whether Consumer-Directed Health Plans Will Change American Health Care, but How
Excerpt: "The jury is still out on whether consumer-directed health-care plans are merely shifting cost, or actually changing consumer behavior to improve the overall health/cost equation, as early studies suggested. But clearly CDH is an important battlefront between archrivals UnitedHealth Group and WellPoint." (Risk & Insurance)
EBRI Article: Uninsured Unchanged in 2004, but Employment-Based Health Coverage Declined (PDF)
Excerpt: "Among all individuals residing in the United States, just under 60 percent were covered by employment-based health benefits during 2004, down from almost 64 percent in 2000. This continues a downward trend that started between 2000 and 2001, following a period of increasing coverage dating from 1994." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
So Why Is Healthcare Tied to the Workplace?
Excerpt: "Moffit, who directs the Center for Health Policy Studies at the conservative Heritage Foundation in Washington, says ''it's nuts' that nine out of 10 Americans with private health insurance get coverage through their employers. ''Imagine if auto insurance worked the same way,' says Moffit. ''So, if you lost your job, you could no longer drive. That would be profoundly absurd.'" (The Boston Globe)
Editorial: Wrong Solution for the Uninsured
Excerpt: "As well-meaning legislation goes, it would be hard to beat the law recently approved by the New York City Council over the veto of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It requires certain large grocers to provide health care benefits for their employees. The law - like a handful of similar efforts from Long Island to San Francisco - is a response to the growing strain on Medicaid and other government assistance programs from uninsured workers." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
A Segal Company Bulletin on IRS Guidance on Comparable Contributions to Health Savings Accounts (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Employers are not required to contribute to [HSAs], but to the extent that they do, each calendar year's contributions must be 'comparable' across certain groups of employees. This bulletin discusses proposed ... regulations that explain the meaning of 'comparable contributions.' [A supplement at] http://www.segalco.com/publications/presentations/HSAcontrib.pdf ... provides additional information about acceptable contribution methods for employer contributions to HSAs." (The Segal Company)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
General Motors Bets the Ailing Parts Maker Will Win Big Labor Savings -- and It Can Follow Suit
Excerpt: "Delphi Corp. had barely filed for bankrup.tcy on Oct. 8 when all eyes turned to General Motors Corp. ... It's not hard to see why. In the weeks leading up to Delphi's announcement, many analysts had figured GM would never allow its former parts unit to file for Chapter 11. Doing so meant the already troubled auto maker could inherit up to $11 billion of Delphi's pension and health-care obligations." (BusinessWeek)
Overview: IRS Announcement and New Legislation Provide Guidance for Katrina-Affected Employees (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Effective September 15, 2005, certain qualified plans may make loans and hardship distributions to employees or former employees affected by Hurricane Katrina which otherwise would not be permitted under existing plan terms. This new IRS guidance applies to 401(k) plans, profit sharing plans, 403(b) plans (for employees of tax exempt employers and public schools), 457(b) plans (for state and local government employees) and financial institutions holding IRAs ...." (Powell Goldstein LLP)
Overview: Employee Benefits Relief for Hurricane Katrina Victims
Excerpt: "In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the Federal government has extended numerous deadlines relating to employee benefit plans and has provided other forms of employee benefits-related relief for affected employers, plan participants and beneficiaries. The centerpiece of the Federal government's efforts is the Katrina Emergency Tax Relief Act of 2005 (KETRA), which was signed into law by President Bush on September 23, 2005." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)
Additional Extension of Time Frames for COBRA, HIPAA & ERISA Claims Procedures for Katrina Victims
The additional extension of time frames was published in the Federal Register on October 12, 2005. (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Overview: Long-Awaited Guidance on Section 409A Has Arrived (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This Special Alert provides a summary of certain provisions of Section 409A as reflected in the newly proposed regulations." (Trucker Huss)
Overview: Employers Get IRS Guidance on Deferred Compensation Rules (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The [guidance] elaborates upon the types of deferred pay arrangements that are subject to the new restrictions, explains the operational requirements for deferral elections and sets the permissible timing of payments to plan participants. For employers and plan participants who are not based in the U.S., there are clarifications on how the rules apply to global arrangements in a number of important technical areas, such as the treatment of American depository receipts." (Towers Perrin)
Overview: Proposed Regulations on Deferred Compensation under Section 409A
Excerpt: "This is a summary of some of the more important provisions in the proposed regulations, with particular emphasis on those areas that depart from, or were not addressed by, prior guidance. While not scheduled to be effective until January 1, 2007, taxpayers may rely upon the proposed regulations until the effective date of any final regulations." (LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP)
Bill to Revamp Law Enforcement Benefits Expected
Excerpt: "'Something needs to be done to correct the inconsistencies and inadequacies that currently exist for the men and women risking their lives to ensure our safety in today's post-9/11 environment,' Porter said in a statement. 'We simply cannot afford to lose talented, highly motivated employees because the current system governing pay and retirement benefits for federal law enforcement officers is built on an inflexible patchwork of outdated concepts.'" (GovExec.com)
Newly Posted Events
Employee Benefits Litigation Update
in New Jersey on October 18, 2005
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB) - NJ
San Diego County Chapter of NIPA Is Pleased to Announce S. Derrin Watson, J.D.
in California on November 10, 2005
presented by San Diego County Chapter of NIPA
Newly Posted Press Releases
IRS Announces Pension Plan Limitations for 2006
(Internal Revenue Service (IRS))
ShareBuilder(R) Launches 401(k) Plan; Designed Exclusively For Small Business, ShareBuilder 401(k) Invests Only In ETFs And Is 100 Percent Online
(ShareBuilder)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contribution Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in NJ
Defined Benefit Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Senior Retirement Plan Specialist
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA
Flex Plan Administrator
for Cornerstone Group
in RI
Account Executive- Executive Benefits
for Lockton Companies, Inc.
in MO
Enrolled Actuary
for National Retirement Services, Inc.
in CA
Conversion Specialist
for Great-West Financial Services
in CO
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: