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October 27, 2005
Today's sponsor: CCA Strategies

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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)

The Value of Employee Perks Needs to Be Determined by Employers
Excerpt: "In deciding on jobs, a company's benefits, such as health care or child care, are often significant factors. On the job, however, such benefits do little to motivate employees to perform at higher levels over the long term. Company perks, if tied to desired behaviors or performance, can become important motivators." (Cincinnati Business Courier via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)

Pharmacy Issues Impact Health Plan Behavioral Carve-Out Decisions
Excerpt: "'It certainly has not escaped most health plans that a major part of most behavioral health costs is pharmacologic,' says James Hartert, M.D., chief medical officer of Prime Therapeutics, LLC,.... As drug expenses, the number of psychotropic medications available and the total enrollees on such drugs continue to increase, 'there's a greater interest in health plans wanting to approach that as a management opportunity,' he says." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)

DOL Confirms that Employer May Insist on New Medical Certification for FMLA Absence in New Year
Excerpt: "SHRM reports that in its opinion letter, the DoL drew an analogy between medical certification in a new leave year and recalculating the 1,250 hours of service for FMLA eligibility. (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)

WSJ Examines Legality of Wal-Mart Proposal to Discourage Unhealthy Job Applicants
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal [today] examined how a recommendation in an internal Wal-Mart memo that the company discourage unhealthy job applicants to reduce health care costs 'raises questions about how far employers can legally go in preferential hiring' (Zimmerman et al., Wall Street Journal, 10/27)." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Wal-Mart Revises Employee Health Benefits, Will Offer Lower-Cost Plan, HSAs
Excerpt: "Under the new plan, which has not yet been formally announced, monthly premiums would cost 40% to 60% less than those of current plans. On average, premiums would be lower than $25 for an individual, $37 for a single parent and $65 for a family. For employees in select areas, the premium will be as low as $11, ...." (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report via Medical News Today)

Wal-Mart and Health Care: Condition Critical (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "Center for a Changing Workforce's Wal-Mart and Health Care: Condition Critical examined the company's employee health insurance practices using the retailer's own documents and Federal Government filings." (Center for a Changing Workforce)

Health Insurance Becomes Focus at Year's End -- Especially for Small Employers
Excerpt: "Dave Morgan, CEO of TACODA, ..., calls providing health benefits 'an easy decision to make.' Morgan has a staff of 40 people, and is expanding his coverage to include better dental benefits. He's found that insurance providers have come up with excellent plans for small businesses, although they are, of course, more expensive per employee than coverage at larger employers. 'If you're willing to bear the cost, you can offer better benefits than the big companies,' Morgan said." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required)

Uncontainable Drug Costs Spurring Employers to Take Fresh Look at Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Excerpt: "Earlier this month Express Scripts Inc., one of the top three managers of employer-sponsored pres.cription-drug benefits, made headlines by announcing that it would erase Lipitor from its list of preferred drugs. The move marked a sea change in relations between the pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and the big drug companies, according to some observers. If they're right, that change is being driven by employers' growing awareness about where their drug-benefit dollars are going." (CFO.com)

Opinion: Values-Driven Healthcare: Freedom of Conscience for the Consumer
Excerpt: "The current system of third-party payment, which governs government- and employment-based insurance arrangements, undermines personal decision-making in health care while increasing the difficulty of individuals and families in coping with employment decisions and the transitions that accompany changes in life." (The Heritage Foundation)

Opinion: U.S. Industry is in the Crosshairs of Bad Tax Policy for Health Insurance Provision
Excerpt: "The way tax law treats health insurance is a relic of World War II price controls and has been the driving force behind our industrial-age health policy. The system worked fine in the heady times of American's industrial dominance for the past half-century, but its day is over. The country is moving toward individual empowerment and ownership of health insurance. But tax law fights this change." (Galen Institute)

Web-Based Company Tries to Level Broker Fees
Excerpt: "Watch out, brokers and consultants. It appears a certain Web-based company is offering advice to employers on how to maximize their advisers' value - including guidelines on what sort of fee is appropriate for their services. San Diego-based Self Managed Benefits was formed, its creators say, specifically to 'help employers reduce the cost of broker consultants.'" (The Adviser)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Overview: Navigating the Code § 409A Transitional Rules
Excerpt: "In Notice 2005-1, the IRS and Treasury first announced transition rules governing the treatment of deferred compensation arrangements under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which enacted new Code § 409A. A recently proposed Treasury regulation furnished additional guidance expanding some but not all of the Notice 2005-1 transition rules. This Advisory explains the Code § 409A transition rules as embodied in both Notice 2005-1 and the proposed rule." (Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo P.C.)

Researchers Rank the Most Employee-Friendly States
Excerpt: "Delaware, New Hampshire, and Minnesota are the most employee-friendly states in the country, according to a ranking by researchers from the Political Economy Research Institute ... at the University of Massachusetts. The researchers looked at the working environments in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., analyzing data on average pay, employment opportunities, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, fair treatment between genders, and ability for employees to unionize." (Business & Legal Reports, Inc.)


Newly Posted Events

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Michigan on December 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in North Carolina on December 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Illinois on December 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Texas on December 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Wisconsin on December 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Kansas on December 8, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Minnesota on December 8, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Distributions and Taxation Workshop
in Georgia on December 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Introduction: Plan Sponsor Podcast
Nationwide on October 27, 2005
presented by Ameriprise Retirement Services

Ready for Roth?
in Michigan on December 6, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Ready for Roth?
in Illinois on December 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Ready for Roth?
in Texas on December 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Ready for Roth?
in Wisconsin on December 7, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Ready for Roth?
in Kansas on December 8, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Ready for Roth?
in Minnesota on December 8, 2005
presented by SunGard Corbel

Trends Impacting Our Culture and Connections to Retirement Plans Podcast
Nationwide on October 27, 2005
presented by Ameriprise Retirement Services


Newly Posted Press Releases

WageWorks Ranks No. 24 on Inc. Magazine's List of America's 500 Fastest-Growing Private Companies; Consumer Health Spending Management Firm Records Three-Year Growth of 2,117%
(WageWorks Inc.)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Supervisor, Service
for BISYS Retirement Services
in PA

Defined Contribution Conversion Specialist
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA

Employee Benefit Administrator
for Premier Recruiters & Associates
in KY

Marketing Associate
for Howard Simon & Associates, Inc.
in IL

Manager, Retirement Plans & Compliance
for BISYS Group, Inc.
in OH

Claims Manager
for Hewitt Associates
in FL

Health and Welfare Associate
for Employee Benefits Firm
in PA

Disbursement Services Associate
for ICMA - RC
in DC

Disbursement Services Specialist
for ICMA - RC
in DC

Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution Administrator
for Associates in Excellence
in CA

Actuarial Analyst
for New York Life Investment Management LLC
in MA

Relationship Manager
for Midsouth Pension Consultants, LLC
in TN

Compliance Analyst
for Great-West Retirement Services
in WI

Implementation Analysts
for Staffing Agency
in MA

Pension Manager
for Hogan & Hartson L.L.P.
in DC

Assistant Director - Provider Relations
for 1199SEIU National Benefit and Pension Fund
in NY




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