| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
November 29, 2005
Today's sponsor: Financial Research Associates
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| STARS & STRIPES: National Public Employees' Retirement Funds Summit |
| Stars & Stripes gives you the information you need to best manage your fund in these challenging times. With the majority of our attendees from the plan sponsor community, you're certain to learn both from the outstanding speaker faculty and your peers! |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Optimal Small Group Renewal Methods (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Ask 10 actuaries to describe the best methods for rating small groups at renewal, and you are likely to get 10 different answers. Milliman surveyed 20 small group carriers on their renewal methods and found that they did things very differently" (Society of Actuaries via Milliman)
Overview: Treasury and IRS Address Grace Period's Impact on HSA Eligibility
Excerpt: "This clarification comes just in time for employers with calendar-year plans who have refrained from adopting a grace period pending resolution of key issues." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Q & A on Employee Eligibility for FMLA Leave
Excerpt: "Question: An employee works five years for an employer, quits, and then returns two years later. Since returning, the employee has worked 1,500 consecutive hours, but has not been back a full twelve months. Is the employee eligible for FMLA leave?" (workindex.com)
Iowa Governor Announces Plan to Help Small Businesses and Schools Pay for Employee Health Care
Excerpt: "Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack (D) ... announced that he will ask the state Legislature to establish a fund of up to $40 million to help small businesses and schools pay for employee health benefits, the AP/Omaha World-Herald reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
State Security Breach Notification Laws Are Catching On Quickly
Excerpt: "The protection of patient information is second nature at covered entities (CEs), but now they face a new compliance dimension: mandatory patient notification. Though HIPAA does not require CEs to inform patients when their PHI is improperly disclosed, mandatory patient notification is coming from the states." (REPORT ON PATIENT PRIVACY via AISHealth.com)
Employers and MCOs Refine Incentive Programs to Encourage Enrollees' Healthy Behaviors
Excerpt: "Many payers have positive and negative incentive programs in place, and are refining them with expanded audiences, high-profile partnerships and targeted interventions -- while ensuring that programs remain in compliance with federal regulations governing their use." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)
High Deductible Health Plans with Health Savings Accounts Gaining Favor
Excerpt: "The concept of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) coupled with High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs) is beginning to gain traction in the marketplace, according to the latest Employee Benefits Market Survey released today by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Overview: Transition Relief from State Mandates Extended for Certain Non-Calendar-Year HDHPs
Excerpt: "Because many states have recently made changes to state-mandated benefits requirements to accommodate HSA eligibility, this guidance gives welcome relief to non-calendar-year HDHPs that may have been unable to adjust for those changes before January 1, 2006." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Knudson Decision Doesn't Limit Plan Right to Recoup Benefit Overpayments by Reducing Future Benefits
Excerpt: "While the Knudson case may have upset the apple cart for plans seeking to enforce reimbursement rights through ERISA lawsuits, this decision is persuasive that Knudson does not limit a plan's ability to recoup overpayments through benefit reductions (provided that the plan documents expressly authorize it)." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Ohio Legislator Says Same-Sex Partner Benefits Illegal
Excerpt: "Ohio State Representative Tom Brinkman, Jr. has sued the Miami University of Ohio saying its offering of health care benefits to same-sex partners violates a state constitutional amendment." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)
Opinion: Grading the President's Tax Reform Panel's Plan
Excerpt: "If these reforms are implemented with transition rules that don't give away the store, our tax system will be more efficient and, in many ways, more equitable. That's the good news. The bad news is that even were the Panel's proposals adopted, our tax system would remain complex, expensive to administer, highly inimical to working, and still rather inimical to saving." (Laurence J. Kotlikoff via National Center for Policy Analysis.)
What Do Plan Sponsors Need to Do Between Now and December 31st?
The chart outlines the Plan or Program, the Action required, and the Deadline. (Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy, LLP)
Newly Posted Events
Healthcare Provider Requirements under New Bankruptcy Code
Nationwide on December 15, 2005
presented by Beard Group, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
Race, Ethnicity, and Retirement Plan Participation
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))
Wolters Kluwer Financial Services - Bankers Systems Inc. Presents Online Demo: IRA Management Center
(Bankers Systems, Inc.)
Two Step Software Delivers Complete Stock Plan Visibility With The New Capitalization Dashboard
(Two-Step Software, Inc.)
CPI Provides Roth Deferral Contribution Option To Plan Sponsors
(CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.)
Continuum Selects Health Risk Assessment Partner
(Continuum)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Enrolled Actuary
for National Retirement Services, Inc.
in CA
401(k) Recordkeeping Associate
for NRECA
in VA
Human Resources Benefits Associate
for The D. E. Shaw group
in NY
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Northeast Planning Services, Inc.
in MA
Technical Education Consultant (telecommute)
for American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
in ANY STATE, VA
Sales Representative
for Navigator Resources
in MO, WA
Retirement Plan Consultant
for MandMarblestone, P.C.
in PA
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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