| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
February 24, 2006
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U.S. to Pay Big Employers Billions Not to End Their Retiree Health Plans
Excerpt: "America's largest companies expect the federal government to pay them about $4 billion over the next four years to help keep their retiree health plans alive at a time when such benefits are increasingly on the chopping block, according to a new study by Credit Suisse First Boston." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Blog: Interim Regulations on Medicare Secondary Payer Amendments
Excerpt: "Interim regulations implementing Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) amendments made by the Medicare Pres.cription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) have been published by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). ... The new rules clarify various MSP definitions and rules, including the legal basis for collection of amounts from employers and other entities payments made by Medicare to providers when Medicare coverage should have been secondary." (Pensions & Benefits Weblog)
WebMD Markets PHRs to Insurers and Large Employers
Excerpt: "WebMD has signed multiyear licensing contracts with health insurers Aetna, Cigna and WellPoint and almost three dozen large U.S. employers - such as Bank of America and IBM - to operate private-access Web sites that allow employees to track their medical records, as well as find information about diseases and compare cost and quality ratings for physicians and hospitals." (California HealthCare Foundation)
NCQA Proposes Measuring Health Care-Delivery Efficiency
Excerpt: "The National Committee for Quality Assurance is seeking comment on a new set of economic measures that will allow purchasers and consumers to compare how much health plans spend on the delivery of care, as well as how they rate in clinical quality." (Business Insurance)
Employees Should Cover Most of Cost of Health Insurance, WSJ Op-Ed Says
Excerpt: "'There are two primary ways to address burgeoning' health care costs: 'increase competition for services by making consumers the direct purchasers of health care; or ration care through strictly applied benefit schedules,' Charles Farrell, vice president of Dorman Farrell, writes in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Pres.cription Drug Program Cost Increases are Slowing
Excerpt: "While the projected increase in employer-provided health care benefit costs for 2006 is expected to remain about the same, the increases for pres.cription drug programs are slowing, according to a Buck Consultants' survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Health Care Providers Wary of HSA Cash-Based Care?
Excerpt: "'Health insurers have their (HSA plans) out there and the banks are ready, but there are a lot of doctors, clinics and hospitals who don't get it; there's a lot of fear about moving into the retail market,' said Panelist Dan Perrin, founder of Washington, D.C.-based HAS Insider Inc. He noted that doctors balk when told they should have cash prices for their services, 'but they're being forced in this direction.'" (United Press International, Inc.)
Senator DeMint Seeks Health Insurance Reforms that Would Put Free Market into System
Excerpt: "With health-care costs rising, and concerns about the uninsured increasing, U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint thinks the way to fix America's health care system is to turn patients into customers." (The Times and Democrat)
Wal-Mart to Expand Employee Health Plan Benefits
Excerpt: "Wal-Mart Stores, facing a raft of state bills that would require it to increase spending on employee health insurance, plans to ease several longstanding -- and heavily criticized -- restrictions on who is eligible for benefits, the company said yesterday." (The New York Times; one-time registration required)
Wal-Mart Unveils Employee Health Coverage Improvements
Excerpt: "Retailing giant Wal-Mart plans to expand the availability of its lowest cost employee health care plan and shorten eligibility periods." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Who's Afraid of Personal Responsibility? HSAs and the Future of American Health Care
Excerpt: "The article concludes that HSAs represent a potentially paradigmatic shift in how Americans view health care costs and align a growing appetite for individual control over this critical employee benefit with today's workplace realities." (McGeorge Law Review via SSRN)
Abstract: Comparison of Administrative Data & Medical Records to Measure the Quality of Medical Care
Excerpt: "Background: Administrative data are used to determine performance for publicly reported in health plan 'report cards,' accreditation status, and reimbursement. However, it is unclear how performance based on administrative data and medical records compare." (Medical Care via Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; subscription required for full article)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Overview: New York City's 'Equal Benefits Law' (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "New York's highest court has held that the City's Equal Benefits Law requiring contracting entities to provide domestic partner benefits is preempted by State and Federal law." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
Salt Lake City Mayor Vetoes 'Adult Designee' Benefits Plan
Excerpt: "Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, a long-time champion of domestic partner benefits rights, has rejected a City Council proposal offering benefits to designated adults with a documented financial dependency on city employees." (PLANSPONSOR.com: one-time registration required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated as of February 21, 2006
Excerpt: "Hewitt's Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans, retirement plans, and human resources and employment law." (Hewitt Associates)
Newly Posted Events
2006 PenServ Fall Seminar Series
Nationwide on September 26, 2006
presented by PenServ, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Retirement Plan Administration Specialist
for Consulting Actuaries Incorporated
in NJ
Pension Administrator
for Pension Planners, Inc
in FL
Employee Benefits Associate
for Gardner Carton & Douglas LLP
in IL
Pension Consultant-State of Ohio
for Great-West Retirement Services
in OH
VP-Employee Benefits Product Service Quality
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI
Manager of Consulting
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Compliance Process Analyst - Federal Way, WA
for Weyerhaeuser Company
in WA
Sr. Compliance Analyst
for The Standard
in OR
401(k) Plan Benefits Administrator
for Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation
in NJ
Enrollment Specialist
for Capital Retirement Plan Services
in FL
Business Analyst
for HRworks
in ANY STATE
401k TPA Account Executive
for Thesco Retirement Planning Services LLC - TPA
in NJ, NY
Health Insurance National Account Executive
for Great-West Healthcare
in CO
Pension Marketing Associate leading to Pension Consulting (Sales ) in Woodland Hills (LA) CA.
for Polycomp Administrative Services, Inc.
in CA
Account Executive/Pension Consultant
for Compensation Systems, Inc.
in IN
Assistant Director Pension Analysis
for YMCA Retirement Fund
in NY
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