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July 18, 2006
Today's sponsor: Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers

Finding the Cure for What Ails Your Health Care Plan

Is your health care plan healthy? Discover that elusive elixir that promises to rejuvenate your program and bring back exceptional health care at an affordable price. Consumer directed plans, HSAs, HRAs, wellness programs and pharmacy benefit management services backed by well designed employee communication programs offer solutions-- but which features are right for your plan? Find out at the Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers conference, September 17-20, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

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

Overview of the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Mandate (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Although this Alert focuses on the Massachusetts' universal health coverage requirements, [it also provides] a brief overview of health care reform initiatives in other states." (Aon Consulting)

Opinion: Massachusetts Health Care Reform Falls Short
Excerpt: "Massachusetts recently gained national prominence when a reform bill was signed into law. Unfortunately, the 'breakthrough' solution that has been trumpeted as reaching near universal coverage is a false promise." (Labor Notes via Physicians for a National Health Program)

Federal Judge Approves Retiree Health Care Agreement between Ford and the UAW
Excerpt: "U.S. District Court Judge Paul Borman late Thursday [July 13, 2006] approved an agreement between Ford Motor and the United Auto Workers that would require union retirees to pay monthly premiums and annual deductibles for health insurance, the Detroit Free Press reports (Shepardson, Detroit Free Press, 7/14)." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Opinion: Health Care Is Eyeing a Convergence that Could Transform the Industry
Excerpt: "At close range, the high cost and poor quality in much of the healthcare industry is unsustainable, but optimism in some quarters comes from the idea that a combination of rising influences are headed for a meeting in the next few years." (HealthLeaders Magazine)

Report: Health Care in the Express Lane -- The Emergence of Retail Clinics (PDF)
31 pages. Excerpt: "This report examines this innovation from a national and California perspective. It provides an overview of in-store clinics and converging trends in retail and health care, and explores the potential for these clinics to succeed as a viable business model." (California HealthCare Foundation)

What Accounts for Differences in Use of Hospital Emergency Departments Across U.S. Communities?
Excerpt: "This study examines the extent to which differences in populations and health system factors account for variations in ED use across U.S. communities." (Health Affairs)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Draft Abstract for EITF Issue No. 06-5: Accounting for Purchases of Life Insurance (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "Life insurance policies are purchased by entities for a variety of purposes, including funding the cost of providing employee benefits and protecting against the loss of 'key persons.' These types of policies have generally been known as corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) or bank-owned life insurance (BOLI)." (Financial Accounting Standards Board)

Overview: IRS Identifies Common Errors in Form 5500 Filing
Excerpt: "After analyzing Form 5500 data, the IRS's Employee Plans Multiemployer Compliance Planning Group has determined that there are three common errors being made when multiemployer plan sponsors complete Form 5500. All three errors involve completion of Part 1 -- Annual Report Identification Information." (CCH Pension & Benefits)

Overview: Employee Benefits Security Administration Release of Advance Copies of 2006 Form 5500
The target page provides a short review of the changes. (CCA Strategies LLC)


Newly Posted Events

Guns and Hoses 2006 Conference
in Nevada on September 17, 2006
presented by Institute for International Research

Labor Department Hosts Free Workshop to Help Michigan Employers Understand and Meet Private Sector Employee Benefits Law
in Michigan on August 9, 2006
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)


Newly Posted Press Releases

Two Quarterly Interest Rates Set
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Disaster Relief Announcements
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Legal Assistant Today Declares Corporate Focus Will Change Your Professional Life
(Two-Step Software, Inc.)

NASD Foundation Study Examines What Makes Elderly Susceptible to Investment Fraud
(NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers))

White Horse Advisors VP Selected to Lead Industry Panel
(White Horse Advisors, LLC)

Tips for Cutting Health Insurance Costs From the National Association for the Self-Employed
(National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE))


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Senior Plan Administrator
for WESPAC
in CA

Signing Bonus / Senior DC Plan Administrator
for Berlin, Ramos & Company
in ANY STATE

Project Analyst 3 - Retirement Plan Services Product Management
for U.S. Bank
in MN

Executive Compensation Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in IL

Daily 401k Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in NC

Senior Pension Administrator/Consultant
for Chambers Benefit Group, APC
in NM

Wanted: Employee Benefits Broker
for Boutique Benefits Firm for New York Metro Area
in NJ

Defined Contribution 401(k) Specialist -- Administration and Conversions
for American Pensions, Inc.
in SC

Sr. Defined Benefit Consultant and Administrator
for WESPAC, a BenefitStreet company
in CA

ERISA Attorney
for Schloss, a BenefitStreet company
in NY

Global Benefits Analyst
for Towers Perrin
in CT




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