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October 27, 2006
Today's sponsor: Financial Research Associates, LLC

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for Financial Research Associates, LLC

THE 3RD ANNUAL HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNT SUMMIT

BRIDGING THE WORLDS OF FINANCE AND HEALTHCARE

January 24th - 25th, 2007 The Paris Hotel, Las Vegas, NV- Our primary mission is to help employers, health benefits firms, and financial services firms develop and implement the right products at the right time in order to lower healthcare costs and motivate employee and plan participant behavior.


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

Plan Fiduciary Claims for Overpayments, Post-Sereboff
Excerpt: "[I]t seems the Sereboff decision, a health plan subrogation case, has opened the door to reciprocal claims in disability cases and thus heightened the risk for disability claimants. Notwithstanding this development, in several cases the approach taken does not appear to square neatly with the Sereboff analysis." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)

EPA Ranks Companies on Commuter Benefits
Excerpt: "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its list of Best Workplaces for Commuters, ranking Fortune 500 companies on the percentage of their US workforce eligible for commuter benefits that meet the EPA's National Standard of Excellence." (PLANSPONSOR.com; one-time registration required)

General Motors on a Crash Course with Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "The world's largest automaker is being driven deep into financial trouble not only by the cars of its competitors, but also by the medical bills of its own workers and retirees. Last year, GM spent $5.3 billion on health care -- enough to buy a GMC Yukon for each of its U.S. employees. By 2008, General Motors will probably spend more on health care in the United States than on its hourly-worker payroll." (The San Jose Mercury News via Physicians for a National Health Program)

Survey Says That 3 of Top 4 Health Plans in Nation Are in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "The state boasts three of the country's top four health plans, according to rankings being released today by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, a respected Washington nonprofit." (The Boston Globe)

Health Care at a Premium: 64% Prefer Quality to Lower Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "While health care costs are rising rapidly, 64% of American adults say that quality care is more important than lower health care costs (25%). That sentiment is echoed across all demographics in the latest Rasmussen Reports survey . . . ." (Rasmussen Reports Inc.)

Opinion: Massachusetts Health Plan is No Model for Other States
Excerpt: "Massachusetts is seeking to be the first state in the nation to have all of its citizens covered by health insurance. But in trying to achieve that goal, legislators have created a plethora of mandates and enforcement provisions that many Americans would find encroaches on their freedom." (Galen Institute)

Insurers and Employers Look for Some Relief Through Drug Caps
Excerpt: "Insurers and some employers view caps as an easy way to save money. A prescription plan with a ceiling can cost an employer up to 20 percent less than one with unlimited coverage." (The Business Review (Albany) via bizjournals.com; one-time registration required)

Creditable Coverage Notice Deadline Nears
Excerpt: "Group health plan sponsors offering prescription drug coverage are reminded that annual notices of creditable or non-creditable prescription drug coverage must be provided to every active employee, retired employee and dependent who is eligible for Medicare Part D and covered by the plan no later than November 15." (McDermott Will & Emery)

Health Expert Says that Many Wellness Program ROI Reports Are Inflated
Excerpt: " Are you sure your wellness ROI numbers are accurate? Al Lewis, executive director of Disease Management Purchasing Consortium International, consistently debunks unrealistically high and mathematically incorrect 'savings' from disease management, he said at this week's Care Continuum Congress." (BenefitNews Connect)

Lawsuit Alleges Aetna's Limited-Benefits Plans Misleading
Excerpt: "The consumer advocacy group Citizens for Economic Opportunity on [October 35] filed suit in a Connecticut court alleging that limited-benefits health insurance plans sold by Aetna subsidiary Strategic Resources Company mislead consumers into thinking they have more comprehensive coverage than the plans provide, the AP/Houston Chronicle reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Working Paper: The Impact of Health Insurance Availability on Retirement Decision Reversals (PDF)
52 pages. Excerpt: "The importance of health insurance provision in a retiree's decision also remains significant when other 'shocks' and the prospect of planned unretirement are introduced." (Michigan Retirement Research Center)

Opinion: California's State Senator Kuehl and SB 840 for Universal Health Care Coverage
Excerpt: "Some aspects of what the people want are clear enough. Over and over, we are told that individuals want the right to choose their own doctors. Doctors want to regain control over their patients' care -- they don't want insurance company bean counters telling them what to do. Patients and doctors want evidence-based standards for appropriate medical care -- not formularies dictated by pharma.ceutical companies." (Tikkun Magazine via Physicians for a National Health Program)

Opinion: Health Savings Accounts and Media Spin
Excerpt: "The latest outpouring of studies about consumerism in the health sector comes this week from Health Affairs and EBRI (the Employee Benefit Research Institute). The problem this time is not so much with the studies, but with the media spin." (Galen Institute)

Opinion on Election 2006: A Shift in Power Spells Trouble for ERISA, Medicare Part D and HSAs
Excerpt: "Bruce E. Davis, National Practice Leader for Health and Group Benefit Consulting, shares his views on the future state of employee health care benefit plans under a Democratic majority in Congress." (DrugNewsWire.com)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Ten Key Points about the SEC's New Disclosure Rules
Excerpt: "On August 11, 2006, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published 436 pages of executive compensation proxy disclosure rules. Companies must comply with those rules in their proxy statements for fiscal years ending on or after December 15, 2006. Watson Wyatt suggests 10 key issues to consider in preparing for 2007 proxy disclosures under the new reporting regime." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Working Paper: The Impact of Health Insurance Availability on Retirement Decision Reversals (PDF)
52 pages. Excerpt: "The importance of health insurance provision in a retiree's decision also remains significant when other 'shocks' and the prospect of planned unretirement are introduced." (Michigan Retirement Research Center)

University of Cincinnati Domestic Partner Benefits Ok'ed
Excerpt: "Domestic partners of University of Cincinnati faculty and non-union employees will have access to benefits, including life insurance and long-term care insurance, the university's trustees decided today." (The Enquirer)

Policy Report: How Generous Are Social Security and Medicare? (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "This paper examines the size of elderly entitlements in several revealing ways. It identifies the degree to which Social Security and Medicare benefits replace preretirement income and consumption for new retirees and illustrates the relative growth in benefit payments to future retirees." (National Center for Policy Analysis)

Research Project Abstract: A Model of Unretirement
Excerpt: "This research will improve our understanding of post-retirement labor supply, integrating unretirement and partial retirement in a single framework, and offering insight into how work after retirement might be brought into long-term projection models." (Regents of the University of Michigan)


Newly Posted Events

2007 Annual Forum & Expo
in Nevada on May 7, 2007
presented by National Institute of Pension Administrators


Newly Posted Press Releases

Social Security and the Stock Market: How the Pursuit of Market Magic Shapes the System
(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

AICPA and Ad Council Urge 25 - 34 Year-Olds to 'Feed The Pig' In New National Campaign
(American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA))

Fiduciary360 Releases First Draft of Criteria for the Required Annual Audit of the Pension Protection Act’s “Fiduciary Adviser” and Computer-Based Models
(Fiduciary360 (fi360))

Congressman Pomeroy Recognized For Retirement Security Leadership
(National Council on Teacher Retirement)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Senior Consultant, Defined Benefit/Defined Contribution
for Schloss & Co., a BenefitStreet co.
in NY

Defined Benefit Plan Administrator
for 401k Plus, Inc.
in TX

Employee Benefits Tax Manager
for Deloitte Tax LLP
in VA

401(k) Plan Administrator
for Northeast Planning Services, Inc.
in MA

E.B. Trust Administrator
for BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust)
in NC

Account Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors, a business unit in the AEGON Group.
in IA

Employee Benefit Plan Consultant
for Vanguard
in PA

ERISA Consultant II
for BISYS Retirement Services
in MN

Installation Coordinator
for BISYS Retirement Services
in MN

401(k)/Plan Administrator
for Professional Capital Services, LLC
in PA

Client Service Pension Administrator
for San Diego Pension Consultants, Inc.
in CA

Financial Planner/Investment Specialist (Part-Time)
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in TX

Cash Balance Actuary/Administrator/Consultant
for Ingham Group
in FL, SC

Relationship Manager
for MassMutual Financial Group
in FL, GA, LA, MS

Business Development Sales Executive
for Gallgher Benefit Services, Inc.
in IL




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