BenefitsLink
Welfare Plans
Newsletter
To BenefitsLink home page Fill your job openings fast by advertising on BenefitsLink

January 4, 2007


Sponsored by: Benefit Software Inc.

(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Banner ad for Benefit Software Inc.

Do your employees know the value of their employer paid benefits?

Chances are they don't. We can help.

Benefit Software has over 25 years of experience helping thousands of employers communicate the full value of their benefits. From traditional personalized printed statements to secure 24/7 employee benefits communication portals, we have the right solution for your organization.

Email sales@bsiweb.com or call 800-533-1388 to request free samples.


California Governor's Health Plans Could Require Contributions from Employers and Individuals
Excerpt: "Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) plan to expand health coverage without raising taxes or relying on state funding is receiving skepticism from analysts, the San Francisco Chronicle reports." (California HealthCare Foundation; free registration may be required)

COBRA Coverage Can Represent Big $$$ for Employers
Excerpt: "A survey by Spencer's Benefits Reports found that Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) claim amounts are costing companies about 45% more than such expenses for active employees." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

No Breach of Fiduciary Duties Where Newly Hired Employee Had Not Yet Elected Coverage
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: An employer and a plan administrator did not breach their fiduciary duties under ERISA when they refused to pay life insurance claims for a newly hired employee who had not elected coverage prior to a fatal accident." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

ERISA Does Not Preempt Provider's State Law Claims Against Humana
Excerpt: "Healthcare providers are not considered 'beneficiaries' or 'participants' under ERISA. Therefore, they lack standing to directly assert claims for benefits against ERISA plans under 29 U.S.C. § 1132(a). On the other hand, a proper assignment of benefits by a plan participant to a provider may constitute sufficient derivative standing to permit the provider to advance claims under ERISA." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)

Physician Financial Incentives: Quality Incentives Use Inches Up, but Productivity Still Dominates
Excerpt: "The proportion of physicians in group practice whose compensation is based in part on quality measures increased from 17.6 percent in 2000-01 to 20.2 percent in 2004-05, according to a new national study from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC)." (Center for Studying Health System Change)

In Health IT, Consumer's Role on the Rise
Excerpt: "In 2006, coalitions of major employers and payers both unveiled ambitious plans to try to empower their employees and plan members with personal health records, continued development of data-dependent quality improvement programs, and private and public sector pay-for-performance schemes, and all will have an impact on the healthcare industry, IT experts say." (Modern Healthcare; one-time registration required)

Families and Clinics Work To Gain Insurance Coverage for Eating Disorders
Excerpt: "A 'growing number of families and patient advocates are fighting' for health insurance coverage of eating disorders, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, insurance companies 'have been reluctant to pay for extended treatment for eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa, claiming they are psychological in nature, not physiological, and should fall under mental health coverage, which is typically limited.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Letters to the Editor: The Paths to Universal Health Care -- Responses to 1/1/07 Krugman Article
Excerpt: "Paul Krugman (column, Jan. 1) does not discuss a major reason we spend so much and get so little for our health care dollar. Insurance and pharma.ceutical companies are publicly traded companies whose main goal is to make money. Their primary mission is not to provide health care coverage for their members; these are merely tools through which profits are generated. Why do we delude ourselves in thinking that these companies would behave more altruistically than other companies?" (The New York Times; free registration required)

Opinion: The Massachusetts Health Plan -- Proceed with Caution
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 of universal coverage, state legislators have created a plethora of mandates and enforcement provisions that many Americans would find onerous." (National Review Online via Galen Institute)

Health Policy Outlook: Is Massachusetts a Model at Last?
Excerpt: "Massachusetts has tried health-care reform before, without notable success, but this time may be different. Whatever the fate of the Bay State's new program, what features of it are unique to Massachusetts? Which aspects can be and ought to be copied by other states, and which might require or benefit from modification?" (American Enterprise Institute)

CBO Paper: Prescription Drug Pricing in the Private Sector (PDF)
34 pages. Excerpt: "This Congressional Budget Office (CBO) paper, prepared at the request of Senate Majority Leader Frist, explains the supply chain, the flow of payments, and the process by which payments are determined and provides estimates of the relative prices that retail pharmacies and nonretail providers pay for prescription drugs." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)

Rx Comparison Tools and Incentives Can Alter Behavior of HSA Enrollees
Excerpt: "The cost of prescription drugs, which must be included in the deductible of HSA-qualified health plans, could keep some HSA owners from building a balance. But cost-comparison tools could help enrollees preserve their balances, giving them a way to hunt down lower-cost alternatives . . . ." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)

Retailers Offering Low-Cost Generics Shake-Up Drug Market
Excerpt: "While health care analysts agree that consumers will benefit from Wal-Mart's recent decision to sell certain generic drugs for $4 a month, there's plenty of debate on the impact cheaper generics will have on competition at the retail and PBM levels and on consumerism." (Employee Benefit News)

Opinion: More Mandated Benefits? Stop! Think!
Excerpt: "The moral to the story? If you want to pass a federal benefits law ('National Health' for example), OK. Go for it. But do it as a governmental benefit with governmental financing and governmental control. Don't pretend it is or should be part of the private voluntary ERISA system. In the private system, it's pure poison." (Pension & Benefits Blog)

Health Plans Could Benefit from New State Initiatives to Boost Coverage
Excerpt: "Health plans are likely to benefit in 2007 because of new state initiatives to boost the number of residents with health insurance, observers say. Next year, roughly half of the state legislatures are expected to consider proposals that aim to expand coverage -- a trend that builds on the momentum started in spring 2006 . . . ." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)

Ohio and New York Governors Sign Mental Health Parity Bills
The target page provides summaries of the news coverage of the bills. (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Opinion: Health Care Legislation to Come
Excerpt: "When Democrats have controlled both houses of Congress, they have passed legislation resulting in more government involvement in the health-care sector. Whatever its intended effect, such legislation has invariably made health care and health insurance more expensive. Here's a review." (National Review Online)

Experts Say Can.ada/U.S. Health Care Convergence Is Required
Excerpt: "If both countries are seeking a high-quality, more cost-effective health care system, the U.S. system will need to look more like Can.ada's and Can.ada will need to learn from the Americans, health care experts told a packed house at the CEBS 25th Employee Benefits Symposium recently held in Toronto." (Employee Benefit News)

Majority of U.S. Residents Support Health Care Proposals from Democrats, Poll Finds
Excerpt: "A majority of U.S. residents support Democrats' goals to ease restrictions on purchasing lower-cost prescription drugs from other countries and to federally fund stem cell research, according to an Associated Press-AOL News poll, the AP/San Diego Union-Tribune reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

Employers Retain Health Plans for Current Retirees, But Plan To Cut Benefits for Future Retirees
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Current retirees can continue to count on their employer-sponsored subsidized retiree medical benefits, although at a higher cost, according to the 2006 Kaiser/Hewitt Survey on Retiree Health Benefits." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

New HSA Law Allows Larger Deposits and Ends Prorated Contributions
Excerpt: "Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) says he realized existing health savings account (HSA) laws were too rigid after examining the health insurance market and talking with insurers, employers and consumers." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

2007 Reporting Calendar for Pension and Welfare Plans under ERISA
Excerpt: "Plan administrators of single and multiemployer pension and welfare benefits plans can access concise information on when, and how to file annual reports with the DOL, IRS and PBGC. Information on how and when to disclose tax and benefit information to U.S. plan participants, beneficiaries and alternate payees is also available." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)

Overview: SEC's Significant Changes to Disclosure of Option and other Equity Awards
Excerpt: "These changes became effective December 29, 2006, when they were published in the Federal Register. While the changes remain subject to a public comment period after which they could be revised by the SEC, we do not anticipate significant modifications to these new rules." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP)

New SEC Executive Comp Disclosure Rules More Closely Reflect FAS 123R Reporting for Equity Grants (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "These recent amendments have received much publicity -- some perceiving them as a retreat by the SEC from its strong position of full disclosure, and others seeing them as a welcome clarification to what could have been an 'apples and oranges' presentation of annual compensation in the Summary Compensation Table." (Alston & Bird LLP)

A Warning Shot by Investors to Corporate Boards and Executives
Excerpt: "The surprising defenestration yesterday of Robert L. Nardelli, head of Home Depot and one of the nation's most imperious and highly paid chief executives, was a victory for shareholders hoping to force corporate directors to be more accountable on the increasingly incendiary issue of executive pay." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Ford Administration Tackled Tough Workplace Issues
Excerpt: "Signing the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and the Veterans' Reemployment Rights Act into law were among workplace-related actions President Gerald Ford took during an administration that lasted from 1974 to 1977." (Society for Human Resource Management)


Newly Posted Press Releases

Baby Boomers Count Down to Retirement
U.S. Department of Treasury

Working From Home Adds Convenience But Poses Risks
Fellowes, Inc.

CSEA Calls for Honesty in Discussing Public Employee Benefits
California State Employees Association (CSEA)


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Pension Administrator
for Primark Benefits
in CA

Pension Administrator
for Snyder Cohn
in MD

Plan Specialist - Plan Sponsor Desk, Iowa and Los Angeles, CA
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA, IA

ERISA Attorney
for Reid and Riege, P.C.
in CT

Qualified Plan Trust Accountant
for Pension Investors Corporation
in FL

401K Document Compliance Analyst
for ADP
in KY, NJ

Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in FL

Internal Sales Specialist
for Standard Insurance Company
in TX

Health & Welfare Outsourcing Analyst
for The Savitz Organization
in PA

Employee Benefits Tax Manager
for Deloitte Tax LLP
in VA

Account Manager
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA

Retirement Plan Writer
for The Capital Group Companies
in CA

Wachovia Retirement Services Relationship Manager
for Wachovia
in MD

Assistant Pension Plan Administrator
for City of Hartford (CT) Pension Commission
in CT

Compliance Manager
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA

Paralegal
for The Pension Service
in CT, MA, ME




Handy Links:

NOTE TO AOL MEMBERS: PLEASE DO NOT REPORT THIS EMAIL AS SPAM. This email is not unsolicited. We do not send unsolicited email. This email is coming to you because you asked to receive it by entering your email address on our web page at

https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/

These emails are sent each workday except federal holidays.

This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151

David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor

Copyright 2007 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.

Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/

Other useful links: