| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
January 23, 2007
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Bush Health Insurance Plan Gets Cold Reception
Excerpt: "President Bush's proposed tax deduction for health insurance appears to be shaping up as a tough sell in the Democratic Congress. Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., said Monday that the tax changes, which Bush will promote in Tuesday night's State of the Union address, would encourage employers to stop providing health insurance." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
Audio: Bush Eyes Health Insurance Tax Changes
Excerpt: "Should Americans be able to deduct the cost of health-insurance premiums from their taxes? President Bush is expected to put forward such a proposal in his State of the Union address." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)
Fact Sheet: Affordable, Accessible, and Flexible Health Coverage
Excerpt: "The President's Plan Includes Two Parts: Reforming The Tax Code With A Standard Deduction For Health Insurance So All Americans Get The Same Tax Breaks For Health Insurance And Helping States Make Affordable Private Health Insurance Available To Their Citizens." (The White House)
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Rounds Up Health Issues in State of the State Addresses
Excerpt: "The [target page] highlights health issues mentioned in governors' recent state of the state addresses." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Editorial: Tax the Rich to Help Others Buy Health Insurance? That's What Mr. Bush Proposes
Excerpt: "By giving all insurance buyers a standard deduction, irrespective of the type of health coverage they choose, Mr. Bush would restrain medical costs and promote fairness. Because richer people tend to have more expensive insurance, the reform would slightly increase tax rates for people in the top fifth of the income distribution while slightly reducing tax rates for others, according to the White House." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Excerpt from WSJ Interview with SEIU President Andy Stern
Excerpt: "WSJ: If you could gather the country's top CEOs in one room, what would you tell them? Mr. Stern: I would tell them the employer-based health-care system is dead." (Workplace Prof Blog)
Opinion: Tax Policy Impacting Health Insurance
Excerpt: "While we have no confirmation at all from the White House, news reports are circulating that President Bush is considering bold changes to tax policy impacting health insurance. . . . [T]he gutsiest idea, and one that would win the biggest cheers from the policy community and from economists around the country, is to limit the generous tax break for gold-plated, job-based policies and then use the revenue to help the uninsured buy coverage." (Galen Institute)
Revolution Health Site -- Founded by Steve Case
Excerpt: "[Revolution Health is] far more than a web site. [It's] a company that's trying to fundamentally change the health care system. Revolution Health is about making sense of the complicated world of health care. And it's about putting you -- the patient -- at the center of that world. In short, Revolution Health's objective is to give consumers more choice and control over their health care, enabling all of us to live healthier, better lives." (Revolution Health Group LLC)
Health Care Providers and Financial Companies Offer Medical Credit Cards
Excerpt: "Health care providers in states such as Texas and North Carolina are pairing with financial institutions to offer medical credit cards to patients to pay their medical bills, the Boston Globe reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Employees Need Life and Long-Term Care Insurance to Safeguard Retirement Assets
Excerpt: "Financial planners preach that life insurance is the best way to safeguard investments as they are growing, and long-term care insurance is vital for preventing financial drain later in life. In fact, the two are essential components of a secure retirement plan from day one." (Employee Benefit News)
Many Federal Managers Resist the Call for More Telecommuting
Excerpt: "Concerns over employee productivity and a lack of control over employee activities make it difficult for federal managers to support telecommuting, according to a survey released yesterday. But federal managers also think telecommuting improves 'work-life balance' for employees, and makes their agencies more competitive in hiring and keeping employees, the survey found." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Federal Employees Health Benefits Program: Premium Growth Slows and Varies among Participating Plans
Excerpt: "GAO examined (1) FEHBP premium trends compared with those of other purchasers, (2) factors contributing to average premium growth across all FEHBP plans, and (3) factors contributing to differing trends among selected FEHBP plans. [Highlights of the report are at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07141high.pdf.]" (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
HIPAA Security Guidance for Remote Use of and Access to Electronic Protected Health Information
Excerpt: "CMS has prepared guidance to provide HIPAA covered entities with general information on the risks and possible mitigation strategies for remote use of and access to Electronic Protected Health Information (EPHI)." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
Auto Union May Run Some Retiree Benefits
Excerpt: "Detroit auto makers and the United Auto Workers are examining a plan that would shift to the union the responsibility for tens of billions of dollars in retiree health-care liabilities, The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter." (Reuters via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Congress Likely To Debate Moratoriums on Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertisements
Excerpt: "Congress this session likely will debate the FDA review system for prescription drug direct-to-consumer advertisements during hearings on renewing user fees that manufactures pay the agency for quicker drug approvals, according to industry critics, the New York Times reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Medicaid Outpatient Prescription Drugs: 2007 Fed Reimbursement Limits Compared with Retail Costs
Excerpt: "[Correspondence with Rep. Joe Barton: GAO] estimated what the average manufacturer price-based federal upper limits would have been if they had applied in 2006 and compared them with average retail pharmacy acquisition costs from 2006 for frequently used and high expenditure multiple-source outpatient prescription drugs in Medicaid." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Variation in Estimated Medicare Prescription Drug Plan Costs and Affordability for Beneficiaries (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "Substantive differences in estimated PDP costs are evident across states for patients with common Medicare conditions. Importantly, the lowest cost plans were not proportionally affordable with respect to state-specific cost-of-living-adjusted median income." (Society of General Internal Medicine)
Wellness Programs Now Offering Cash Incentives
Excerpt: "Workplace health and wellness programs are all the rage these days, with large employers offering discounted gym memberships, free medical screenings and health coaches to get their troops to quit smoking and lead more healthful lives. But the programs . . . haven't made much of a dent in obesity and diabetes rates, which continue to climb nationwide. Or on health insurance costs, which have long bedeviled both employers and workers." (The Oregonian via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
House Genetic Protection Bill Reintroduced by Bipartisan Group
Excerpt: "A bipartisan Congressional coalition has reintroduced a measure barring group health plans and insurers from not granting coverage for a healthy person or demanding higher premiums based only on a genetic predisposition to a specific disease." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Opinion: Are We Moving to Mandatory Health Protection?
Excerpt: "A rising chorus of bipartisan voices is proposing mandatory universal health-insurance coverage. But while there are common threads in some proposals, there are also a lot of variations -- as well as many difficult questions that no one is pushing forward to answer." (Dallas Salisbury via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
California Health Care Plan May Boost Demand for HSAs
Excerpt: "Bankers are salivating over the prospect that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to provide universal health care in California might lead to increased use of health savings accounts there." (Investment News; free registration required)
Pennsylvania Governor Rendell's Health Plan Before Lawmakers/Public (PDF)
Pages 1-2 of 4 pages. Excerpt: "The public scrutiny will no doubt reflect the scope of a plan that will take 47 separate pieces of legislation, and a number of changes to the state's regulatory scheme (as well as federal approval for certain aspects) to implement as currently written." (Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Commentary: Settlor Function Case at Supreme Court
Excerpt: "The Supreme Court has decided to review a case decided on the issue of what constitute settlor functions. The ERISA fiduciary duties do not apply to actions taken by the plan sponsor in its capacity as employer/sponsor, which raises the question of where the line gets drawn." (403(b)-457 Plans Blog; posted by Thomas L. Geer)
Grant of Discretionary Language in Plan Document Need Not Also Appear in SPD to Be Enforceable
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Although this court and its 'sister circuits' (i.e., the Eighth, Ninth, and Eleventh Circuits) have held that the discretionary language need not be in a plan's SPD, we think it is a good idea to include it in both pension and welfare plan SPDs, in part to avoid these types of lawsuits." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
SEC Rule Change Forces Firms to Redo Numbers
Excerpt: "Even before the SEC finalized its rules on executive compensation disclosure last summer, most companies had scurried into action, preparing to provide greater transparency into salaries and perks." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
The Senate Finance Committee Takes Aim at Executive Compensation -- Again (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "On January 17, 2007, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously passed the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007 (the 'Act') containing two provisions that could significantly change the tax treatment of executive compensation arrangements." (Groom Law Group)
Issues in Brief: Households 'At Risk' in Retirement -- A Closer Look at the Bottom Third
Excerpt: "This brief takes a closer look at the [National Retirement Risk Index] for the bottom third of the population. The brief focuses on three issues. The first is the relative change in the NRRI for the bottom third as opposed to the upper two-thirds over the period 1983-2004." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
WP: Labor Market Status and Transitions During the Pre-Retirement Years -- International Differences (PDF)
111 pages. Excerpt: "Cross-country differences in the prevalence of early retirement are clearly related to differences in financial incentives (Gruber and Wise, 2003). The fraction of workers on disability insurance is vastly different across countries with similar levels of economic development and comparable access to modern medical technology and treatment." (Michigan Retirement Research Center)
Newly Posted Events
401k Service Training Program™
in Pennsylvania on February 8, 2007
presented by Financial Service Standards, LLC
Leaves of Absence and Health Plans -- What’s’ Required by the FMLA, USERRA, and Other Laws?
Nationwide on February 22, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Financial Health of Pension Plans Improving, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds
Watson Wyatt
Major Employers Express “Strong Opposition” To Deferred Compensation Amendment
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
Third Annual Workplace Class Action Report from Seyfarth Shaw of 2006
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
White Horse Advisors, LLC Named in Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Book of Lists.
White Horse Advisors, LLC
Mandated Health Insurance Will Not Be Affordable Until Insurers are Regulated to Control Costs
Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights
State of the Union
Destiny Health
The Battle for Position -- Health Insurers Align Their Operations with Changing Markets
A.M. Best Company
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension Administrator
for The Senex Group
in CA
401 (k) DC/DB - all experience levels
for Polycomp Administrative Services in San Diego and Woodland Hills
in CA
OmniPlus Consultants
for Chesapeake Benefit Partners
in ANY STATE
Retirement Sales Consultant/Sales Executive
for BenefitStreet, Inc.
in NY
Actuary
for Westchester NY Consulting Firm
in NY
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Goodman & Company
in VA
401(k) Enrollers/Independent Contractors-Part Time
for Transamerica Retirement Services and Diversified Investment Advisors
in ANY STATE
Director of Benefits
for Schering-Plough Corporation
in NJ
Senior Analyst HR Compensation
for Philip Morris USA
in VA
Associate Consultant, Employee Benefits
for Hay Group
in PA
Operations Manager (Insurance/TPA)
for Zenith Administrators
in NV
Actuarial Analyst
for Lynchval Systems Worldwide Inc.
in VA
Client Relations Assistant
for The Allocation Company, Inc.
in TX
Plan Administrator
for Windes & McClaughry Acct. Corp.
in CA
Retirement Plans Client Services Manager
for The NIA Group
in NJ
Installation Administrator
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Defined Contribution Analyst II
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Retirement Plan Sales Trainer
for BenefitStreet, Inc.
in CA
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Goodman & Company
in VA
Pension Software Benefit Calculations Analyst
for Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc.
in IL
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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