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January 24, 2007
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Bush Unveils Health Plan Tied to Tax Deduction in State of the Union Address
Excerpt: "President's Bush's State of the Union health care proposal couples an old idea, capping tax-free benefits for health care, with a new one: a standard deduction for all who buy health insurance." (USA TODAY)
Bush Revives Some Past Proposals, Offers a New Initiative on Health Insurance in Speech
Excerpt: "[A] major focus of Mr. Bush's domestic proposals was an effort to expand access to affordable health insurance, by creating a new tax benefit for those buying insurance on their own rather than through their employer. The new benefit would be part of a sweeping change in the tax code under which employer-provided health insurance, which is how more than half of Americans get their coverage, would be treated as taxable income." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Bipartisan Cooperation on Health Care Is Dead on Arrival
Excerpt: "'Dead on arrival,' declared Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), chairman of a key health subcommittee in the House, hinting at a dark conspiracy to kill off employer-sponsored health insurance. 'A dangerous policy that ultimately shifts cost and risk from employers to employees,' said Charlie Rangel, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Bush Health Plan to Cost $30 -- 40 Billion a Year
Excerpt: "President George W. Bush's proposed health insurance tax deduction plan would cost the federal government $30 billion to $40 billion annually in the near term, but would turn revenue positive around 2013, U.S. Treasury officials said [yesterday]." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
Transcript and Audio of President Bush's State of the Union Address
Excerpt: "[The target page] is a transcript of President Bush's State of the Union address as recorded by The New York Times, with audio excerpts and analysis by The Times's David E. Sanger, plus links to related articles and Web sites." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Unprecedented Screening for Lifespan-Extending Compounds to Get Underway
Excerpt: "The research highlights a new area of science: the chemical biology of aging. Using high-tech methodology, the network aims to identify potential needles in a haystack of chemicals, giving age researchers new starting points for experiments based on compounds that have never been considered as candidates for lifespan extension." (Space Daily via PharmaSentry)
So What's the Scoop on That Stuff in Red Wine That's Supposed to Let You Live Forever?
Excerpt: "RESVERATROL is the ingredient in red wine that made headlines in November when scientists demonstrated that it kept overfed mice from gaining weight, turned them into the equivalent of Olympic marathoners, and seemed to slow down their aging process." (Fortune Magazine via PharmaSentry)
Towers Perrin Study Finds Flexible Benefits Have Growing Appeal in Europe
Excerpt: "The report, based on a survey of 280 companies in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Spain and the U.K., expands on previous Towers Perrin research that focused on the growing use of flex in the U.K. and is believed to be the first pan-European survey of its kind." (Towers Perrin)
NCPERS Letter Responding to IRS Guidance on HELPS (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "Ice Miller, on behalf of NCPERS and IAFF, responded to the recent guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service regarding implementation of the Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety (HELPS) Retirees act." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)
Overview: Feds Finalize HIPAA Nondiscrimination Regulations and Clarify Wellness Programs (PDF)
Excerpt: "The authors of the final regulations devoted much time to wellness programs. Remember that as a general rule HIPAA forbids a health plan from discriminating against an individual in benefits, premiums, deductibles, co-insurance rates or copayment amounts due to the individual's failure to satisfy a standard related to one or more health status factors." (Lockton Benefit Group)
Audio: Companies Create Their Own Health Clinics
Excerpt: "More and more U.S. companies are providing in-house health clinics for their employees as a way to contain medical costs. The on-site clinics can offer flu shots, fill prescriptions and other services -- it's a convenience for employees and a money-saver for the company." (Day to Day via National Public Radio)
IBM's Answer to Medical Mashup: A Search Engine
Excerpt: "IBM has created a medical records search engine that, if implemented, would produce a mashup of an individual's records from hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and physicians. The company unveiled the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) [yesterday] to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services." (CNET News.com via The New York Times; free registration required)
Executive Says Let People Compare Health Coverage
Excerpt: "Within three years, close to one-fourth of all workers' health insurance coverage will move to consumer-driven health plans, the chief executive officer of one of Louisiana's largest health insurers said Tuesday." (2theadvocate.com)
Audio: Controlling Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "Princeton professor and health care economics expert Uwe Reinhardt talks with Madeleine Brand about why health care costs are rising in the United States, and the options for controlling them." (Day to Day via National Public Radio)
Editorial: The Return of the Drug Company Payoffs
Excerpt: "Two excessively lenient court decisions have allowed the manufacturers of brand-name drugs to resume the underhanded practice of paying generic competitors to keep their drugs off the market. It is a costly legal loophole that needs to be plugged by Congressional legislation." (The New York Times; free registration required)
What Are the Economic Gains from Preventive Health Care?
Excerpt: "[A] lack of insurance is only one of the two huge problems with health care. The other is the perverse system of incentives that nudges doctors and patients toward expensive tests and procedures when cheaper preventive measures might actually produce better results. Partly as a result, costs are rising rapidly for the 250 million people who do have insurance." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Overview: Many High-Deductible Health Plans, Few Health Savings Accounts
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: A significant gap between the number of people enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and the number of people that hold a health savings account (HSA) threatens the consumer-driven health model, according to a report from Vimo.com, an Internet comparison-shopping site for health care." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
N.Y. Pension Fund To Lead Lawsuit Over Apple Options
Excerpt: "A New York pension system will be the lead plaintiff in a shareholders lawsuit accusing Apple of illegally backdating stock options. The New York City Employees' Retirement System was named the primary plaintiff in the lawsuit Friday by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Fogel, according to Grant & Eisenhofer, the law firm representing the group." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Availability of Benefits Claim Forecloses Suit under ERISA Section 502(a)(3) for Equitable Relief
Excerpt: "One of the ironies that attends ERISA Section 502(a) is found in the ability of a defendant to point to potential claims (even if asserted) under Section 502(a)(1)(B) as a defense to claims under Section 502(a)(3). The origin of this defense may be traced back to the quoted excerpt from Varity Corp. This defensive maneuver is demonstrated in the recent case, Nolte v. BellSouth Corp., Slip Copy, 2007 WL 120842 (N.D. Ga.)(January 11, 2007)." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
NQDC Limits Could Mean More Taxes for Well-Off American Employees
Excerpt: "According to some reports, many top executives stand to get affected by the proposed alteration in federal tax policy. Furthermore, the Congressional Joint Tax Committee revealed that the taxes on some of the United States' more wealthy employees might increase to roughly about $806 million, spread over the next decade." (InsuranceNewsNet.com, Inc.)
Stock Ownership Playing Bigger Role in Executive Compensation Programs
Excerpt: "Programs aimed at encouraging executives to buy and hold shares of company stock have become much more common among large employers in the last few years, according to a new Towers Perrin study." (Towers Perrin)
Bill Creates Bipartisan Commission for Recommendations on Saving Medicare, Social Security Programs
Excerpt: "Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) on Monday introduced a bill to establish a permanent, bipartisan commission that would provide recommendations to maintain the future solvency of Medicare and Social Security, CQ Today reports . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Opinion: Social Security's Contribution to the Fertility Crisis
Excerpt: "Instead of caring for their own parents and close relatives, those of working age are compelled by force of law and gun to pay for the retirement of everyone else. To put it plainly, social security replaces children and the family as the main support in old age by literally socializing the traditional duties of the family. Why have children when the state will take care of you in your old age?" (Ludwig von Mises Institute)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Testing Techniques Workshop
in Kansas on February 21, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Testing Techniques Workshop
in Massachusetts on February 21, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Testing Techniques Workshop
in North Carolina on February 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Testing Techniques Workshop
in Pennsylvania on February 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Testing Techniques Workshop
in Texas on February 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Testing Techniques Workshop
in Georgia on February 23, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
53rd U.S. Annual Employee Benefits Conference
in California on November 4, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
ERISA Basics
in Illinois on May 2, 2007
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Participant Forms and Notice Workshop
in Texas on February 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Participant Forms and Notices Workshop
in Massachusetts on February 21, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Participant Forms and Notices Workshop
in Kansas on February 21, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Participant Forms and Notices Workshop
in North Carolina on February 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Participant Forms and Notices Workshop
in Pennsylvania on February 22, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Participant Forms and Notices Workshop
in Georgia on February 23, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
ReDesigning Pension Plans and Executive Compensation Conference: New Rules, New Opportunities
in District of Columbia on March 21, 2007
presented by BNA, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
Administration's Proposal for Affordable, Accessible, and Flexible Health Coverage
U.S. Treasury Department
America Tops 11 Countries in Retirement Savings
AXA Financial, Inc
John Hancock Survey: Most Americans Prefer Planning Their Will To Preparing for Long Term Care (LTC)
John Hancock Retirement Plan Services
UAW Might Assume Ford, GM Retiree Health Care Liabilities
KaiserNetwork.org
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefit Consultant (Sales Agent)
for Corporate Synergies Group, Inc.
in NJ
Sales Consultant
for MassMutual Financial Group
in CT
Senior Pension Administrator
for Southeast Florida TPA
in FL
Technical Manager - Aris Pension Services
for Aris Corporation of America
in PA
Global Compensation Leader
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Account Executive, Defined Contribution Plan Services
for Retirement Management Services, LLC
in KY
Sr. Actuarial Associate
for NRECA
in VA
Employee Benefits Attorney
for Kutak Rock LLP
in NE
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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