| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
February 8, 2007
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Universal Health Plan Can Cost Under $300, Insurers Say
Excerpt: "Many state residents will probably be able to buy basic health insurance for less than $300 a month to meet the new state mandate that everyone obtain coverage, insurers and observers said last week." (The Boston Globe)
An Employers' Guide to the 2006 Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act (PDF)
39 pages. Excerpt: "Regulatory guidance under the Act is not yet complete, so many of the details and particulars are not yet known. [The authors] intend to update this guide from time to time to reflect future developments." (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)
Health Coverage Promised for Retired Workers and Teachers Estimated to Cost $8,500 Per Jerseyan
Excerpt: "The long-term price tag for post-retirement health insurance the state has promised thousands of working and retired teachers and public employees is $78 billion -- nearly four times what experts estimated as recently as last year, a new report projects." (The Star-Ledger via NJ.com)
Harley Plans to Stop Paying Health Insurance Benefits for Striking Workers
Excerpt: "At the end of a 35-minute negotiation session . . ., union representative Tom Boger said the company handed him a 'COBRA letter,' indicating its intention to stop paying premiums for the union membership's health plan." (The York Dispatch)
Insurers' Ratings for Doctors Draws Ire
Excerpt: "[T]his marks the first year Wellpoint is offering employers a rating system. Employers have expressed interest in such plans but are hesitant because of the lack of universally accepted quality measures, said Blaine Bos, a partner at Mercer Health & Benefits LLC. Last year, only 9 percent of employers with 500 or more employees had program that tiered doctors by quality, according to a study by Mercer." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
A Rapid-Learning Health System: Getting Technology Into Practice -- Table of Contents
Excerpt: "Amid persistent concerns about performance and quality, the health sector remains ambivalent about electronic health records (EHRs). Champions of accelerated adoption of health information technology (IT) have been unable to generate a groundswell of demand, despite excellent arguments for health IT's potential to save money, improve quality, and transform care." (Health Affairs)
Anti-Fraud Measures Are Coming to Electronic Health Record Systems
Excerpt: "Electronic health record (EHR) systems may soon contain features that will assist in the prevention and detection of billing errors and fraud. Fifteen proposed anti-fraud requirements have been drafted under the auspices of the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology, and could be headed for inclusion in EHR systems." (REPORT ON MEDICARE COMPLIANCE via AISHealth.com)
Process of Implementing, Communicating & Measuring Results of a Health Care Consumerism Initiative
Excerpt: "With health care consumerism on a real growth track, corporations across the country are taking notice and taking action. A great many have begun to implement important initiatives to leverage this trend as a means of reining in costs, while at the same time actually enhancing health benefits for their employees." (Employee Benefit News)
UnitedHealthcare Finds 'Less Is More' With Specialty Pharmacy Contracting
Excerpt: "When the UnitedHealthcare (UHC) unit of UnitedHealth Group analyzed its network of specialty pharmacy providers (SPPs) in early 2005, the plan found that for some therapeutic conditions, it had literally dozens of providers. UHC began performing a rigorous assessment of the SPPs' capabilities." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com)
Health Insurers Fight Genetic Testing Ban
Excerpt: "Supporters of a genetic testing discrimination ban say a ban would encourage more people to get tests that could help them avoid or cope with disease. But representatives for health insurers say a poorly worded genetic testing ban could hurt the quality of care." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free registration or paid subscription required)
OSHA Releases Workplace Flu Control Guidance
Excerpt: "New federal government guidance on dealing with an influenza pandemic offers specific protections for each of four risk zones in a workplace based on the likelihood workers will get infected in each area." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
A Different View on Wellness: Annual Salary = Health Status
Excerpt: "The more money a person earns, the better his health is. How can this be true? It's true because a person's annual salary tells a lot about his social and economic status. And social-economic status tells the rest of the story." (National Association of Health Underwriters)
State Strategies to Expand Health Insurance Coverage: Trends and Lessons for Policymakers
Excerpt: "[B]ecause it appears unlikely that comprehensive national health reform will be considered in the near term -- as other issues may continue to dominate the national agenda -- health policy experts have promoted the concept of federally supported state experimentation as a promising way to make progress." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Web Forum: Universal Health Insurance and the States (PDF)
17 pages. Excerpt: "For this Web forum, The Century Foundation has solicited comments from leading health policy experts on the impact of these state initiatives, most notably the one proposed in California, and the prospects for universal coverage. . . . We intend to post an edited version of these comments. Members of the panel also will respond to selected reader questions to continue this dialogue." (The Century Foundation)
Vimo Survey Ranks HSAs Based on Affordability
Excerpt: "In an attempt to tear down the knowledge barrier and assist employees being nudged toward CDHPs by cost-conscious employers, Vimo.com is compiling a series of reports on health savings accounts, which currently rank in most circles as the trendiest type of CDHP out there." (Employee Benefit News)
Senators Want To Create LTC Trust Accounts
Excerpt: "Lawmakers are proposing a new vehicle for helping Americans cover the cost of long term care. Sens. Blanche Lincoln, D-Ark., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., have introduced S. 504, a bill that would permit individual taxpayers to contribute up to $5,000 per year to 'long term care trust accounts.'" (National Underwriter Life & Health; free registration or paid subscription required)
One Size Doesn't Fit All When It Comes to Group Benefits
Excerpt: "Every business owner struggles with the balancing act of dealing with rising health care costs while continuing to offer employees a competitive benefits package with quality coverage. But what would you say if I told you there's a way to make everyone happy -- including you? The answer: employee-paid, or voluntary, benefits." (National Association of Health Underwriters)
Sponsored by: Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers Conference
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| An Annual Check-Up for your Health Care Plan |
| Is your health care plan in shape? It may be time for a check-up. Plan sponsors are experiencing a myriad of cost vs. quality symptoms and conventional treatment is falling short of providing the cure -- quality health care at an affordable price. Treatments vary, and there are a number of strategies to consider. Which features are right for your plan? Find out at the Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers, March 25-28, in Orlando, Florida. This event can help your health care plan get back in shape! |
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Working Paper Abstract: A Unifying Model of How the Tax System & GAAP Affect Corporate Behavior
Excerpt: "This paper models the impact of the tax system and GAAP on the real and financial reporting decisions of corporations. It provides a first step toward joint evaluation of taxation and financial reporting in the standard economic analyses of corporate behavior. The key finding is that value arises from real decisions that provide firms with discretion in their tax and financial reporting." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full-text)
Forces Shaping the Future U.S. Workforce and Workplace: Implications for 21st Century Work (PDF)
15 pages. Testimony presented before the House Education and Labor Committee on February 7, 2007 (RAND)
Sibson's 2006 Rewards of Work Study: Insights into Employee Engagement (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The following are among the issues that employers should consider that are related to the ROW concept: Aligning leadership around the desired state for each element of the Rewards of Work, Conducting an inventory of all elements of rewards, the current investment, and how it compares to the market, Customizing the ROW Study to measure engagement and other outcomes and what drives them . . . ." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Form 5500 -- What You Need to Know for 2006 Plan Years
Nationwide on February 20, 2007
presented by CCH Incorporated
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) 2007 - Monthly Webinar
Nationwide on February 14, 2007
presented by Collin W. Fritz & Associates, Ltd.
Individual Retirement Account Required Minimum Distributions - Monthly Webinar
in California on February 16, 2007
presented by Collin W. Fritz & Associates, Ltd.
IRA Law Changes - 2007 - Monthly Webinar
Nationwide on February 15, 2007
presented by Collin W. Fritz & Associates, Ltd.
IRA Reporting - Monthly Webinar
Nationwide on February 13, 2007
presented by Collin W. Fritz & Associates, Ltd.
Newly Posted Press Releases
The Online 401(k) Launches Public Crusade to Spotlight Hidden 401(k) Fees
401(k) Link Association
Benefit Software Inc. Names Kim Rajala-Blood Vice President of Online Services
Benefit Software Inc.
U. S. Labor Department Sues Miami Company and President to Recover $1.5 Million in Retirement Plan Assets
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Section 125 Plans E-Learning Course Now Available
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Creative Benefits Completes Integration with First Data and UMB
First Data
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contribution Testing & Reporting Consultant
for Fidelity Investments
in KY, TX
Sr. Benefits Specialist
for The First American Corporation
in CA
Enroller - Worksite Markets
for ING Americas
in RI
Participant Service Center Representative
for Ingham Group, a premier full service Tier One firm in FL and SC
in FL, SC
Group Insurance Marketing & Account Management Associate
for Winged Keel Group
in NY
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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