| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
February 21, 2007
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Health Care Spending Seen Doubling in 10 Years
Excerpt: "U.S. spending on prescription drugs, hospital care and other health services is expected to double to $4.1 trillion over the next decade, up from $2.1 trillion in 2006, a government report released on Wednesday found." (Reuters via New York Times; free registration required)
Ailing U.S. Healthcare System Attracting Attention of Largest Employers
Excerpt: "Emboldened by 2008 presidential candidates' pledges to help America's 47 million uninsured and concerned about the rising cost of care, corporate titans including Wal-Mart and General Motors say the public and private sectors must tackle the problem." (The Intelligencer on Pharmasentry)
Press Release by Senate Bill Sponsors Describes Menatl Health Parity Act of 2007 (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The bill does not mandate group plans to provide any mental health coverage, but it does require health insurance plans that offer mental health coverage to provide that coverage on par with financial and treatment coverage offered for other physical illnesses." (U.S. Senators Kennedy, Domenici and Enzi)
White Paper: An Evaluation of the President's Proposed Standard Deduction for Health Insurance (PDF)
25 pages; Feb. 14, 2007. Excerpt: "The tax proposal is innovative and a step in the right direction, but without substantial expansions and revisions the plan as a whole would weaken existing pooling arrangements and create substantial risks for the current system of health insurance coverage." (Tax Policy Center of the Urban Institute and the Brookings Institution)
Text of Mercer's Compliance Quarterly for California HR Professionals, Fourth Quarter 2006
8 pages. Includes overview of San Francisco paid leave ordinance and overview of 1993 law requiring signed medical waiver form from employees who decline health coverage (for employers with insured group medical plans or HMOs subject to California law). (Mercer Human Resource Consulting)
Supreme Court Declines to Review 3rd Circuit Ruling Against VEBA Clients (Physicians)
Excerpt: "The court's refusal to review the decision represents a victory for the VEBA providers including a variety of life insurers and financial consultants, against the VEBA users, who included doctors and doctors' professional corporations. The case, Schneider et al. vs. Kirwan Financial et al., involved efforts by doctors to use life insurance policies held within VEBAs to lower their taxes." (National Underwriter; free registration required)
From On-Site Chiropractors to Pet Health Insurance, Employees Are Reaping Bounty of Benefits
Excerpt: "The classic employee perks used to be an hour off for lunch, a 401(k) plan and five sick days. But these days, employees are being treated to a veritable benefits buffet, including things your father's company never imagined, ranging from adoption assistance and on-site day care to travel planning and health insurance for pets." (New York Post)
In the World of Life-Saving Drugs, a Growing Epidemic of Deadly Fakes
Excerpt: "China is the source of most of the world's fake drugs, experts say. In December, according to Xinhua, the state news agency, the former chief of China's Food and Drug Administration and two of his top deputies were arrested on charges of taking bribes to approve drugs." (New York Times; free registration required)
Implications of Benefit Design Innovations for Consumer-Directed Health Care
Excerpt: "Innovative benefit designs include incentives to encourage healthy behaviors; incentives that vary by service type, patient condition or enrollee income; and incentives to use efficient providers. But most applications of these innovative designs are not widespread . . . .Moreover, regulations governing high-deductible, consumer-directed health plans eligible for health savings accounts (HSAs) preclude some promising benefit design innovations and dilute the incentive in others." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
What Kind of Health Care Vehicle is California Looking For?
Excerpt: "In California -- and perhaps the country as a whole -- it's taken several years to reach consensus regarding health care, but there does seem to be agreement now that the system does indeed need fixing. The next question, also fundamental in nature, is, 'Shall we tinker with what we already have -- try some new parts and modifications -- or shall we go for a whole new vehicle?' That's roughly where the debate is now." (California Healthline by the California HealthCare Foundation)
Links to 2007 Health Care Bills and Proposals in the State Legislatures
Excerpt: "State policymakers are asking important questions: where does the burden of coverage lie? Is health insurance a personal responsibility? Should employers be the main source of America's coverage? Or is access to health care a right of citizenship and the government's responsibility? Can the health care safety net withstand the strain of the growing number of uninsured? Policymakers are responding to these questions with varying kinds of legislation." (National Conference of State Legislatures)
Overview: Congressional Committees Act on Genetic Nondiscrimination and Mental Health Parity Bills
Excerpt: "The bills would also make it illegal for group health plans and health insurers to deny coverage to healthy individuals or charge them higher premiums based solely on a genetic predisposition to a specific disease. President Bush has voiced his support for measures to prevent genetic discrimination." (Deloitte)
Audio: Retiree Health Care Shifts to Unions
Excerpt: "Some manufacturers are shifting health-care responsibility for retirees to unions. Goodyear Tire and Rubber, for example, is giving the United Steelworkers about $1 billion to take over retiree health care. Others ponder similar plans." (National Public Radio)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
New Resource: Insurance Information in Spanish; Useful for Employers and Participants
Excerpt: "Employers with many Spanish-speaking workers may want to take note of a new resource on benefits and insurance topics. To help educate Spanish-speaking consumers on various types of insurance, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners recently launched a new Spanish-language Web site that employers and workers can use." (BenefitNews.com by Employee Benefit News)
GAO: EBSA Enforcement Improvements Made but Additional Pension Plan Oversight Could be Made
54 pages. Highlights at http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d0722high.pdf. Excerpt: "EBSA still has not adequately assessed the nature and extent of ERISA noncompliance, even though it has taken steps to do so. Without these data, EBSA is not positioned to focus its resources on key areas of noncompliance nor have adequate measurable performance goals to evaluate its impact on improving industry compliance.' Includes a reply by the agency. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Analysis: Senate Finance Committee Passes More Restrictions on Deferred Compensation
Excerpt: "Let's consider some common situations where [the Small Business and Work Opportunity Act of 2007] might cause an employer to have to rethink the way it is compensating its employees. An obvious one is nonqualified pensions, currently thought of as one of the evil areas of executive compensation." (CCA)
New SEC Rules Require Greater Disclosure, But Don't Expect CEOs to Take a Hit
4 pages. Excerpt: "No topic inflames the passions of business leaders and shareholders like executive pay. Companies and compensation consultants argue that, in a free market, they'd be foolish not to pay the going rate for top talent. Investors demand that compensation be tied to performance and complain loudly when pay rises while share prices don't." (Business Week online)
ERISA Benefits Litigation: Who Can Be Sued?
Excerpt: "There has been a surprising lack of consensus by the courts regarding whom a participant should sue under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to recover benefits due under terms of a plan. The article reviews the courts' varying treatment of the subject and proceeds to look at the structure, words, and history of the statute. The article concludes that an employee benefit plan is the only proper party defendant to an ERISA benefits lawsuit." (Groom Law Group)
Newly Posted Events
Health On The Hill - Webcast
Nationwide on February 21, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Inherited IRAs Webinar
Nationwide on February 22, 2007
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Inherited IRAs Webinar
Nationwide on February 27, 2007
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Newly Posted Press Releases
Little Relief From Health Benefit Cost Increases Expected, Watson Wyatt, National Business Group on Health Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt
Specialized Retirement Plan E-Learning Courses Introduced
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
AccountingWEB Partners with PLANPAYROLL™ to Offer Innovative Online Payroll Service to Accounting Professionals
PAi
Physicians Urged to Consider Non-Traditional Deferred Compensation Strategies
Benefits Solutions Group
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Senior Account Executive
for BWD Group LLC
in NY
401 (k) Administrative Assistant - Director of First Impressions
for Scholz, Klein & Friends Enlightened Retirement Group, Inc.
in TX
Retirement Plan Analyst
for Standard Insurance Company
in PA
Retirement Services Relationship Manager
for Fulton Financial Corporation
in PA
Retirement Plan Consultant IMT
for Standard Insurance Company
in PA
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Hicks Pension Group - Honolulu Hawaii
in HI
Account Manager
for Parker Group, Inc.
in CT, NJ, 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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