| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
March 13, 2007
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To Cut Healthcare Costs, Firms Are Offering Cash, TVs and Other Rewards to Those Who Shape Up
Excerpt: "Exasperated by ever-rising healthcare costs and frustrated that conventional health plans fail to promote good health, a growing number of U.S. employers and their insurers are enticing workers to stay healthy with prizes, discounted insurance and even cash. What began a few years back with a gift card here and a coupon there is evolving into a much more comprehensive effort by companies, health benefits experts said." (Los Angeles Times; free registration required)
Overview: Complicated Guidance Issued on Rollovers to Health Savings Accounts (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS recently issued Notice 2007-22 (the Notice), which provides guidance on new rollover rules applicable to Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) under the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006. The Notice is complicated and full of traps for the unwary, and it offers the 'reward' of double taxation for mistakes." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Vacation Trip as a Bonus
Excerpt: "The all-expenses-paid vacation -- the reward given by companies to sales representatives in fast-paced, commission-driven fields -- is coming back after falling out of favor a few years ago. But this time, many employers have abandoned the cookie-cutter vacation package and are offering their best workers a menu of options." (The New York Times; free registration required)
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's 2006 National Healthcare Quality Report
Excerpt: "In the 2006 edition of its annual National Healthcare Quality Report (NHQR), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality finds that the rate of improvement across 42 core measures of quality ranged from a high of 7.8 percent (hospital acute care) to only 1 percent (nursing home and home health care)." (U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality via The Commonwealth Fund)
Opinion: The Market for Medical Care: Why You Don't Know the Price or the Quality
Excerpt: "The primary reason why doctors and hospitals typically do not disclose prices prior to treatment is that they do not compete for patients based on price. Prices are usually paid not by patients themselves but by third parties - employers, insurance companies or government. As a result, patients have little reason to care about prices." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Opinion: Technology Can Cut Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "Clayton Christensen . . . is perhaps best known for his writings on disruptive innovation in such books as The Innovator's Dilemma and The Innovator's Solution. In this interview with the California HealthCare Foundation's Mark Smith, he argues that the answer for more affordable health care will come not from an injection of more funding but, rather, from innovations that aim to make more and more areas of care cheaper, simpler, and more in the hands of patients." (Health Affairs)
ERISA Update: Federal Court of Appeals Agrees ERISA Preempts Maryland's 'Fair Share Act' (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "This memo updates the November 2006 Issue Brief on the earlier Maryland court decision published by State Coverage Initiatives and the National Academy for State Health Policy. That brief discusses the lower court's decision in detail and its implications for health care access initiatives enacted or under development in many states." (AcademyHealth)
Text: Consumer Expenditures in 2005 (PDF)
19 pages. The report includes data for consumer spending on health care and personal insurance and pensions. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Businesses Push for Health Care Pricing Transparency
Excerpt: "More than 70 Pittsburgh-area businesses are endorsing a campaign to improve the quality of health care while lowering costs through pricing transparency and other measures." (Pittsburgh Business Times via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Massachusetts Agency Endorses Low-Cost Health Plans of Seven Insurers
Excerpt: "These basic plans can have annual deductibles ranging from $1,000 to $2,000, or may have no annual deductible but higher coinsurance or copayment rates. The majority of Massachusetts residents will have access to health benefit plans offered by four to five insurance companies." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)
Service Employees International Union President Discusses Changes to Health Care System in Interview
Excerpt: "The Los Angeles Times on Sunday interviewed Service Employees International Union President Andrew Stern, an 'outspoken and unconventional' supporter of 'health care changes to guarantee coverage for all while reining in costs.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
CBO: Potential Effects of Disclosing Price Rebates on the Medicare Drug Benefit (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "In this letter, CBO analyzes the broader issue of the disclosure of information on drug rebates and provides the reasons why the agency would currently estimate a much smaller financial impact on Medicare from legislative provisions that would require detailed disclosure (or would be likely to result in such disclosure) than had been estimated prior to the implementation of the Medicare drug benefit." (Congressional Budget Office)
Working Paper Abstract: Worker Sorting, Compensating Differentials and Health Insurance
Excerpt: "This article introduces an empirical strategy to the compensating differentials literature that i) allows both individual observed and unobserved characteristics to be rewarded differently in firms based on health insurance provision, and ii) selection to jobs that provide benefits to operate on both sides of the labor market." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full-text)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Text of Update to Treasury Department's Priority Guidance Plan for 2006-2007 (PDF)
44 pages; most employee benefit provisions are at pp. 6-8. Excerpt: "On August 15, 2006, we released the 2006-2007 Priority Guidance Plan listing 264 projects for the plan year beginning July 1, 2006 and ending June 30, 2007. . . . The attached update sets forth the guidance on the original 2006-2007 Priority Guidance Plan that we have published. . . . The update also includes 59 items of additional guidance, some of which have already been published." (Department of the Treasury)
IRS Finds No Widespread Executive Compensation Abuses, but Serious Selective Problems
Excerpt: "The IRS review of executive compensation at 1,826 nonprofit organizations found that they did not go overboard -- except for a small number, and when they were bad they were horrid. But the March 2007 Report on Exempt Organizations Executive Compensation Compliance Project (Parts I and II) also describes serious problems with the way executive compensation was reported by the majority of nonprofits, including health care organizations." (REPORT ON MEDICARE COMPLIANCE via AISHealth.com)
California State Panel Hearing Grapples with Retirement Costs for Government Workers
Excerpt: "With hundreds of thousands of California public employees expected to retire over the next decade, a special commission convened [last] Friday to address anxiety over financial consequences the retirement surge could create for state and local governments." (The Sacramento Bee; free registration required)
How to Evaluate Early Retirement Offers
Excerpt: "The decision whether to accept an early retirement offer can be distressing and complex. If you find yourself in this position you will need to carefully evaluate the offer as well as your personal retirement goals and current financial situation. No matter how attractive the offer seems it is important to understand all the details and explore both the potential benefits and drawbacks of accepting your buyout offer." (Rocky Mount Telegram)
Newly Posted Events
Annual Conference
in California on September 15, 2007
presented by NAGDCA (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Dissatisfaction With Pay, Benefits Widespread in China, Watson Wyatt Finds
Watson Wyatt
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Pension/ERISA Attorney
for Major Lindsey & Africa
in MA
Pension Calculations Analyst
for Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc.
in IL
Benefits Compliance Administrator
for Extendicare Health Services, Inc.
in WI
Retirement Plan Analyst
for Standard Insurance Company
in OH
Team Leader of Regional Service Team
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Investment Executive
for Keenan & Associates
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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