| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
March 15, 2007
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| Celebrate National Employee Benefits Day April 2 |
| On Monday, April 2, make plans to celebration National Employee Benefits Day. Tune in to www.ifebp.org for a free web cast titled "Are Your Participants Financially Savvy? How Proactive Plan Sponsors Can Make a Difference." This presentation will be of interest to those who help shape educational efforts for plan participants. It will also have tips for your own personal financial planning. For more on National Employee Benefits Day, visit www.ifebp.org/benefitsday |
President Rejects Health Care Proposal from Citizens' Group
Excerpt: "The Bush administration [yesterday] rejected key recommendations from a citizens' group asked by Congress to find out people's health care wishes. Suggestions included guaranteeing health coverage for specific checkups and treatments and protecting consumers from high medical expenses. The group released its report Sept. 29 after hearing from about 6,500 people at 84 meetings." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
Fewer Families Have Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage, Study Finds
Excerpt: "About 47% of working parents in families with annual incomes of less than $40,000 are offered health insurance benefits through their employers -- a 9% decrease over the past decade, according to a report released Wednesday by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Detroit News reports . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Ten Pitfalls to Avoid in Claims Administration
Excerpt: "[The target page lists] ten frequent claims administration errors . . . identified in a seminar presentation . . . ." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
BlueCross BlueShield/North Carolina to Offer Health Risk Assessments for Employers and Individuals
Excerpt: "Employers with 50 or more employees completing the survey receive an aggregate summary report that includes suggested steps for addressing health issues within their employee population. The employer does not receive individual questionnaire results." (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Harvard Economist Proposes Team Approach on Health Care
Excerpt: "A renowned Harvard economist unveiled a plan yesterday to revamp the US healthcare system by focusing on the value of care to patients, arguing that improving the quality of medical services can by itself save money and provide a road map to a national health plan." (The Boston Globe via Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Health Plans Face More Coverage Issues with Pharmacogenomic Tests
Excerpt: "Health plans face more difficult coverage decisions as pharmacogenomic tests continue to enter the marketplace and rise in cost. While these tests hold much promise in predicting how a person's genetic makeup will respond to therapies, not all of them demonstrate clinical utility, say experts." (SPECIALTY PHARMACY NEWS via AISHealth.com)
The Fundamentals of Health Promotion Incentives (PDF)
Excerpt: "Health promotion programs seek to promote healthier lifestyles among employees and their families as a means to reduce escalating health care costs. Such programs also have been demonstrated to reduce absenteeism, improve productivity and worksite safety, boost employee morale, and transform company culture." (Aspen Publishers, Inc. via Buck Consultants)
Connecticut Legislative Committee Clears Two Differing Approaches to Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "A bill to create a single health insurer in Connecticut - an anathema to the industry - won half-hearted approval Tuesday from a legislative panel, which also passed a reform bill the industry favors. The Insurance and Real Estate Committee, in a 12-7 vote, approved a bill aimed at creating a 'single-payer' system to ensure coverage for all Connecticut residents not on Medicare." (Hartford Courant via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Health Savings Accounts: No Solution for the Uninsured
Excerpt: "This Budget Brief finds that HSAs would not make health coverage affordable for most uninsured Californians for two reasons. First, most uninsured Californians have low incomes and would not likely benefit from tax breaks for individuals with HSAs. Second, individuals with high-deductible health plans face substantially higher health costs than those with lower deductible plans and tend to have problems accessing needed health care services." (California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee)
Overview of New Rules for Health Savings Accounts (PDF)
Pages 4-7 of 9 pages. Excerpt: "On December 20, 2006, President Bush signed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 . . . . The Act includes a number of provisions intended to make Health Savings Accounts . . . more attractive, such as new contribution limits and rules providing for rollovers from health flexible spending accounts . . ., health reimbursement arrangements . . . and Individual Retirement Accounts . . . ." (Trucker Huss)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Could Tomorrow Be ERISA Day at the Supreme Court?
Excerpt: "SCOTUSblog is tracking those cases that have a reasonable chance of having cert. being granted at the Supreme Court's March 16th conference. Among them are two interesting ERISA cases from different parts of the employee benefit world . . . ." (Workplace Prof Blog)
Legislative Curtailment of Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Imminent? (PDF)
Pages 1-4 of 9 pages. Excerpt: "A plan sponsor may be legally required to pay an executive an amount that is subject to Section 409A that vests after January 1, 2007, such as severance payments due upon a future involuntary termination." (Trucker Huss)
Overview: IRS Focus on Tax-Exempt Organization Compensation
Excerpt: "On March 1, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued its long-awaited report on compensation paid and benefits provided by tax-exempt organizations to their executives and directors. The report reveals that the IRS sent compliance check letters to approximately 2,000 exempt organizations in two separate projects." (McDermott Will & Emery)
Opinion: SEC's Cox Turns Executive Pay Into Hieroglyphics
Excerpt: "It's really amazing how the Securities and Exchange Commission achieved the opposite of what it intended when setting out to make reported executive compensation easier to understand. Blame it on the agency's kowtowing to the business community and efforts to adopt rules that created disclosure discrepancies where none existed before." (Bloomberg)
Current ERISA Developments Issued in 2007
Excerpt: "The [target page] tracks important guidance that has been released since January 1, 2007." (Cyber FX Communications and TRI Pension Services)
GM To Seek Reduced Health Care and Pension Costs from Unions
Excerpt: "In its annual report, GM says it intends 'to pursue our cost-reduction goals vigorously in negotiating' after its current contract with the United Auto Workers expires in September." (WREX TV)
Newly Posted Events
Annual Spring Employee Benefits Law and Practice Update - Webcast
Nationwide on April 10, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
COBRA for Rookies -- The Basics, With Play-by-Play Commentary
Nationwide on March 8, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
Ethics/Attorney-Client Privilege Update; In-Depth Analysis of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA 2006) - Webcast
Nationwide on March 28, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Newly Posted Press Releases
State Governments Positioned To Advance Price Transparency In Health Care, According To A New Deloitte Report
Deloitte
Sickday Medical House Calls Launches Same-Day Medical Service
Sickday Medical House Calls
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Manager, Defined Contribution Client Consultant Team, Core/Large Market
for Prudential Retirement
in IA
Vice President of Strategic Distribution Initiatives
for CitiStreet
in NJ
Client Service Representative - Consultant
for Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
in NE
Senior Communications Development Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management - Retirement Plans Services
in MA
Team Manager - Client Services
for Ameritas Life Insurance Corp.
in NE
Relationship Manager
for Vanguard
in AZ
Retirement Plan Consultant
for Standard Insurance Company
in WA
Senior Defined Contribution Administrator/Consultant
for The Benefit Practice
in CT
Compliance Specialist - Defined Benefits
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA
Compliance Officer
for 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds
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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