| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
March 16, 2007
Sponsored by: International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Get answers to your health, retirement and compensation questions. Join today. |
| The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is a comprehensive resource for those working with benefit plans. Members enjoy personalized secondary research services, informative publications and online information, as well as discounted educational programs, books and distance learning options. Known as the cosponsor of the CEBS designation, the International Foundation also offers numerous ways to keep current with benefit issues, so you are prepared to answer your participants’ questions. |
Best Health Cost Cutters Offer a CDHP and Other Programs
Excerpt: "Employers who offer consumer directed health plans (CDHP) as well as other potential cost-saving programs are finding the most success in keeping their health coverage expenses in line." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Overview: Guidance Offers Rules for Transfers from Health FSAs and HRAs to HSAs (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Notice 2007-22 generally provides that, to take advantage of the HRA or health FSA rollover, by plan year end, three things must happen: The plan must be amended, The employee must elect the rollover, and The year-end balance must be frozen." (Hewitt Associates)
Employee Rewards: One Size Doesn't Fit All
Excerpt: "More than half (55%) of employees say that recognition for their work affects their performance, but a recent poll by Maritz, Inc., suggests that one type of employee recognition will not fit all." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Table: State Cases Addressing Public Sector Health Benefits (PDF)
3 pages. (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)
Commentary: Paying for Care Episodes and Care Coordination
Excerpt: "The fee-for-service (FFS) payment system -- in which doctors and other providers are paid set amounts for specific services rendered -- is increasingly seen as a barrier to effective, coordinated, and efficient care, writes Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis, Ph.D., in an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Fundamental Reform of Payment for Adult Primary Care: Comprehensive Payment for Comprehensive Care
Excerpt: "Under a new proposal, the encounter-based reimbursement system currently in use would be replaced by per-patient payments, and new incentives would be created for physicians to provide effective and efficient care." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Readers React to National Health Insurance Plan Satisfaction Study
Excerpt: "The millions of dollars and countless hours employers spend on health and wellness campaigns may be falling on deaf - and distrusting - ears, according a survey released today by J.D. Power and Associates." (Employee Benefit News)
Health Costs Hurting Small Businesses, According to Testimony
Excerpt: "Small businesses are under duress trying to provide health benefits to workers, and Congress could help by promoting tax relief and customized plans, according to small business owners and policy experts at a hearing on Capitol Hill . . . ." (BenefitNews Connect)
8th Circuit Says Pregnancy Discrimination Act Does Not Cover Contraception
Excerpt: "There is an important decision out . . . from the 8th Circuit in a class action suit concerning whether an employer's health care plan violates the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) by not covering contraception." (Workplace Prof Blog)
PBM Defeat in Medicaid Liability Dispute Has Financial Implications for Plan Sponsors
Excerpt: "While Medicaid claims regulations are tedious reading, this case is nonetheless a must-read for plan sponsors and claims administrators. If the Sixth Circuit opinion becomes prevailing law, and at present it is for plans located in that circuit, significant liabilities to the federal and state governments may be imposed on plans as a result of PBM denials of Medicaid reimbursement requests." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Illinois Governor Proposes Sweeping Health Care Reform Legislation
Excerpt: "The Illinois governor's plan to provide coverage to the state's 1.4 million uninsured residents resembles earlier proposals in California and Pennsylvania." (Insurance NewsNet)
Testimony: Expanding Health Insurance Coverage: Rationale, Recent Proposals, Considerations
March 15, 2007, testimony Before the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), U.S. House Education and Labor Committee. (Urban Institute)
Witnesses Weigh In on Group Health Tax Treatment
Excerpt: "The head of an employer group warned here against rewriting federal income tax laws in a way that discourages employers from offering health insurance." (National Underwriter Life & Health; free registration required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated March 13, 2007, for Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)
11 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans. (Hewitt Associates)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide for March 13, 2007, on Human Resources & Employment Law (PDF)
7 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding human resources and employment law. (Hewitt Associates)
Newly Posted Events
Free Webinar -- March 28th, Employment Discrimination: What Employers Need to Know with Craig J. Davidson, CEBS
Nationwide on March 28, 2007
presented by Davidson Marketing Group -- FutureOffice Network
FutureOffice Webinar -- March 27th, Employment Discrimination: What Employers Need To Know with Craig J. Davidson, CEBS
in Wisconsin on March 28, 2007
presented by
Inherited IRAs Webinar
Nationwide on March 27, 2007
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Inherited IRAs Webinar
Nationwide on March 29, 2007
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Tax/Employee Benefits Attorney
for Harter Secrest & Emery LLP
in NY
Retirement Plan Analyst - Job #01001943
for Weyerhaeuser Company
in WA
Labor & Employment Associate - Employee Benefits
for Nixon Peabody LLP
in NY
DB Administrator
for Summit Benefit & Actuarial Services, Inc.
in OR, WI
Benefits Specialist
for The Atlantic Media Company
in DC
Manager, Actuarial Services
for ABG-MA, a BenefitStreet co.
in PA
Benefit Payment Associate
for NRECA
in VA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
NOTE TO AOL MEMBERS: PLEASE DO NOT REPORT THIS EMAIL AS SPAM. This email is not unsolicited. We do not send unsolicited email. This email is coming to you because you asked to receive it by entering your email address on our web page at
https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
These emails are sent each workday except federal holidays.
This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor
Copyright 2007 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
Other useful links: