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March 19, 2007
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Genetic Discrimination: Overview of the Issue and Proposed Legislation (PDF)
35 pages. Excerpt: "A key policy issue before Congress is whether the potential for genetic discrimination by employers and insurers merits protections for genetic information that are more extensive than those already in place for health information." (Congressional Research Service)
Companies' Health Care Costs Increased by About Twice Inflation Rate in 2006, Study Finds
Excerpt: "Large companies' health care costs increased by 8% in 2006, nearly double the rate of inflation, according to a survey conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide along with the National Business Group on Health, the AP/Chicago Tribune reports . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Many Workers Get Better Breaks Through Donated Leave
Excerpt: "Systems for donating leave are surging among companies, which see gains in worker loyalty through greater flexibility in dealing with their outside needs. Last year, nearly a third of U.S. employers permitted leave donations, based on a survey of 320 companies by CCH, a business information and service provider . . . ." (McClatchy Newspapers)
HIPAA's National Provider Identifier (NPI) - Why Health Plans Should Care
Excerpt: "Beginning on May 23, 2007, yet another of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's (HIPAA's) administrative simplification provisions will go into effect. On that date, all covered health care providers must have obtained a new national unique identifier, known as the National Provider Identifier, or 'NPI.'" (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP)
Opinion: Health Reform and Labor Shortages Hit Head On
Excerpt: "To combat the difficulty of recruiting and retaining skilled talent, companies are going to have to re-think their approach to health-care-cost containment because a political solution is almost definitely not in the near future." (Dallas Salisbury via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Massachusetts May Give Insured More Time to Upgrade
Excerpt: "The ambitious goals of the state's universal health insurance law collided with reality again this week, as officials struggled to balance broad coverage for the uninsured with concerns about forcing those who already have coverage to buy more." (The Boston Globe via Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Wal-Mart's Linda Dillman Talks About Changing the Health Care System
Excerpt: "Linda Dillman, formerly Wal-Mart's chief information officer and now its executive vice president of risk management, benefits and sustainability, is trying to use technology to change the health care industry and, in the process, improve health care quality and drive down costs through greater efficiency." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Equitable Relief Claims Under ERISA Section 502(a)(3)
Excerpt: "Presently, the scope of ERISA remedies under this statutory section is one of the issues which could appear before the U.S. Supreme Court. See, LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg, and Assoc., 06-856 (Cert. Petition Nov. 2006). (I think the more interesting issue in LaRue arises under ERISA Section 502(a)(2) but for technical reasons, the Court may not consider that issue.)" (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
A Few More Months of Life May Not Be Worth the Costs of New Cancer Therapies, Some Argue
Excerpt: "What is the value of a few months of life? That question is at the center of one of the most controversial debates in medicine today involving a new generation of hyper-expensive cancer drugs." (Los Angeles Times; free registration required)
Court Says Health Coverage May Bar Birth Control Pills
Excerpt: "The Union Pacific Railroad Company did not discriminate against its female employees by excluding birth-control pills from its health insurance coverage, according to a federal appellate panel in St. Louis." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Appeals Panel Rules Employers Need Not Pay for Contraceptives
Excerpt: "Large employers in Missouri and six other states don't have to pay for prescription contraceptives for employees and their spouses in most circumstances, say lawyers and others in the wake of a federal appeals court ruling Thursday." (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)
Former Union Pacific Contraceptive Policy Not Biased, According to Court
Excerpt: "Union Pacific Railroad's former policy of not paying for contraceptives was not discriminatory against women and therefore did not violate the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964, a panel of judges with the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled." (Business Insurance)
Study Shows Firms Want Workers to Be Health Care Consumers
Excerpt: "Having already implemented simple ways to shift health care costs to employees, many employers are looking at longer-term cost containment strategies." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Backfire at Boeing: Misadventure in High-Performance Health Care
Excerpt: "How the aerospace company's effort to institute performance-based health care raised the ire of workers and physicians and landed its insurer in legal hot water." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Proposals for Mental Health Parity Pit Father Kennedy Against a Son
Excerpt: "It's Kennedy versus Kennedy as two members of Congress from the same family face off over competing versions of legislation that would require many health insurance companies and employers to provide more generous benefits to people with mental illness." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Debate Begins on Who Must Buy Health Plans in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "Advocacy groups are stepping up lobbying efforts on the next big issue that will be addressed by the state board overseeing implementation of the universal health insurance law: who will be exempted from the requirements." (The Boston Globe via Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Understanding the Uninsured and What to Do About Them (PDF)
20 pages. Excerpt: "Before elected officials look for solutions, they need to understand who the uninsured are and why so many people lack coverage. With the information in hand, elected officials may be able to identify cost-effective ways to help the uninsured gain access to affordable health insurance coverage." (Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
SIIA Examines the Legislative Future for Health Care
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Next year will be significant for health care policy, Jay Ritchie told the Self-Insurance Institute of America's (SIIA) 21st Annual Legislative/Regulatory Conference in Washington D.C." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Audio: Health Care Back in the National Spotlight
Excerpt: "It has been nearly a decade and a half since the last effort to overhaul the nation's health care system. But the issue is back, driven by recent state initiatives seeking ways to provide universal health care and by the 2008 presidential campaign." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)
State Legislatures Are 'New Battleground' for HR Public Policy
Excerpt: "Because Congress has been slow to act on such matters as immigration reform and universal health care, state legislatures have become an increasingly important avenue for change on issues important to HR professionals, SHRM governmental affairs specialists told attendees at SHRM's Employment Law & Legislative Conference on March. 13." (Society for Human Resource Management)
Overview: Disability Carrier's Venue Provision Violated ERISA
Excerpt: "Is A Forum Selection Clause Enforceable? Short answer: only if it is no more restrictive than ERISA's venue provision. In Nicolas v. MCI Health and Welfare Plan No. 501 . . . (E.D. Tex. 2006) William Nicolas asserted a claim for benefits under his employer's long term disability plan. When his claim was denied, he filed suit where he lived and worked in Texas. But the disability plan documents stated that anyone bringing suit had to do so in either Washington D.C. [or Virginia]." (Brian S. King, Attorney at Law)
Opinion: The Case of the Dead Drunk Driver
Excerpt: "Judge Wilkinson's opinion in the 4th Circuit runs in opposition to an opinion just two years ago in the 8th Circuit in King v. Hartford Life and Accident Insurance. The 9th Circuit also has indicated that 'accidental' deaths may be covered under ERISA. It's an issue that merits Supreme Court review." (James J. Kilpatrick via Yahoo! News)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Employee Benefits Developments, March 2007
The newsletter covers rulings, opinions, etc. and cases. (Hodgson Russ LLP)
More Executive Perks Disclosed to Public
Excerpt: "Corporations are revealing more executive perks than they have in the past, according to a study released by The Corporate Library." (Investment News; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Elements of State Health Reform: Creating a Marketplace for Expanding Coverage - Webcast
Nationwide on March 28, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
ERISA Update Seminar
in Florida on April 26, 2007
presented by GrayRobinson, P.A.
Executive Compensation - Strategy, Design, and Implementation
in New York on June 21, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Executive Compensation - Strategy, Design, and Implementation - Webcast
Nationwide on June 21, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Form 5500 -- What You Need to Know for 2006 Plan Years
Nationwide on April 19, 2007
presented by CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business
Web Enrollment and the Employee Experience - Lewis "Chip" Balser, Regional VP, West Region Univers Worksite
in California on April 4, 2007
presented by International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists - Orange County Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
More Companies Offering Consumer-Directed Health Plans, Watson Wyatt/National Business Group Health Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt
PBGC QDRO Booklet Updated
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Council States That Health Care Reform Will Succeed Only By Combined Efforts Of All Stakeholders
American Benefits Council
Towers Perrin Acquires Global Employee Research Firm ISR
Towers Perrin
Retirement Plan Providers Ready For Rule 22C-2 Compliance Deadline, According To The SPARK Institute
SPARK Institute
Majority of Organizations Use Newsletters to Communicate Information on Employee Benefit Issues
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
March of Dimes Calls for Health Coverage for Women of Childbearing Age and Children
March of Dimes
New Product Launched to Provide Web-hosted Fiduciary Compliance Tools
Fiduciary Risk Assessment LLC
American Media Ignore Swiss Vote - Single Payer Rejected by 71% of Voters
Consumers for Health Care Choices
New SEC Executive Compensation Disclosure is Significantly Less Clear and More Lengthy Than Anticipated
DolmatConnell & Partners, Inc
Employer Survey Points to Need For Health Management, Including Incentives for Employees
IncentOne
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Plan Administrator
for Third Party Administration Firm
in FL
Compliance Testing Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NY
Retirement Plan Coordinator
for The Capital Group Companies
in CA
Retirement Plan Coordinator
for The Capital Group Companies
in TX
DB Administrator
for Matthews, Gold, Kennedy & Snow, Inc.
in AZ
Senior Business Analyst
for 401(k) Recordkeeper and Administrator
in NJ
401k Plan Technician/Analyst
for YHB Retirement Services LLC
in CT
401(k) Account Administrator
for INTRUST Bank
in KS
Conversion/Transitions Manager - Institutional Trust
for M&I Trust Company
in WI
Pension DC/DB Manager
for PR and Associates
in ND
Benefits Manager
for Continuiti Interim HR Professionals
in AZ
Sr. Retirement Analyst
for Altivity Packaging, LLC
in IL
Client Coordinator
for Hill, Chesson & Woody
in NC
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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