| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
March 26, 2007
Sponsored by: The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| 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 |
Universal Health Care Momentum Swells, According to Survey
Excerpt: "A CBS News/New York Times survey last month found that 90 percent believe the U.S. health care system needs either fundamental changes (54 percent) or a complete overhaul (36 percent)." (The Century Foundation)
States Seek to Extend Health Care Coverage
Excerpt: "U.S. states want to provide health care coverage for the uninsured, but daunting costs could derail or shrink some of their plans." (Reuters via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Presidential Candidates Outline Ideas for Universal Health Care
Excerpt: "Seven Democratic candidates for president promised Saturday to guarantee health insurance for all, but they disagreed over how to pay for it and how fast it could be achieved." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Editorial: Winds of Change Carrying Cries for Health Care Toward the Hill
Excerpt: "Here is an unadorned fact of political life: An anxious middle class makes things happen, which explains the persistent drum beat of national interest in universal health-insurance coverage. People are uneasy." (Seattle Times via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Organizational Culture May Not Support People Taking Time Off
Excerpt: "A worker may leave vacation time on the table for many reasons, but they generally boil down to a few: business pressures, particularly on senior executives; a reluctance to appear nonessential; a desire to be paid for unused vacation days down the road; and often, the feeling that one's workplace is anti-vacation." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Court Nixes Holiday Pay for Reservists
Excerpt: "The significantly longer leaves of absence required by Reservists is the reason they do not deserve holiday pay during their active-duty period, while federal employees serving as jurors or court witnesses do, the court ruled." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
AFL-CIO Site a Public Forum for Medical Horror Stories from the Country's Health Care System
Excerpt: "America's largest organized labor union is setting the stage for a campaign to reform the country's health care system. The AFL-CIO's Working America, an affiliate of the union, this week set up the Web site: 'Health Care Hustle.' [http://www.workingamerica.org/healthcarehustle/]" (The Washington Times via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Why Generic Doesn't Always Mean Cheap
Excerpt: "At a time when policy makers are searching for ways to cut health-care costs, generic drugs are often viewed as one of the most straightforward solutions. But as the situation with generic Zocor illustrates, prices can vary wildly, and may not be nearly as cheap as expected." (The Wall Street Journal Online)
Pediatricians Voice Anger Over Costs of Vaccines
Excerpt: "The soaring cost and rising number of new vaccines, doctors say, make it increasingly difficult for them to buy the shots they give their patients. They also complain that insurers often do not reimburse them enough, so they can lose money on every dose they deliver." (The New York Times; free registration required)
High-Deductible Health Plan Needs Enrollment to Cut Cost
Excerpt: "Just offering a high-deductible health plan isn't likely to hold down a company's health care costs, new data indicate. To be a money-saver, such a plan has to be coupled with other features to improve employee health, and enrollment has to reach about 10 percent, according to a report by benefits consulting firm Watson Wyatt." (Cincinnati Business Courier via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Editorial: Fairness for Mental Health
Excerpt: "After a decade of small-bore measures and frustrating stalemates, it looks as if Congress may be ready to require that insurance coverage for mental illness and substance abuse be provided on the same terms as coverage for physical ailments." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Aged, Frail and Denied Care by Their LTC Insurers
Excerpt: "Interviews by The New York Times and confidential depositions indicate that some long-term-care insurers have developed procedures that make it difficult -- if not impossible -- for policyholders to get paid." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Supreme Court to Rule on Accounting Suits Against Outside Vendors
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court [today] said it will clarify whether outside vendors can be sued under federal securities laws for participating in transactions that were part of another company's accounting fraud." (MarketWatch.com)
Employer Groups Reject Deferred Compensation Provisions in Senate-Passed Wage Bill
Excerpt: "Two major employer groups have issued statements urging the House Ways and Means Committee to reject provisions of the Senate-passed minimum wage bill that would impose dollar caps on nonqualified deferred compensation . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
SEC's Cox Knocks Unreadable Proxies
Excerpt: "Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox today blasted the 'readability' of disclosures made in recent proxy filings." (Investment News; free registration required)
A Review of Benefits Legislation Introduced in the Senate
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Between February 13 and March 8, [several] benefits-related bills were introduced in the Senate." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Newly Posted Events
Update on HIPAA Privacy and Security Teleweb
Nationwide on April 5, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Experienced Relius Benefit Administrator
for Employers Administrative Services, Inc.
in IA
Account Executive Assistant
for The Paragon Alliance Group
in PA
Compliance Specialist for Retirement Plans
for The Paragon Alliance Group
in PA
Appeals Administrator
for 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds
in NY
401(k) / DC Administrator
for Columbia Benefits Consultants, Inc.
in MD
Pension Administrator
for Benefit Strategies, Inc.
in CA
Enrolled Actuary
for Preferred Pension Planning Corporation
in NJ
TOC Design Consultant Executive Compensation
for Hewitt Associates
in IL
Sales Underwriter
for Standard Insurance Company
in NJ
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: