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March 28, 2007


Sponsored by: The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

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Banner ad for The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

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

Plan that Pays Vacation Benefits from Employer's General Assets Is Not an ERISA Plan
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Employers that wish to rely on ERISA's preemption provisions to avoid state law should take note: Creating a separate trust does not necessarily make a plan subject to ERISA." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

COBRA Presents Twists to Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "If your health benefits insurance policy covers employees' same-sex domestic partners to the same extent as spouses, you'd think that those domestic partners would also be covered for all COBRA purposes. After all, it's the same insurance policy, right? Apparently, that's wrong." (Alexander Hamilton Institute)

High-Deductible Plans Reduce Emergency Room Visits and Hospitalizations
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Emergency room visits dropped significantly for patients with single-option high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), mainly for repeat visits for low- or indeterminate-severity care, according to a study recently conducted by the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Lawmakers and Consumers Support Health IT, but Legislation Unlikely
Excerpt: "Health IT continues to have widespread support on Capitol Hill, but passing health IT legislation has dropped to a low priority, according to congressional aides of both parties, Technology Daily reports." (California HealthCare Foundation; free registration may be required)

Health Insurance Options Dwindle for Self-Employed: Group Plans Are Dropped or Become Unaffordable
Excerpt: "Health plans offered by professional associations were once havens for millions of people who couldn't get coverage anywhere else. But as medical costs have soared, groups representing professions as varied as law and golf have been forced to stop offering the benefit or been dropped by insurers." (Los Angeles Times via California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee)

Health Insurance Industry Works to Avert Health Insurance Crisis
Excerpt: "The health insurance industry's bad dreams about a single-payer, government-run health care system seem to be easing - at least for now. Instead, health insurers are getting behind a growing movement aimed at reducing the ranks of the nation's 47 million uninsured by improving the existing mix of public- and private-sector insurance options." (Business First of Columbus via bizjournals.com; free registration required)

Fidelity Says Retirees Need $215,000 to Cover Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "The average 65-year-old couple needs an estimated $215,000 to cover health care costs in retirement, which is $15,000 greater than the amount Fidelity Investments predicted they would need last year." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

CalPERS Calls on House Members to Preserve Access to Safe, Affordable Generics
Excerpt: "Congress needs to introduce competition into the biopharma.ceutical marketplace by giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to approve safe biogenerics, a trustee of the nation's third largest health care purchaser urged today." (CalPERS via PharmaLive.com)

Overview: Civil Rights Law Doesn't Require Employers to Cover Contraceptives, 8th Circuit Rules
Excerpt: "A group health plan that excludes coverage for all male and female contraceptives – except when medically necessary for a non-contraceptive purpose – does not violate the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), according to a recent decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

Hearing on Mental Health and Substance Abuse Parity, March 27, 2007
Excerpt: "The hearing [focused] on legislation and options to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment parity in private health insurance and in Medicare." (U.S. Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Health)

Overview: IRS Guidance on Rollover from FSAs and HRAs to Health Savings Account (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "HOPE provides for 'qualified HSA distributions' before January 1, 2012. A qualified HSA distribution is a direct distribution from an FSA or HRA to an HSA. The distribution cannot exceed the lesser of the balance in the health FSA or HRA on (1) September 21, 2006, or (ii) the date of the distribution." (Winston & Strawn LLP)


Sponsored by: World Congress

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Banner ad for World Congress

The 4th Annual World Health Care Congress

April 22 - 24, 2007 | Washington Convention Center | Washington, DC

The 4th Annual World Health Care Congress, co-sponsored by The Wall Street Journal, is the most prestigious meeting of chief and senior executives from all sectors of health care. The conference will convene over 1,800 CEOs, senior executives and government officials from the nation's largest employers, hospitals, health systems, health plans, pharmaceutical and biotech companies, and leading government agencies.

Join other senior executives in creating a new healthcare model based on value, quality and consumer choice. www.whcc2007.com – 800-817-8601 – wcreg@worldcongress.com


(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

At the Energy Department, Benefits Are a Growing Liability
Excerpt: "Costs and liabilities for pension and health-care benefits for contract employees are projected to grow at a rate 'that significantly exceeds likely increases in the department's budget,' the Energy Department reported in a Federal Register notice." (The Washington Post; free registration required)

IRS Expected to Publish Final Regulations Under New Code Section 409A Soon (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "This will be a significant event for every employer in America, because: (a) these regulations can apply to employment and change in control agreements, severance plans and even equity compensation plans, in addition to deferred compensation plans, which were the original target of Congress, and (b) Employers will have until the December 31, 2007 deadline to take a series of required steps." (Winston & Strawn LLP)

A Preview of the Final Section 409A Regulations
Excerpt: "As 'A-Day' approaches (i.e., the release day for final section 409A regulations), this Legal Alert sets the stage for final regulations with -- (1) a list of what to look for in the final regulations, and (2) a brief review of interim guidance issued since the proposed regulations." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)

IRS Study of Exempt Organization Executive Compensation Reveals Significant Reporting Issues
Excerpt: "A three-year study of executive compensation compliance by the IRS Tax Exempt and Government Entities (TE/GE) Division revealed that significant reporting issues exist despite the good intentions displayed by exempt organizations to properly report executive compensation . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)

Idaho Governor Vetoes Bill on State Worker Benefits
Excerpt: "Gov. C.L. 'Butch' Otter announced another veto Tuesday, his fifth of the 2007 Legislature, saying a bill to boost state employee benefits violated Idaho's policy of concentrating on boosting wages." (The Times-News)


Newly Posted Events

Annual Spring Employee Benefits Law and Practice Update
Nationwide on April 10, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)

Compliance University: Cafeteria Plan Administration Interactive Training calls 4/18/07 & 4/25/07 @ 2 p.m. EST
Nationwide on April 18, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com

Long-term Incentive Compensation: Are you a Trend-Follower or Trend-Setter? - Webcast
Nationwide on April 10, 2007
presented by Human Capital Institute

Washington Legislative Update
in Ohio on April 17, 2007
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland


Newly Posted Press Releases

U.S. Labor Department Sues Trustee of Southfield, Mich., 401(k) and Pension Plans for Mismanagement
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

AHIP Partners with Health Literacy Innovations
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)

Pay for Performance 2007 Web Summit
Healthcare Web Summit

BenefitsCheckUp Can Help Battle Senior Hunger
National Council on Aging (NCOA)

Buck Consultants Marks 90th Anniversary with Focus on Clients and the Evolution of HR
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company

Consumers Deserve More Choice, Protection When It Comes to Health Care
National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA)

Many U.S. Adults Are Satisfied With Use of Their Personal Health Information; Substantial Minority Still Withholds Information from Health Providers Due to Worries About Security of Medical Data
Harris Interactive


Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Post a Help Wanted Ad

Retirement Plan Specialist
for SYNERGY
in IL

TPA Relationship Manager - Central Region
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in IL

Senior Retirement Plan Consultant
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR

Sales Consultant
for Diversified Investment Advisors
in NC

401(k) Administrator
for Beacon Benefits, Inc.
in MA, ME, NH

Sales Professional
for Standard Insurance Company
in OH




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