| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
March 29, 2007
Sponsored by: Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers
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| Does Your Health Care Plan Measure Up? |
| The yardstick for measuring a successful health care plan is ever-changing, but the one consistent issue facing plan sponsors is cost vs. quality. A number of management tools can help put new plan strategies in place. Find out at the Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers conference, June 10–13, in Chicago. With 55+ sessions presented by specialists in the employee benefits field, you’ll take away plan management strategies that you can use right away and begin enjoying measurable success! |
Extra Pay Adds Up for Civil Servants: Comp Structure Can Include 135 Categories of 'Special' Perks
Excerpt: "The top annual salary for a San Jose police officer is $86,000. But one officer last year more than doubled that figure, earning nearly $175,400. How? Welcome to the world of 'special pays,' a combination of overtime, on-call work and other extras that put this cop among the 100 highest-paid of the city's 6,800 employees." (Inside Bay Area)
Letter Opposing H.R. 493, the 'Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007'
Excerpt: "The Chamber recognizes that proponents believe this legislation is necessary to help alleviate the concern of potential discrimination, which may be preventing some individuals from using genetic services. Indeed, it may be possible to address this concern in a targeted manner, without radically re-writing medical privacy laws." (U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
Pretax Benefits: Access to Sec. 125 Cafeteria Benefits and HSAs in the U.S.
Excerpt: "Pretax benefits enable both employers and employees to set aside money on a tax-free, salary-reduction basis for retirement expenses as well as for qualified dependent care and healthcare expenses." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Reminder: Small Plans Must Send HIPAA Privacy Reminder by April 14, 2007
Excerpt: "HIPAA privacy regulations require that health plans must remind participants about their existing privacy notice every three years. For small plans (those with annual receipts of $5 million or less) that issued their initial privacy notice by the April 14, 2004 deadline, it's now time to send the reminder notice." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Working Paper Abstract: The Effect of Tuition Reimbursement on Turnover: A Case Study Analysis
Excerpt: "This paper tests empirically whether participation in tuition reimbursement programs increases employee retention using data from a non-profit institution. To document the prevalence of tuition reimbursement programs, the case study analysis is supplemented with findings from the Survey of Employer-Provided Training, 1995 (SEPT95). This paper finds that participation in tuition reimbursement programs reduces employee turnover." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full-text)
The Vacation Policy at Netflix: Take As Much As You Want
Excerpt: "When it comes to vacation, Netflix has a simple policy: Take as much as you'd like. Just make sure your work is done. Employees at the online movie retailer often leave for three, four, even five weeks at a time and never clock in or out. Vacation limits and face-time requirements, says Netflix Chief Executive Reed Hastings, are 'a relic of the industrial age.'" (The Mercury News; free registration required)
Issue Brief: Consumer Tolerance for Inaccuracy in Physician Performance Ratings
Excerpt: "Health plans increasingly use physician performance ratings, but some physicians are concerned that measurement inaccuracies may jeopardize their reputations and livelihoods. Absent from the debate thus far are consumer views about how accurate physician ratings need to be for various uses." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
Administrative Costs for Advance Payment of Health Coverage Tax Credits: An Initial Analysis
Excerpt: "Health Coverage Tax Credits (HCTCs) . . . pay 65 percent of health insurance premiums for certain workers displaced by international trade and early retirees. . . . While HCTC administrative costs have fallen significantly since program start-up, they still comprise approximately 34 percent of total spending. . . . These findings have important implications for any future tax credit plan intended to cover the uninsured." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Automakers Warned that U.A.W. Won't Budge on Health Care Benefits or Jobs Bank
Excerpt: "The union's president, Ron Gettelfinger, said on Wednesday that he saw no reason to accept any deal that requires workers to pay more of their health care costs or that eliminates the jobs bank, which allows laid-off workers to continue collecting most of their pay and benefits." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Manufacturer Adopts Tangerine Wellness Incentive-Based Program
Excerpt: "[Jim Knutson, risk manager at Rockford Acromatic,] knew that many of Rockford's employees had chronic diseases, and a high percentage were overweight. He also understood the link between obesity, disease and medical costs. Armed with this information, he convinced Rockford execs to implement a pilot weight-management program from Tangerine Wellness in May 2006." (Employee Benefit News)
Gift Cards Proposed as Health Incentive
Excerpt: "Democrats in the Minnesota state Senate want to give publicly insured patients $20 gift cards to stores such as Target as an incentive to follow their doctor's orders." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Employers Extend Wellness Program Incentives to Healthy Workers
Excerpt: "Employers who provide incentives for workers who quit smoking cigarettes or lose weight are now offering rewards to workers who might already lead a healthy lifestyle in response to recently approved federal regulations intended to 'ensure that all workers are treated fairly in so-called wellness programs,' the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
IRS Rules and Technology Could Help Debit Cards Solve Consumer-Driven Payment Issues
Excerpt: "The two rounds of guidance released by the IRS in July and December 2006 will 'pave the way for what will be a breakthrough in electronic [claims] substantiation,' according to Chris Byrd, executive vice president of operations and development at Evolution Benefits, Inc." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)
Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008, March 2007
Excerpt: "This Kaiser Family Foundation tracking poll is the first in a new series on the public's views of health reform and the presidential candidates' positions on health care. Through the Kaiser Health Tracking Poll: Election 2008, Kaiser will track changes in the saliency of health as a political and policy priority, what the public's priorities are for a health reform plan, and whether any candidates are breaking through with the public with their health reform plans." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Summary of 2007 State of the State Addresses (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "While significant issues, such as education and tax reform, were regularly discussed in the governors' speeches, recurring themes most relevant to employers for 2007 included health care reform, immigration, and the minimum wage. This report focuses on these key employment areas." (Hewitt Associates)
Opinion: Affordable Health Insurance for All Americans
Excerpt: "If the world has learned anything from the 20th century, it is that an efficient marketplace beats government at delivering value and controlling costs. The power of consumers to drive quality up and prices down needs to be used in government-sponsored programs as well." (The Hill)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated March 27, 2007, for Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)
13 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
Continuing on FIN 48: Executive Compensation Considerations
Excerpt: "These postings are aimed at raising the awareness of the readers to compensation matters which may be considered 'uncertain' under the new financial reporting rules and, as such, should trigger questions from the employer." (Pension & Benefits Blog)
Deferred Compensation Measure Runs into Opposition in Congress
Excerpt: "[P]rovisions in the Senate version of the wage measure that would limit deferred compensation and extend a portion of the tax code covering a company's five highest-paid employees have run into stiff headwinds from the business community and the House." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Companies Shy Away from Disclosing Executive Pay Goals
Excerpt: "A new analysis of 2007 proxy statements from 100 large publicly-traded companies found nearly half chose not to disclose specific goals on which executive pay plans are based." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide for March 27, 2007, on Human Resources & Employment Law (PDF)
10 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)
Attorney's Fee Awards Under ERISA - Defendants Paying the Lawyers That Sue Them
Excerpt: "A number of recent cases bring home the point that an ERISA case can carry an extra sting for the defendant. ERISA allows for an award of attorneys' fees in appropriate cases." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Newly Posted Events
Universal Health Care Coverage: Back to the Front Burner and Hotter Than Ever - Webcast
Nationwide on April 4, 2007
presented by Deloitte
Newly Posted Press Releases
Health Information Technology Out of Reach for Small Health Care Providers
U.S. House Small Business Committee
DataPath Administrative Services Named as Benefits Administrator for State of Louisiana
DataPath, Inc.
Phased Retirement Programs are Becoming Easier to Implement; Companies Benefit by Retaining Skills, While Mature Workers Get More Options
Conference Board, The
LifeCare® Poll Reveals the Reasons We Work Sick
LifeCare, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Consultant
for Kravitz - Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA
Sr. Operations Manager
for CitiStreet
in FL
Defined Contribution Testing & Reporting Consultant
for Fidelity Investments
in KY, TX
Client Relationship Manager
for Growing TPA firm
in MI
Comp/Benefits Writer & Audio Conference Producer
for Award-winning newsletter/web publisher
in ANY STATE
Consultant
for Buck Consultants, an ACS company
in GA
Client Relationship Manager
for ING, Financial Services
in CA
Business Development Specialist
for ING, Financial Services
in CA
Second Vice President, Strategic Communications Consulting
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
Conversion Specialist
for BenefitStreet, Inc.
in CA
Benefits Service Representative
for Standard Insurance Company
in HI
Employee Benefits Senior Associate
for Clifton Gunderson Financial Services
in IL
Communications and Marketing Manager
for Princeton Retirement Group, a Merrill Lynch Company
in GA
Sr. Actuarial Associate
for NRECA
in VA
Implementation Analyst
for Mercer HR Services
in MA
Director, Benefits & Compensation Compliance
for The Hartford
in CT
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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