| BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
April 5, 2007
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Humana Chief Prescribes Change for Nation's Health Care System
Excerpt: "The nation's health-care system can't survive for long unless everyone -- employers, doctors, hospitals, insurers and consumers -- acts smarter, the head of Florida's largest health insurer said . . . ." (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)
Standard of Review - A Circuit by Circuit Overview
Excerpt: "'This survey of the circuits reflects the difficulty of the standard of review issue. It remains an issue of considerable importance, as the number of amicus curiae briefs filed in this case demonstrates.'" (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Chart: Flexible Benefits and Reimbursement Accounts
Excerpt: "BLS publishes data on employee access to three types of section 125 cafeteria benefits: flexible benefits plans and two types of reimbursement accounts -- dependent care reimbursement accounts and healthcare reimbursement accounts." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Tax Laws Impede HSAs for Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "Employees with same-sex domestic partners aren't likely to sign up for health savings accounts because of federal restrictions. The employee can not pull money from the HSA to cover the medical expenses of a domestic partner without paying income taxes and a 10% penalty tax, unless the partner qualifies as a dependent." (BenefitNews Connect)
Houston Funeral Planner Offers Workplace Benefit Product
Excerpt: "A Houston company is now offering a funeral planning service that can be included as part of an employer benefit package. A news release from Everest said its advance planning tools afford personalized assistance so users can create a plan specifying their individual end of life needs and desires." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Health Insurers Expand Palliative Services to Improve Quality of Care and Slow Expenses
Excerpt: "Some health insurers are expanding palliative care services in an effort to improve quality of care and quality of life, and slow the utilization of inappropriate or even harmful services." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)
Growth in Hospital Bed Supply Gives Health Plans a New Contracting Edge
Excerpt: "Recent contract disputes between MCOs and hospital systems in Las Vegas and Denver indicate that growth in hospital bed supply may give plans more latitude in negotiations, and may make it easier to develop limited-network products." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)
HSAs Available for Possible Double Duty -- Current and Retiree Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "New rules governing Health Savings Accounts are making them more attractive to consumers, who can use HSAs to help reduce health insurance costs now and, potentially, in retirement." (AP via The Hartford Courant; free registration required)
Overview: Maximizing Retiree Drug Subsidy Income
Excerpt: "Update: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has now published rules [at http://www.rds.cms.hhs.gov/news/announcements/new_recon_functionality.htm] for the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) reconciliation process discussed in this Capital Checkup." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Medicare Part D, Generics, and New Drugs Drive Prescription Drug Sales Growth to 8%
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: Prescription drug sales in the U.S. grew by more than 8% to $274.9 billion in 2006, according to IMS Health, a major provider of information on the pharma.ceutical and health care industries." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Why are Health Risk Assessments Valuable?
Excerpt: "The use of incentive strategies has grown significantly in recent years and can run upwards of $200-300 per employee to complete an annual HRA and other 'wellness activities'. What return can an employer expect that would justify that kind of up-front investment?" (The Precept Employee Benefits Blog)
Overview: Proposed Reg Establishing 'Minimum Creditable Coverage' under Mass. Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "" (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Health and Welfare -- Updated April 3, 2007 (PDF)
19 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
Subcommittee Chair Offers Health Insurance Proposal
Excerpt: "Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., chairman of the Health Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee, has introduced H.R. 1841, the 'AmeriCare Health Care Act.'" (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated April 3, 2007, for Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)
15 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)
Opinion: Some Think Government-Run Health Care Is the Answer to the Country's Ailing System
Excerpt: "Small-business allies in Congress believe market-based solutions provide some of the best tools to fix our broken system. But some lawmakers now point to government-run, single-payer, health care as the best remedy." (MyBusinessMag.com)
Opinion: Medicare for All Would Be a Healthy Move
Excerpt: "'A single pool of funds, collected and administered by the government, would expand Medicare and replace Medicaid, SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program), the VA health-care system, and private health insurance, including the health care aspect of Worker's Compensation. . . . Also eliminated would be the tax credit - or subsidy - given to companies for providing health insurance to their employees." (NewsDay via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Human Resources -- Updated April 3, 2007 (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide for April 3, 2007, on Human Resources & Employment Law (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 human resources and employment law. (Hewitt Associates)
Newly Posted Events
Form 5500: Update and Solving Filing Problems
Nationwide on April 26, 2007
presented by American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA)
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Tennessee on May 9, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Tennessee on May 8, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Georgia on May 8, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Illinois on May 8, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Missouri on May 8, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
The COBRA Timeline: Reduce Liability, Expenses, And COBRA Participation- webcast
Nationwide on April 19, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Trends and Challenges in Administering FMLA Teleweb
Nationwide on April 19, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
CEOs See Strong Bonuses, Equity Gains, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds
Watson Wyatt
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Judgment Restoring $201,735 to Profit-sharing Plan of Gadsden, Ala., Company
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Chubb's Position on Law Firm Blogs
Chubb Group of Insurance Companies
CalSTRS Corporate Governance Efforts Pay Off
California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS)
Wachovia's 'WE Care Fund' Surpasses $1 Million in Donations to Employees Needing Assistance
Wachovia Corporation
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Administrator
for Loren D. Stark Company, Inc.
in TX
Senior Client Relationship Manager
for The Newport Group
in FL
Benefit Plan Administrator
for J. D. BENEFITS, INC
in NC
Plan Document Specialist
for Louis Kravitz & Associates
in CA
Compliance Analyst
for The Newport Group
in FL
Consultant - 401(k) Defined Contribution Administrator
for Xcitek Consulting Services
in NJ
Medical Cost Director
for Great-West Corporate
in IL
Employee Benefits Attorney (Senior/ Manager)
for Deloitte, LLP
in CA
Vice President, Legal (Retirement Plan Services)
for AST Capital Trust Company
in AZ
Benefits Analyst
for Alameda County HRS
in CA
401(k) Plan Administrator/Analyst
for The Pension Group, Inc.
in CA
Institutional Trust New Business Officer
for BB&T
in DC, VA
ERISA Compliance Officer
for City National Bank
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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