| BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
April 11, 2007
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Welfare and Health Plan Administrators' Legal Checklist
Excerpt: "Over the last two years, there have been so many changes in health and welfare plan administration, that it can be hard to know what to do next, and there will be more changes in 2007. The [target page] is a short list of legal changes that have occurred from 2005 to the present." (Thelen Reid Brown Rayman & Steiner LLP)
The End of One-Size-Fits-All Prescription Drug Co-Pays
Excerpt: "The goal of 'value-based insurance design' is to get more value out of a company's health care dollars by making sure people get the drugs they need by lowering or eliminating co-pays. Meanwhile, those for whom a drug is of minimal medical benefit would pay higher co-pays to get it." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
How to Confront the Elder Care Challenge to Employers
Excerpt: "The cost to U.S. business from the lost productivity of employees caring for elderly family members is more than $33 billion per year. [The target page provides access to six articles that deal with the issue.]" (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Domestic Partnership Bill Passes in Washington State
Excerpt: "Nearly a year after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage, the state Legislature passed a measure to give g.ay and les.bian couples some of the rights that come with marriage." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Most Americans Approve of Retail Clinic Care
Excerpt: "The majority of Americans who have received care at a retail health clinic are satisfied with the care they receive, although quality concerns remain in the general public, according to a new Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll." (BenefitNews Connect)
Physicians Oppose UnitedHealth Group Policy to Fine Them for Out-of-Network Referrals
Excerpt: "Many physicians are voicing opposition to a new UnitedHealth Group policy that threatens to fine doctors who repeatedly refer patients to out-of-network laboratories for tests, the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Legislation to Protect Health Insurance Benefits for Motorcyclists Introduced in Congress
Excerpt: "The legislation (H.R. 1076, S. 616) would close a loophole created by the Department of Health and Human Services' regulations implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. As written and implemented, the regulations provide that an employer may not refuse health care coverage to an employee on the basis of participation in recreational activities, but may deny health care benefits if the employee is injured while participating . . . ." (Business Wire via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Transition Relief for Debit Cards Used to Pay Medical Expenses at Stores Without Health Codes
Excerpt: "The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2007-2, which provides transition relief for plan sponsors with debit cards when the cards are used to purchase prescription drugs or other medical goods at grocery or discount stores that do not have a specific health merchant code." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Healthcare Group Says Massachusetts Must Help Citizens More
Excerpt: "The state isn't yet doing enough to help people of low and moderate incomes afford health insurance, a coalition of advocacy and medical groups told Governor Deval Patrick . . . ." (The Boston Globe via Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
A Cost Estimate of Draft Legislation That Would Change Medicare's Prescription Drug Program (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "At the request of [the staff of Senator Max Baucus], the Congressional Budget Office has reviewed a draft bill (MAL07194) that would make a number of changes to Medicare's prescription drug program." (Congressional Budget Office)
Issues Regarding Drug Price Negotiation in Medicare (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "[CBO response to] a number of questions [posed by Senator Ron Wyden] relating to the Medicare drug benefit and options for allowing the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to negotiate over the prices paid for drugs under that benefit." (Congressional Budget Office)
Companies Find New Insurance Program Makes Exercise Pay Off
Excerpt: "Two independent researchers said the ClearAdvantage program is unusual, if not unique, in that it provides two separate methods to contain health insurance expenses." (The Seattle Post-Intelligencer)
More Small Businesses Offering High-Deductible Health Insurance Plans
Excerpt: "The Wall Street Journal . . . profiled ITAGroup, an Iowa-based marketing and incentives company that is one of a 'growing number of small businesses that are adding high-deductible plans in a push toward 'consumer-driven' health care.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Employers Removing Spouses from Health Coverage
Excerpt: "Seeking to save money on rising health insurance premiums, a growing number of Pennsylvania companies are squeezing out spouses who have access to insurance of their own. The concept, known as a spousal exclusion, is viewed as a way for companies to rein in costs without directly costing their employees more money." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Effect of State Health Insurance Proposals on Small Businesses Remains Undetermined
Excerpt: "As several states 'look to shrink the swelling ranks' of the uninsured, the 'crucial test for one approach gaining favor with policymakers is likely to be its impact on small business,' the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Commentary: HRAs as an Answer to Rising Health Insurance Premiums
Excerpt: "In the face of rising health care costs, there are things an employer can do short of dropping coverage altogether. In fact, in the health reimbursement arrangement, employers have a ready-made vehicle for switching to a defined-contribution approach to health care." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Australia's Medicare and Private Plans
Excerpt: "A disturbing trend to emerge despite the establishment of Medicare in 1983 is the widening disparity between the well-off and the poor in mortality rates from avoidable diseases. The Australian way of death means the prosperous are significantly less likely to die from avoidable disease than those on low incomes." (The Sydney Morning Herald via Physicians for a National Health Program)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Senate Passes War Funding Bill with Wage and Tax Provisions
Excerpt: "The Senate wage and tax package includes a controversial cap on annual nonqualified elective deferrals that was part of the previously passed Senate bill . . ., but that does not appear in the House legislation." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Opinion: About Fidelity Announcement on Dropping Its Pension Plan, Enhancing Health Plan
Excerpt: "[T]here was a significant difference in this particular announcement -- a focus on concerns about paying for health care in retirement. In a Boston Globe report, a Fidelity spokesperson cited data that 71% of Fidelity workers didn't know how they would pay for health-care expenses in retirement (kind of makes one wonder about the other 29%); and as part of this shift in strategy, Fidelity will be putting $3,000 into health-care reimbursement accounts for each worker . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Elements of State Health Reform - Individual and Employer Requirements - Webcast
Nationwide on April 17, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Our Health, Our Workforce: Can Michigan Make Employee Health a Competitive Advantage?
in Michigan on April 26, 2007
presented by Altarum Institute
Section 409A: The Long-Awaited Final Regulations
Nationwide on April 25, 2007
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Newly Posted Press Releases
25th Annual Creative Pension & Benefits Seminar Targets Professionals
Ohio State University Office of Continuing Education (CEd), The
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
401 (k) Administrator - Entry Level
for Scholz, Klein & Friends Enlightened Retirement Group, Inc.
in TX
Paralegal
for 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds
in NY
Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in FL
Regional Marketing Director
for AIG SunAmerica
in ANY STATE
Insurance Analyst / Underwriter
for Corporate Synergies Group, Inc.
in CT, DE, NJ, NY, PA
Retirement Plan Actuary
for The Newport Group
in FL, WI
Retirement Services District Manager- Major Accounts
for ADP Retirement Services
in CA, IL, IN, MN, NH, OH, WI
Junior Pension Plan Administrator
for Robin S. Weingast & Associates, Inc.
in NY
Senior Processor
for ABG-MA, a BenefitStreet Co.
in MD
401(K) Services Relationship Manager
for A.G. Edwards & Sons
in CA
401(k) Daily Account Manager
for Leggette Actuaries, Inc.
in TX
Retirement Sales Wholesaler
for ExpertPlan, Inc.
in NJ
401(k) Compliance Specialist
for 401k ASP, Inc.
in FL
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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