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April 17, 2007
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Bush Health Proposal Would Phase Out FSAs and HRAs
Excerpt: "A little-noticed provision in President Bush's health care proposal would eliminate the tax-advantaged status of flexible spending accounts and health reimbursement accounts to help offset the total cost of the proposal." (Employee Benefit News)
Announcement 07-44: Archer Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) Allowed to Continue Past April 19, 2007 (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Sections 220 (i) and (j) of the Internal Revenue Code provide that if the number of Archer Medical Savings Account (Archer MSA) returns filed for 2005 or 2006 or a statutorily specified projection of the number of Archer MSA returns that will be filed for 2005 or 2006 exceeds 750,000, then April 19, 2007, is a 'cut-off' date for the Archer MSA pilot project. . . . [The IRS has determined that] April 19, 2007 is not a 'cut-off' date . . . ." (Internal Revenue Service)
GASB 45: New Standards in Reporting OPEB (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The Governmental Accounting Standards Board's new standard, GASB 45, relates to Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) provided to retirees and other former employees. The pronouncement applies to every state, city and county government, as well as specialized public organizations such as school districts, hospitals, colleges and universities. Examples of OPEBs are medical, dental, vision, hearing, prescription drugs, life insurance, long-term care . . . ." (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
Unconventional Time-Off Approaches Are Catching On
Excerpt: "[A]t Netflix, it's estimated that most employees take off about 25 to 30 days per year, using the time to stay at home with the kids, travel to Cambodia or visit relatives in India. It's 'estimated' because Netflix does not record vacation time . . . ." (San Jose Mercury News via The Kansas City Star; free registration required)
Local Public Employee Health Care Costs Soar Out of Control in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "According to a Boston Municipal Research Bureau report of November 2006, the city cut 1,176 employees between 2002 and 2006. But in that time it also spent an additional $187.5 million on employees, two-thirds of which was to cover benefits, such as healthcare." (The Boston Globe)
Hospital's RICO Suit Alleges Conspiracy To Deny Coverage
Excerpt: "Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center . . . filed a 51-page complaint in federal district court in Brooklyn alleging that the Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, a managed care organization ('HIP'). conspired with doctors and others to wrongfully deny coverage for patients." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
HSA Embezzling Case Is a Heads-Up for Employers
Excerpt: "In what is likely the first prosecution of HSA fraud, the case exemplifies the caution benefits administrators must exercise when hiring third-party administrators to manage health care assets." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
The Prevalence of Physician Self-Referral Arrangements
Excerpt: "Using data from a large insurer in California, we identified the self-referral status of providers who billed for advanced imaging in 2004. Nearly 33 percent of providers who submitted bills for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, 22 percent of those who submitted bills for computed tomography (CT) scans, and 17 percent of those who submitted bills for positron-emission tomography (PET) scans were classified as 'self-referral.'" (Health Affairs)
New Jersey Regulators Pose Inquiries Over UnitedHealth Group Lab Referral Plan
Excerpt: "UnitedHealth Group division UnitedHealthcare Inc. says it will implement its new lab-referral policy 'rarely and with respect' for physicians, but that did not stop New Jersey regulators from taking steps aimed at forcing United to reverse the policy." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com)
Opinion: Blending an Approach That Uses Education, Reward, and Penalty Can Rein in Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "Regardless of individual opinion on how best to resolve the health care cost crisis, most agree that the problem is fast reaching critical mass. Let's explore how patient education, financial incentive, and active participation in decision making can affect the success of cost sharing and cost shifting." (Managed Care Magazine)
National Committee for Quality Assurance Shifts Focus on Physician Performance
Excerpt: "Its 2007 HEDIS physician performance manual puts greater emphasis on cost of care." (Managed Care Magazine)
Care Management Data Hard to Come By
Excerpt: "As employers and health plans spend increasing sums on employee health management services, from health risk assessments to end-of-life case management, the question keeps coming up: Are we getting our money's worth?" (Managed Care Magazine)
HSA Advocates Blast Sex-Bias Conclusions
Excerpt: "Proponents of health savings accounts and their mandatory high-deductible health insurance plans have come out swinging against a study concluding that the plans cost women about $1,000 more per year than men." (Investment News; free registration required)
Must Employers Who Cover Prescription Drugs Cover Contraception?
Excerpt: "[The article covers] The EEOC's Position, the Courts' Recent Rulings, States' Limited Coverage, and the Need for a New Federal Statute." (FindLaw)
J.D. Power Releases Results from Its First-Ever Health Plan Satisfaction Survey
Excerpt: "[H]ealth insurers, benefit managers and employees will be paying . . . attention to results from the first-ever J.D. Power and Associates National Health Insurance Plan Satisfaction Study, which surveyed 10,552 consumers on their satisfaction with their health plans." (Employee Benefit News)
Mandatory Drug Benefit Won't Affect HSAs in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "Massachusetts officials late last month gave preliminary approval to a requirement that all state health plans offer prescription drug coverage beginning in 2009. But state officials tell AIS that HSA-based plans will be exempted from the mandatory drug coverage rule." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com)
Maryland Drops Attempt to Fine Wal-Mart Over Health Benefits
Excerpt: "Attorney General Douglas Gansler said . . . that Maryland would not appeal a second federal ruling rejecting the state's law that would require large employers to spend a certain amount on health benefits or pay the difference to the state." (Chicago Sun-Times)
LIVE Webcast: Elements of State Health Reform: Individual and Employer Requirements
Excerpt: "This LIVE webcast begins at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, April 17, 2007. A videolink will be posted approximately 30 minutes before the show begins. Submit questions before or during the show to ask@kaisernetwork.org." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Fed. Register Version of Final Regs on Application of Sec. 409A to Nonqualified Deferred Comp Plans (PDF)
93 pages. (Internal Revenue Service)
Podcast about the U.S. Tax System and Tax Returns
At the target page, click on the 04.11.2007, entry titled: Stupid Tax Tricks. Briefly noted are retirement savings accounts and the Tribune/ESOP deal. (The Urban Institute)
Extensive Q&A Analysis of Final 409A Regulations (PDF)
26 pages; excellent. Excerpt: "This Legal Alert contains a series of Q&As highlighting key topics addressed in the final regulations that we hope will facilitate your consideration of how to finalize your implementation of section 409A. We will follow up shortly with additional analysis of the myriad issues surrounding the final regulations." (Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP)
Turning Executives Into Shareholders: Alternatives to Share Ownership Guidelines
Excerpt: "For corporations considering how best to proceed in today's environment, we provide an overview of share ownership guidelines and then examine alternative methods of encouraging executive ownership of company stock." (Hay Group)
IRS Issues Report on Tax-Exempt Executive Compensation Compliance Initiative
Excerpt: "On March 1, 2007 the Internal Revenue Service issued a report of findings from auditing tax-exempt organizations for compliance with the special reasonable compensation standards applicable to such employers. The initiative examined Form 990 compliance, intermediate sanctions imposed under Internal Revenue Code Section 4958, and private foundation self-dealing." (Hay Group)
EBRI Notes Article on Employee Tenure, 2006 (PDF)
Pages 1-11 of 12 pages. Excerpt: "Perception vs. reality: A widely held belief about past generations of American workers was that typical workers held career jobs, staying with the same employer for most of their working years. However, the data on employee tenure -- the amount of time an individual has been with his or her current employer -- show that career jobs never existed for most workers and have continued not to exist for most workers." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Employee Retention Has Nosed Out Cost Control As Employers' No. 1 Benefits Objective
Excerpt: "More than half of employers (55%) now rank 'retaining employees' as their top benefits goal, according to the fifth annual MetLife Study of Employee Benefit Trends." (Employee Benefit News)
Newly Posted Events
7 Questions To Use When Disciplining And Terminating Employees 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm Eastern
Nationwide on May 1, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
A Public Sector Perspective: Employee Benefit Plans
in California on May 2, 2007
presented by International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists - Orange County Chapter
Challenged By Taft Hartley Plans An Overview of Today's Hottest Issues
in Minnesota on May 1, 2007
presented by Felhaber Larson Fenlon & Vogt
PPA Changes to Form 5500 - What You Need to Know
in Illinois on April 26, 2007
presented by WEB - Chicago West
Newly Posted Press Releases
Deloitte & Touche USA Survey Finds Strong Relationship Between Work-Life Balance and Ethical Behavior
Deloitte
Actuaries and Key Stakeholders Convene for First Time to Re-Envision Retirement; Society of Actuaries Releases Building the Foundations for New Retirement Systems
Society of Actuaries
The National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association and Cerulli Associates has partnered to develop a 403(b) Vendor Survey
National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association
Wal-Mart Sees Medical Clinic Boom in Retail Stores
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
American Business Sees Retirement Crisis Looming; Taking Steps to Engage Workers
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
Commuter Survey Reveals Tax-Free Commuter Benefits Drastically Underutilized in New York City
Accor Services North America
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Manager Client Relationships
for Mutual of Omaha
in NE
Pension Recordkeeper
for Iris Bashi Associates, LLC
in NJ
ERISA Partner
for The Advocates, A Premier Search Firm
in CA, CO
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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