| BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
April 18, 2007
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Overview: HIPAA Notice Obligation for Small Health Plans
Excerpt: "The privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) requires that a health plan remind participants of the availability of its Notice of Privacy Practices, as well as how to obtain a copy, at least once every three years. . . . Therefore, the small health plan deadline for complying with this requirement is April 14, 2007." (Littler Mendelson, P.C.)
A Company Enhances Employee Benefits With Paid Paternity Leave and Increased Adoption Assistance
Excerpt: "As a result of these changes, Phoenix will now provide three weeks of paid paternity leave upon the birth of a child. Phoenix has also increased its adoption reimbursement to $9,000 from $5,000 ($10,000 for a special needs adoption), and its paid leave for new adoptive parents to three weeks from one week." (BusinessWire via MSN.Money)
Employers Must Assess the Sum of All Parts of Integrated Health Services
Excerpt: "Benefit managers shopping for a wellness program will find more employee assistance programs and disease management vendors are tapping into the wellness market." (Employee Benefit News)
Debate Rages About Modifying the Family and Medical Leave Act
Excerpt: "The law, which took effect in 1993, requires companies with 50 or more employees to give workers up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for births, adoptions, and their own and their family members' health problems. 'The U.S. does not do nearly enough to ensure that our workers aren't forced to choose between their family and their job,' said Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd, one of many Democrats pushing for more family-friendly laws." (The Houston Chronicle)
No Time Off for Travel on Holidays, OPM Says
Excerpt: "Federal employees traveling on federal holidays as part of their jobs are not entitled to compensatory time off, under final rules issued . . . by the Office of Personnel Management." (GovExec.com)
State of Illinois Employee Health Insurance Plans: Analysis and Recommendations for Cost Containment (PDF)
43 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of this report is to review the features and costs of the current State of Illinois employee group health insurance program, explore the fiscal impact of this program on the State operating budget, and make policy recommendations for containing the program's rising costs." (The Civic Federation)
CalPERS Considers Ways to Cut Health Care Benefits and Costs
Excerpt: "With major changes in health benefits in the offing next year, state pension board trustees got an earful of suggestions Tuesday from employers, labor leaders and retiree advocates looking to ease the financial burden for the system's 1.2 million health plan members. The lobbying, coupled with new financial information, prompted a key panel of the giant California Public Employees' Retirement System to postpone a decision . . . ." (The Sacramento Bee; free registration required)
Overview; HIPAA Checkup Time
Excerpt: "Final regulations, effective for plan years beginning July 1, 2007, implement . . . non-discrimination provisions. These provisions vary only slightly from interim final regs, which have been in effect since 2001. The regs make significant changes to wellness programs. As a result, employers with wellness programs will need to review them to ensure that they conform to new regulatory mandates." (Alexander Hamilton Institute, Inc.)
TPAs Focusing on Wellness to Reduce Claims
Excerpt: "Today's third party administrators have access to many of the same tools that insurance carriers do, but administrators often use these tools on a more personalized basis, applying them to help clients avoid claims altogether. By being proactive, versus reactive, TPAs can stop relying on provider discounts as the sole means of reducing medical expenses and prove the value of the services they provide." (Employee Benefit News)
Evidence-Informed Case Rates: A New Health Care Payment Model
Excerpt: "As a way to address the flaws of traditional payment methods, like fee-for service and capitation, the authors of this report suggest a new payment model, based on evidence-informed case rates (ECRs). Under this system, providers are paid a single, risk-adjusted payment across inpatient and outpatient settings to care for a patient diagnosed with a specific condition." (The Commonwealth Fund)
The Cost of Health Care Costs Businesses in Many Ways
Excerpt: "The skyrocketing price of health insurance may be costing businesses more than just premiums, health policy analysts said . . . . 'If your healthcare costs go up, you can't afford to hire that new employee or sign a lease for more space,' Stephanie Cathcart, a spokesperson for the National Federation of Independent Business, told United Press International." (United Press International, Inc.)
Genetic Discrimination Bill Would Increase Insurance Access, CBO Report Finds
Excerpt: "A bill (HR 493) that would ban discrimination against U.S. residents based on the results of genetic tests would allow 600 more residents to obtain access to health insurance, according to report recently released by the Congressional Budget Office, CQ HealthBeat reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Opinion: The Massachusetts Universal Coverage Plan Is Well Under Way
Excerpt: "Uninsured residents who do not qualify for a subsidized health insurance policy can begin signing up for coverage on May 1. Most state residents must show proof of coverage by July 1 or face a penalty (in the first year, they would lose the $219 personal state income tax exemption). While long-term success is far from assured, the progress in Massachusetts should keep the momentum building for universal coverage nationwide." (The Century Foundation)
Audio and Text: One Senator's Solution for Health Care Expansion
Excerpt: "Among the most tenacious health reform advocates is Sen. Ron Wyden, (D-OR). At a news conference in December, Wyden introduced the Healthy Americans Act -- a bill three years in the making and his latest bill to provide every American with health insurance." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)
Opinion: Cracking the ERISA Code: The 'Prague Spring' Theory
Excerpt: "Why would Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger push a complex, highly ambitious health insurance initiative that seems like an extraordinary longshot to be upheld by the courts? After an unhealthy amount of obsessing on the topic, I think I have come up with a thorough, logical explanation." (Union-Tribune Publishing Co.; posted by Chris Reed)
Institutional Long Term Care Costs Escalate in 2007
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: The annual average cost of private room nursing home care is now nearly $75,000, according to the Genworth Financial 2007 Cost of Care Survey." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Employers Must Cover All Bases in Educating Workers on LTC
Excerpt: "New figures show that only 5% to 8% of eligible employees have purchased group LTC insurance, despite the fact that the total value of LTC insurance benefit payments for the 12 months ending December 31, 2006, was $3.3 billion, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association." (Employee Benefit News)
Work/Life Balance Can Help Ethical Behavior
Excerpt: "Most respondents in a recent survey asserted that workers are more likely to be ethical when they enjoy a healthy balance between their work and home lives. A Deloitte & Touche news release about its survey said 91% believed in an ethics-balance work/life connection." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Response to FASB Invitation to Comment, 'Valuation Guidance for Financial Reporting' (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "On behalf of the American Academy of Actuaries (Academy) Financial Reporting Committee and the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB), we appreciate the opportunity to provide this joint comment on the FASB's consideration of whether there is a need for Valuation Guidance for Financial Reporting and how such a need might be filled." (American Academy of Actuaries)
Most Galling of All Executive Perks Could Be 'Gross-Ups'
Excerpt: "While the biggest perks tended to involve personal use of a corporate jet, another perk, the 'tax gross-up,' also appeared frequently. The 'tax gross-up' is often, though not always, a corporate reimbursement for tax liabilities generated by other perks given to the CEO, such as personal use of the corporate aircraft." (USA TODAY)
Newly Posted Events
Deferred Compensation Under §409A: The Final Regulations - Webcast
Nationwide on April 24, 2007
presented by Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Domestic Partners and Employee Benefits -- Practical Advice for Cafeteria Plans and Health Plans (Including Health FSAs and HRAs)
Nationwide on April 5, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc. (EBIA)
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Indiana on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Texas on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in New Mexico on May 23, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Advanced
in Michigan on May 23, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Indiana on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
IRA Elements 2007 -- Essential Elements of Periodic Training - Beginner
in Texas on May 22, 2007
presented by Wolters Kluwer Financial Services
Newly Posted Press Releases
Video: Americans Experience Retirement System Changes, But Are Not Well-Positioned for Post-Work Years
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Benefit And Planning Counselor
for The Principal Financial Group
in VA
Benefit and Planning Counselor
for The Principal Financial Group
in KY
Account Manager, Non-Qualified Defined Contribution
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA
Pension Analyst
for BeneTrends, Inc.
in PA
Defined Benefit Conversions Project Leader
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
401(k) Administrator
for Redwood Administrators, Inc.
in NJ
Retirement (DC & DB) Conversions Plan Specialist
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in FL
Client Service Manager
for Alliance Benefit Group-Rocky Mountain
in UT
RFP/Investment Specialist
for CAPTRUST
in NC
Health & Welfare Manager
for Boilermakers National Funds
in KS, MO
Principal Administrative Analyst I
for University of California, Office of the President
in CA
Pension Administration Manager
for Polycomp Administrative Services
in CA
Marketing Manager
for Sentinel Benefits Group, Inc.
in MA
Manager of Daily Trading
for Sentinel Benefits Group, Inc.
in MA
Account Manager- Employee Benefits Division
for Kibble & Prentice, a USI company
in WA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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