| BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |   |
| April 20, 2007 |
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Sandwich Generation Increases Number of Days Off Work Affecting Hours Spent on Dependent Care
Excerpt: "American workers taking care of both children and elders -- the so-called Sandwich Generation -- took 22% more days off this year than last, according to a new survey. A survey by employee assistance program provider ComPsych found that the average days off went from 16.4 in 2006 to 20 this year, according to a news release." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Discrimination Suit Filed in State of Washington Over Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt: "Two g.ay firefighters and a g.ay emergency dispatcher in Bellevue, Washington filed a suit Tuesday against the city, claiming it was discriminatory to offer employee benefits such as health care, bereavement and family leave only to heterose.xual couples." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Workplace Flexibility 2010 -- A Research, Outreach and Consensus-Building Enterprise
Excerpt: "Workplace Flexibility 2010 is a campaign to support the development of a comprehensive national policy on workplace flexibility. By the year 2010, we hope to have helped develop consensus-based policy solutions that work for business and families." (Workplace Flexibility 2010)
Denial of Service Credit for Maternity Leave Prior to Passage of PDA Was Not Discriminatory
Excerpt: "from Spencer's Benefits Reports: An employer did not violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, as subsequently amended by the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), when it denied service credit for an employee's maternity leave prior to the enactment of the PDA. This was the ruling of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Leffman v. Sprint Corporation (No. 06-3211)." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Health Care Benefits to Cost $11.1 Billion, According to Study
Excerpt: "Hawai'i's state and county governments have to come up with as much as $11.1 billion to pay for the retiree healthcare benefits they have promised civil servants over the next 30 years. The unfunded liability was disclosed in a state consultant's report that tallied the costs of retiree medical and health benefits for Hawai'i's nearly 100,000 employed and retired public workers. [The Other Postemployment Benefits Actuarial Valuation PDF is linked at the target page.]" (The Honolulu Advertiser)
Michigan Senate Plan Would Pool Health Insurance Coverage
Excerpt: "Senate Republicans say local governments and public schools could save money on health insurance coverage through proposals introduced Thursday. The plan calls for a pooling of medical, dental and other benefits for public employees." (AP via Michigan Live LLC)
America's Health Insurance Plans Wants Medical Procedure Evaluation Agency
Excerpt: "Board members of America's Health Insurance Plans say the government should do more to evaluate the safety and efficacy of medical procedures and technologies that are already on the market. The Food and Drug Administration evaluates new drugs and technologies, but it is not responsible for determining how well the drugs and technologies really work in practice . . . ." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
Co-Insurance May Be Employers' Last Option for Health Care Cost Savings
Excerpt: "By not paying a fixed dollar amount, employees will know how much their health care costs. And by paying a percentage of the total, consumers will be interested in finding lower-cost providers." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Humana Offers Some Employers Health Cost Guarantee
Excerpt: "Humana is giving large employers a guarantee that it will keep their employee health-claims costs down or give some money back. The Louisville health insurer has launched SmartResults, offered to employers who provide self-funded health benefits to 300 employees or more." (The Courier-Journal)
2007 Health Cost Rate Hikes Continue in Double-Digits, According to Buck Consultants
Excerpt: "The most popular kinds of workplace health coverage are expected to continue to see double-digit cost increases in 2007, according to a new insurer and administrator survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Comparison: VA Formulary to Medicare Part D Plans and Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "Lewin was asked by the Pharma.ceutical Research and Manufacturers of America to compare the formulary status of drugs commonly used by the Medicare population on the Veterans Affairs National Formulary and the plan with highest enrollment in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP)." (The Lewin Group)
Mountain State BCBS Encourages Working West Virginians To Turn a Working Lunch Into a Walking Lunch
Excerpt: "Mountain State Blue Cross Blue Shield and the West Virginia Office of Healthy Lifestyles, joined thousands of Americans across the country today by participating in the first annual National Walk @ Lunch Day to assist working West Virginians add moderate physical activity into their every day routine.' (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Hewitt Study Shows Companies Plan to Invest More in the Health of Their Employees
Excerpt: "Hewitt's survey of approximately 450 major U.S. employers covering more than 8 million employees revealed that almost two-thirds (63 percent) plan to take more aggressive, multiyear steps to help employees improve their health by increasing education efforts, implementing condition management programs, and using data analysis and other cutting-edge programs to improve health and productivity while holding participants accountable for their behaviors." (Hewitt Associates)
Consumer-Directed or Consumer-Driven Health Care As the Next Wave of Corporate Benefit Plans
Excerpt: "Health savings accounts have been touted as the future of healthcare. But now Steve Case's ConnectYourCare, in partnership with banks, is working to make employees see that as a good thing." (Treasury & Risk)
Mass. Issues Notice Implementing the Mass. Health Care Reform Act 'Insurance Nondiscrimination' Rule
Excerpt: "In crafting the various provisions of the Act relating to employers, the Massachusetts legislature did not want to create an incentive for employers to drop coverage in favor of coverage made available from the Commonwealth Health Insurance Connector Authority -- a phenomenon known as 'crowd out.'" (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)
Presentation by the Comptroller General, 'DOD's 21st Century Health Care Spending Challenges' (PDF)
30 pages. David M. Walker, comptroller general of the United States, made the presentation April 18, 2007, before the Task Force on the Future of Military Health Care. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Watson Wyatt Says Confusing Technology Hampers Retirement and Health Care Planning
Excerpt: "Efforts to encourage employees to take more responsibility for health care and retirement planning are at risk of being undermined by the lack of a unified technology and content strategy, according to experts at Watson Wyatt Worldwide." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
An Employers' Guide to the 2006 Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act, Updated April 20, 2007 (PDF)
50 pages. Excerpt: "[This] Employers' Guide to the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act . . . describes all of the Act's employer-related provisions and summarizes the guidance issued to date." (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)
States Taking on Health Care Issues Themselves; Result, Say Experts, Could Be a Compliance Nightmare
Excerpt: "[M]ajor changes are already brewing at the state level. According to Ted Nussbaum, director of health-care consulting at Watson Wyatt Worldwide, health-care legislation is pending in about 30 states. Those states, Nussbaum says, are motivated by the fact that they spend billions of dollars a year to cover the medical expenses of the uninsured." (CFO.com)
Penn. Governor Rendell Says It's Time to Make His 'Prescription for Pennsylvania' a Reality
Excerpt: "Governor Edward G. Rendell today visited Erie business and industry leaders to discuss how his sweeping and bold 'Prescription for Pennsylvania' will increase access to affordable health care coverage for all Pennsylvanians, improve the quality of care available in the state and bring health care costs under control for employers and employees." (PR Newswire Association LLC)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Relief for Split-Dollar Life Insurance Arrangements Needing Modification to Comply with 409A
Excerpt: "IRS . . . published Notice 2007-34, dealing with the application of Section 409A to split-dollar life insurance arrangements. In this article, we'll discuss that Notice and its impact. Note that this Notice does not relate to split-dollar arrangements entered into after September 17, 2003 . . . ." (CCA Strategies)
Final Nonqualified Deferred Compensation, 409A, Regulations -- Focus on Separation Pay Plans
Excerpt: "In this article, we'll focus on the rules as they pertain to separation pay plans (many readers will think of them as severance plans, but the term separation pay as used in the regulations has a slightly broader context as it also picks up other post-termination benefits)." (CCA Strategies)
Executive Bonuses Irk Airline Workers
Excerpt: "American says the executive bonuses, part of a stock-based performance share plan, are necessary to retain managers. And, the airline says, it's a logical way to reward managers for turning American around. The carrier was one of the few to avoid bankrup.tcy." (The Baltimore Sun; free registration required)
Overview of Salary Continuation Arrangements: Under Final Code §§ 409A and 415 Regulations (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Many larger employers that maintain traditional qualified defined benefit plans provide 'salary continuation' or 'payroll continuation' arrangements that allow separating employees to qualify for subsidized early (or 'full') retirement benefits even after they have stopped providing services to the employer." (Ivins, Phillips & Barker)
A Review of Employee Benefits Developments as of April 2007
The newsletter reviews recent rulings, opinions, and cases. (Hodgson Russ LLP)
Newly Posted Events
Current Issues with 401(k) Plans
Nationwide on May 2, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Health Benefits and Consumer Driven Health Plans: Trends and Evidence; Also A Wrap-up on Wellness Incentives: HIPAA Regulations and Tax Consequences for Employees
in Maryland on May 3, 2007
presented by Worldwide Employee Benefits Network -- Baltimore chapter
HIPAA and Health Laws Compliance Assistance Seminar - Free
in Washington on May 16, 2007
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Introduction to Retirement Plans - Module 15
Nationwide on October 17, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Introduction to Retirement Plans - Module 8
Nationwide on October 10, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Introduction to Retirement Plans-Module 1
Nationwide on October 3, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Second Quarter 2007 Update
Nationwide on May 14, 2007
presented by McKay Hochman Co., Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
The Online 401(k) Hires Industry Veteran Greg Munson to Run Business Development
The Online 401(k)
Humana Launches SmartResults -- a Unique, Integrated, Multi-Year Approach That Assures Employers Will Save on Health Care Costs by Helping Employees Get Healthier
Humana
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
Defined Contribution Client Account Manager
for New York Life Investment Management - Retirement Plans Services
in MA
401(k) Plan Specialist
for Retirement Plan Services, L.L.C.
in MO
Benefit Calculation Developer
for Vanguard
in PA
Retirement Compliance Testing Manager
for Vanguard
in PA
ERISA Attorney
for Houston Boutique Employee Benefits Law Firm
in TX
Trust Counsel
for The Northern Trust Company
in IL
Retirement Plan Marketing Specialist
for Edward Jones Investments
in MO
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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