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| May 11, 2007 |
Sponsored by: The National Employee Benefits Summit
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| National Employee Benefits Summit in Atlanta, June 19-21 2007 |
| Attend the National Employee Benefits Summit, the Leading Forum for Employers Focusing on Current Employee Benefits Trends, Issues and Solutions, June 19 - 21, 2007 at the Hilton Atlanta in Atlanta, GA. The Summit provides 19 nationally renowned keynote speakers, plus 30 concurrent sessions organized into tracks including: Health Benefit Management; Health Care Consumerism; Retirement Plans & Personal Finance; HR & Benefit Insourcing / Outsourcing; Tools and Technology; and Supplemental Health/Voluntary Benefits. For details or to register, go to www.BenefitsSummit.com |
New Hampshire Civil Unions Law Adds Complexity to Benefits Plans
Excerpt: "The bill provides that parties who enter into civil unions 'shall be entitled to all the rights' provided for in state law that apply to married couples. Although HB 437 does not specifically refer to benefits, as the Vermont and Connecticut laws do, it's presumed the New Hampshire Legislature intended employees in civil unions to be entitled to the same employer-provided benefits as married employees." (New Hampshire Business Review)
Oregon Governor Approves Domestic Partner Measure
Excerpt: "Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski signed legislation Wednesday that allows domestic partnerships for same-sex couples, affording them at least some of the benefits to which married couples are entitled." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Work-Life Benefits at Xerox Offer Win-Win for Working Women, Mothers
Excerpt: "Xerox offers various work arrangements to help achieve balance, including flex time, job sharing and telecommuting; child-care subsidies, domestic partner benefits, and other employee assistance programs. Xerox's commitment to an inclusive workplace is reflected in the company's professional development, training and support programs . . . ." (Forbes.com)
Haircuts Just One of Google's Employee Perks
Excerpt: "The service by Onsite Haircuts illustrates Silicon Valley's distinctive work culture and is welcomed as firms seek to motivate workers and give them a sense of community. Ultimately, experts say, such an environment boosts productivity." (USA TODAY)
The Real Obstacles to Health Care Reform: A Checklist
Excerpt: "[The author of this blog offers two points to consider:] Lack of Accountability For Public Funds [and] Outpatient Treatment Centers and Physician Self-Referrals." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
The Story of Those Caught by Surprise in Health Care's Biggest Pitfalls
Excerpt: "As optimistic as Americans tend to be, those who get caught in one of the health-care system's costly gaps often are shocked to discover how fast even a comfortable, middle-class life can slip away. That's the common thread in author Jonathan Cohn's new book 'Sick: The Untold Story of America's Health Care Crisis -- and the People Who Pay the Price.' It examines health and insurance predicaments that sneaked up on working Americans and frequently left them destitute or worse." (MarketWatch.com)
Massachusetts Has Yet to Collect Fees from Firms for Health Care
Excerpt: "Taxpayers are bearing a larger share of the cost of the expansion of healthcare coverage than expected because the state has not yet collected a penny from businesses that do not help insure their workers." (The Boston Globe)
Opinion: How High Loss Ratios Undermine Affordable Health Insurance (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "[The California and Pennsylvania governors] have both introduced comprehensive reform proposals that include a controversial health insurance price control scheme requiring health insurers to meet an 85 percent loss ratio -- which means that at least 85 percent of collected premiums must be used to pay health care costs. Such legislation is unprecedented." (The Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
Sidebar: Overview of Medical Stop-Loss Insurance (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "Plan sponsors wishing to reduce financial volatility associated with health benefit costs purchase stop-loss insurance. Volatility arises when the employer's actual health claim experience deviates from expected experience." (Aon Consulting)
Insuring Medical Stop-Loss in a Captive (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Stop-loss policies, purchased from commercial insurance companies, do not provide benefits employees. Rather, they insulate employers from the financial volatility that might arise from unexpectedly medical claims. However, as this article will discuss, there are reasons why an employer may choose stop-loss insurance through a captive insurance company that they themselves establish and own." (Aon Consulting)
Canadian Health Care Trend Survey Results, 2007 (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "The results of our 2007 Canadian Health Care Trend Survey suggest a stabilization of overall health care cost trends. Overall, the trend has stayed relatively flat for the last two years when all components of the health plan are blended, based on an expected spend allocated as follows: 65% drugs, 20% medical, 10% hospital, and 5% vision care." (Buck Consultants)
Employer Decides to Pay Full Health Premiums for Lower-Paid Workers
Excerpt: "The Redwoods Group's decision to shoulder more health-care expenses is decidedly countercultural, as other companies are shifting the burden onto workers. Many employers are considering high-deductible health plans, which hold down premiums, but require consumers to pay thousands of dollars if they seek medical care." (Scripps Howard News Service via Raleigh News & Observer)
Study: Dispensing Drugs by Mail Misses Various Cost Containment Goals (PDF)
13 pages. Excerpt: "In addition to demonstrating that the mail-order distribution channel can have higher net sponsor costs in a pharmacy benefit plan, this paper has presented and described methodologies and calculations for comparing costs per day and cost per unit between mail-order and community pharmacy networks." (Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy)
Majority of Americans Support Forcing Employers to Provide Health Care, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Americans are willing to support initiatives that require employers to provide health insurance coverage, but are less willing to support income tax increases to cover more people under Medicaid and Medicare, according to a recent Harris Interactive/Wall Street Journal survey." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Opinion: California Legislators Lethargic About Facing State's $48 Billion Retiree Obligation
Excerpt: "Unlike public employee pensions, which are generally financed in advance with contributions from the worker and the taxpayers, the health care benefit is an unfunded liability. That means the state is obligated to pay it, but no money has ever been set aside to fulfill that obligation." (San Jose Mercury News)
Sponsored by: Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers
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| Does Your Health Care Plan Measure Up? |
| The yardstick for measuring a successful health care plan is ever-changing, but the one consistent issue facing plan sponsors is cost vs. quality. A number of management tools can help put new plan strategies in place. Find out at the Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers conference, June 10-13, in Chicago. With 55+ sessions presented by specialists in the employee benefits field, you'll take away plan management strategies that you can use right away and begin enjoying measurable success! |
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
GASB Retiree Benefits Standard Rejected by Texas House
Excerpt: "Against the advice of the nation's top accounting firms, academic experts and some of Wall Street's big names, the Texas House on Thursday unanimously approved legislation that rejects a nationwide accounting rule on the long-term costs of benefits to retired government workers." (Austin American-Statesman)
New Accounting Rules for Postretirement Benefits: SFAS 158 Effect on Financial Statements
Excerpt: "Based on the impact of recognizing the net funded assets/liabilities of postretirement benefit plans on the balance sheet as required under SFAS 158, and the financial ratios of Merck, the authors can safely say that the financial statements of all companies with such plans will show similar results." (The New York State Society of CPAs)
The Effects of GASB 43 and 45 on Government Finances
Excerpt: "GASB's new accounting rules require that municipalities measure, recognize, and disclose future obligations for providing other postemployment benefits (OPEB), mainly healthcare. This process will be phased in over a three-year period, starting with the largest states and cities." (The New York State Society of CPAs)
Overview: IRS's Semiannual Regulatory Agenda Including Pension and Benefit Projects
Excerpt: "Some of the areas in which the IRS will be drafting proposed regulations include the following: the definition of a 'highly compensated employee'; clarification of the general rules for deductibility of employer contributions to qualified retirement plans and other deferred compensation arrangements . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Employers Increasingly Dependent on Web Technology to Communicate Benefits to Employees
Excerpt: "[According to the 2007 Employer Survey released by United Benefit Advisors, m]ore than 70% of employers provide online network provider directories, 56% provide Web-based benefits-related forms, and 51% provide summary plan descriptions to employees on the Internet." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Congressional Panel to Look at Conflicts in Executive Compensation Consulting
Excerpt: "The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked the largest companies in the industry for details on their client relationships and the revenues these ties have generated over the last five years." (The New York Times; free registration required)
It's Not Your Mother's Retirement: A MetLife Study of Women & Generational Differences (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "By looking across several generational cohorts, the study gained insights into the differing perspectives of various generations of women about retirement. However, unlike other retirement studies that focused on women, this survey concentrated specifically on similarities and differences between mothers and their daughters." (MetLife Mature Market Institute)
Newly Posted Events
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Minnesota on June 5, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Wisconsin on June 5, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Minnesota on June 6, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Wisconsin on June 6, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Texas on June 7, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Wisconsin on June 7, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in New Jersey on June 12, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Massachusetts on June 13, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in Maryland on June 14, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in California on June 19, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 HSA Half-Day Seminar
in California on June 20, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: Introduction to Roth 401(k)s and 403(b)s
Nationwide on June 12, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Beneficiary Distributions
Nationwide on June 14, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Compliance
Nationwide on June 7, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Relius Software Users Conference
in Florida on July 9, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
Effect of Pension Reform on Retirement Plan Sponsorship Unclear
Watson Wyatt
Groundbreaking Proposals For Increasing Retirement Savings Released By Diverse Coalition Of Experts
Pension Rights Center
U.S. Health Care Sector Moves Rapidly to Provide Consumer Information on Value; Providers, Companies, States, and Others Join Initiative Led by HHS Secretary Leavitt
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Employers Shift Focus To Health Care Prevention and Incentives To Change Employee Behavior; According To Survey Results
Midwest Business Group on Health
MoneyTrack/IPT Investing Secrets Survey: Just 1 Percent OF U.S. Investors Grasp Financial Basics, Only About A Third Know More Than Half
MoneyTrack
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Client Service Manager, Retirement-Defined Contribution
for TRI-AD
in CA
Plan Implementation Manager
for BenefitStreet, Inc.
in CA
Profit Sharing and 401(k) Administrator
for Goldberg, Swedelson & Associates, Inc.
in CA
Benefits Manager
for Carilion Health System
in VA
Implementation Specialist (Enroller)
for SunGard ProNvest
in CA, GA
Retirement Specialist (Call Center/Inside Sales)
for SunGard ProNvest
in GA
Profit Sharing / 401(k) Plan Administrator
for TPA in Cleveland/Akron area
in OH
Retirement Plan Administrator/Consultant
for Noble-Davis Consulting, Inc.
in OH
401(k) Daily Valuation Plan Administrator Consultant
for Graham Management Corporation, Inc
in NY
401(k) Professional
for Pentegra Retirement Services
in NY
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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