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| May 18, 2007 |
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Auditing Rule Is Put at Risk by Texas Bill
Excerpt: "Texas lawmakers are on the verge of rejecting a requirement that state and local governments disclose the cost of the health care they have promised to retired employees." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Texas Bill Alters Reporting on Retiree Benefits: State Could Avoid Process
Excerpt: "Texas lawmakers are pushing through legislation that would allow the state to sidestep fully reporting more than $50 billion in unfunded health care benefits for retired state employees." (The Houston Chronicle)
Oregon, New Hampshire, and New York Extend Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt: "[F]rom Spencer's Benefits Reports: Several states recently have acted domestic partner and civil union legislation." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Treasury Backtracks on HELPS Retirees Interpretation
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Treasury sent a letter on May 15, 2007 to Representative Jim McCrery, Ranking Member of the House Ways & Means, stating that the agency will reverse its position that the HELPS Retirees provision does not pertain to self-funded health plans." (National Conference on Public Employee Retirement Systems)
CalPERS Board OKs 2008 Health Benefits Package
Excerpt: "The California Public Employee Retirement System board has approved a 2008 benefit package that waives copayments for preventive care office visits, raises other office visit copayments from $10 to $15, and adds two new lower-cost high-performance physician network options." (Business Insurance)
Interview with Michael Moore on 'Sicko,' His Take on the U.S. Health Care Industry
Excerpt: "The movie, screened for TIME, is double-barreled Moore, a mix of familiar numbers (47 million uninsured Americans, the ever rising cost of care) and chilling moments . . . ." (Time Magazine via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Employers Move to Self-Insured Health Plans Opting to Bear the Financial Risk Themselves
Excerpt: "HealthLeaders-InterStudy, the leading provider of managed care market intelligence, reports that there has been a surge in the number of large employers moving to self-insured health plans, opting to bear the financial risk themselves." (PR Newswire via SYS-CON Media)
Brief Analysis: Is Health Spending Out of Control?
Excerpt: "Since 1975, total spending on health care in the United States has doubled, and it now comprises one-sixth of the U.S. economy, or about $2.2 trillion. By 2016, some projections show total health spending almost doubling to $4.1 trillion and consuming one-fifth of the nation's gross domestic product." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
California Democrats Propose Employer Health Insurance Contribution Mandate
Excerpt: "Democrats in the California Senate and Assembly . . . proposed legislation that would require employers to spend the equivalent of at least 7.5% of their payrolls on health coverage for workers, the Los Angeles Times reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
An Employers' Guide to the 2006 Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act Updated As of May 15, 2007
Excerpt: "This version of the guide has been revised to include, among other things, a discussion of the Act's residency requirement under the individual health insurance mandate and the Division of Insurance emergency rule governing 'young adult' plans." (Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.)
Identifying and Eliminating Internal Theft and Abuse in Health Care
Excerpt: "This article presents significant points to consider when examining an organization's internal accounting systems and offers real-world examples of fraud that have taken place in the health care industry." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
U.S. Ready for Major Health Care System Overhaul, But Barriers Remain, Dow Jones Reports
Excerpt: "Dow Jones . . . examined how a substantial movement for changes to the U.S. health care system 'may be on the way.' According to Dow Jones, reform 'that goes beyond incremental tinkering' is 'high on the domestic agenda of the Democratic presidential candidates . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Working Paper: Why Do Japanese Workers Remain in the Labor Force So Long?
Excerpt: "As part of the search for answers to questions about what could be done to increase labor force participation rates among older workers in the United States, it makes sense to take a close look at evidence from Japan, one of the few industrial countries with a higher labor force participation rate among older workers than the United States." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Barney Frank Eyes Private-Equity Pay Cut
Excerpt: "House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank threatened legislative action if Congress finds that private-equity deals spawn a 'gross imbalance' in pay between the workers in the affected companies and the executives and entrepreneurs who take those companies private." (CFO.com)
Overview: Final 409A Regulations Provide Guidance on Equity Compensation (PDF)
Excerpt: "This Client Alert focuses on the portions of the Final Regulations that affect stock options, stock appreciation rights and other forms of equity compensation." (Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
Overview: IRS Guidance on Public Disclosure of Form 990-T (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "On May 9, the IRS issued Notice 2007-45, which provides interim guidance on the new Form 990-T public disclosure requirement enacted as part of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA)." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
Overview of What's New Under the Final 409A Regulations
Excerpt: "In addition to more traditional deferred compensation plans and arrangements, Section 409A is broadly applicable to many severance and change of control arrangements, employment agreements, equity compensation and other arrangements that had not been typically viewed as 'deferred compensation.'" (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP)
Webcast on Executive Compensation Highlights Findings from 2007 Proxy Filings
Excerpt: "In a recent Webcast, a team of Towers Perrin leaders presented an analysis of executive pay levels and practices based on an examination of proxy statements filed by more than half of the Fortune 500 companies. These represent the first filings by major U.S. companies under the SEC's new proxy disclosure rules." (Towers Perrin)
Newly Posted Events
Elements of State Health Reform Value-Driven Health Care through Quality Improvement and Measurement - Webcast
Nationwide on May 25, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Estate Planning Considerations for Qualified Plans and IRAs
in Illinois on June 7, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Estate Planning Considerations for Qualified Plans and IRAs
in Minnesota on June 8, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
Statement by PBGC Interim Director on Additional Financial Protection Obtained for Chrysler Pension Plans
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Safety-Kleen and Oklahoma Employees Benefits Council Honored by SouthWest Benefits Association for Retirement and Health Benefits Best Practices
SouthWest Benefits Association
Buyers Health Care Action Group Set To Profile Minn. Governor's "Fit Workplaces" Initiative
HPI Advisors, LLC
Leading Financial Service Organizations To Help Fee-Only Advisors Follow PPA Provisions for "Fiduciary Adviser" Standard
National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Employee Benefits Administration
for Primary Consulting, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Pension Actuary
for Chicago Suburban Pension Firm
in IL
Relationship Manager - Defined Contribution Plans
for Vanguard
in PA
Handy Links:
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