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May 29, 2007
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Side-by-Side Comparison of 2007 Comprehensive Health Care Reforms
Excerpt: "The chart emphasizes Market Reforms, Subsidized Health Insurance, and Employer Assessments." (National Conference of State Legislatures)

2007 Universal Health Care Coverage: Proposals Suggested by Governors and/or State Commissions
Excerpt: "Proposals and bills to address comprehensive health reform to cover all or most of the uninsured are a high priority for Governors and legislatures this year. [On the target page] you will find a list of states that propose universal or near universal coverage. The links are either to a formal proposal or information that may lead to a proposal or bill." (National Conference of State Legislatures)

2007 Universal Health Care Coverage: Filed Bills and Enacted Laws
Excerpt: "Health reform will remain a priority this year. Several states--including Illinois, Colorado, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New Mexico and Washington -- have commissions charged with creating recommendations for expanding coverage and reforming health care. Political leadership in other states including California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Oregon, Minnesota, New Jersey and Wisconsin are poised to act in 2007." (National Conference of State Legislatures)

Overview: Massachusetts Universal Health Care Law - Section 125 Plan Requirement
Excerpt: "This advisory contains guidance to help employers comply with one of their primary responsibilities under the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Law -- the Section 125 Plan requirement. This requirement calls for all Massachusetts employers with 11 or more full-time equivalent employees to adopt and maintain a Section 125 Plan that offers eligible employees access to one or more health care coverage options." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP)

Undisclosed Coverage Limitation Applied to Deny Death Benefit
Excerpt: "Given the lack of uniformity in documents associated with insured benefits, the principles set forth in this case have broad applicability as a practical matter. The facts involve the denial of a death benefit on the basis that only one plan enrollee could claim dependent life insurance for the death of an insured dependent." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)

Employer-Paid LTD Policies Covering Business Owner Did Not Meet Voluntary Plan Safe Harbor
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The DOL's voluntary plan safe harbor requires that employees pay the full cost of the voluntary plan. Nevertheless, the safe harbor does permit the employer to collect the employee's premium payments through payroll deductions." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Workforce Institute Announces Findings of Survey on Unscheduled Absences in the Workplace
Excerpt: "According to the 'Summer Absenteeism' survey, an overwhelming 39 percent of employees working full time have called in sick to work to enjoy a day off during the summer vacation season." (BusinessWire via MSN.Money)

Rules Change for Non-State Workers in Nevada State Benefits Plan
Excerpt: "The Senate Finance Committee moved Saturday to stop local governments and schools from sending a disproportionate number of their retirees to the state benefits program." (nevadaappeal.com)

HIPAA Preempts Authorization Required as Prerequisite to Medical Malpractice Suit Under Georgia Law
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This case is just another example of the thorny issue of which state privacy laws remain in effect after the passage of HIPAA. While this case did not involve a health plan, such plans can face similar issues." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)

Opinion: The U.S. Health Care System - You Get What You Pay For
Excerpt: "We have precisely the health sector in this country that we are paying for. As we are barraged from all sides with articles, books, and now movies about how absolutely awful our system is, it is important to realize that if we want change, we must start by improving the payment and incentive structures that direct how it functions." (Grace-Marie Turner via Galen Institute)

Michael Moore's Math: 'Sicko,' Castro and the '120 Years Club'
Excerpt: "'Sicko,' the talk of the Cannes Film Festival last week, savages the American health care system -- and along the way extols Cuba's system as the neatest thing since the white linen guayabera." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Maine Offers Lessons on Health Reform
Excerpt: "In 2003, Maine passed the Dirigo Health Reform Act, with the ambitious goal of establishing universal health insurance coverage by 2009. The program began in 2005. Thus far, participation in Maine's plan has been entirely voluntary, both for individuals and employers." (Oxford Analytica via Forbes.com)

Opinion: Feds Sent Message on Employer Mandates Six Months Ago
Excerpt: "[T]he fact that the federal government's labor lawyers had weighed in with a sweeping rejection of state employer mandates was ignored for the story line of spunky Maryland takes on swaggering Wal-Mart (Wal-Mart was the only company affected by Maryland's unusual law)." (Union-Tribune Opinion Online)


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Out of Retirement and Into an Uncertain Workplace
Excerpt: "It often takes many weeks, or even months, for older workers to find jobs, distinctly longer than their younger counterparts. In 2006, for instance, workers age 55 or older spent an average of 22 weeks looking for work." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Editorial: A Say on Executive Pay
Excerpt: "Executives have always been paid at the top of the corporate scale, but as the gap between them and average workers widens into a chasm, more people have begun to ask how much is too much." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Why Benefits Matter and How to Maximize the ROI (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "This article complements the third report from the 2006 Rewards of Work Study." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

Third Report of Results from the 2006 Rewards of Work Study (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This report focuses on findings about benefit satisfaction, retention and productivity." (The Segal Group, Inc.)

CalPERS to Withhold Director Votes on Backdating Concerns
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) is opposing the re-election of four more directors to the boards of companies named in the backdating of employee stock options." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Newly Posted Events

Final Code § 409A Regulations: A "Nuts and Bolts" Approach
Nationwide on June 4, 2007
presented by ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)

HIPAA and Health Laws Compliance Assistance Seminar
in Wyoming on June 12, 2007
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Public Pension Plan Trends Teleweb
Nationwide on June 28, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

Smoking Cessation and Other Wellness Programs -- Design and Compliance Teleweb
Nationwide on June 7, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans


Newly Posted Press Releases

Rising Health Care Costs Worrying Workers, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt

Remarks of Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao at Benefits Conference
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

U. S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Severe Storms And Flooding Hit Kansas
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Ability To Offer Uniform Health Benefits Essential For Multi-state Employers
American Benefits Council

Employers Coping with Military Leave
Human Resource Executive Magazine

New Study Explores Impact of Emotions on Retirement Investors
Prudential Financial, Inc.

Allied Pilots Association Cautions American Airlines Management about Pension Relief Contained in Spending Bill
Allied Pilots Association (APA)

MassMutual Sponsors First-Ever Study of Plan Sponsor Views of Retirement Advisors
MassMutual

Progress Made In Hospital Patient Safety... But More Work Is Needed
Midwest Business Group on Health

WSJ.com/Harris Interactive Survey: Sixty-Nine Percent of Employed U.S. Adults Receive Some Type of Retirement/Savings Benefit from Their Employer
Wall Street Journal

RedBrick Health: First Consumer-Owned Health Company
RedBrick Health

The Flip Side of Higher Healthcare Costs - Lower Life Insurance Premiums
David Lindsey Agency


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