BenefitsLink |   |
| June 18, 2007 |
Sponsored by: BeneCom Associates, LLC
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| BeneCom Associates, LLC, for one-stop benefit communications |
| Since 1992, BeneCom has provided one-stop benefit communications for organizations large and small, nationwide. Staffed by people who know benefits, we write, design and produce effective media, including SPDs, enrollment materials, newsletters, benefit statements and more. So whether you're an employer, plan administrator or consultant in need of traditional or online capabilities, we're here to help. Call (860) 674-2626 today. |
Canadian Employers Reconsidering Retiree Benefits
Excerpt: "More than half of Canadian employers are considering eliminating retiree health benefits, while 22% are considering reducing their contributions to retiree health benefits, according to a recent study." (Business Insurance)
Overview: IRS Proposed Rules on Employer Comparable Contribution to HSAs (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The proposed regulations are effective for employer contributions made on or after the final regulations are published, but tax payers may rely on the proposed regulations until final regulations are issued." (Groom Law Group)
Overview: 3rd Circuit Upholds EEOC Reg - Retiree Medical Plans to Coordinate with Medicare (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "[A] panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously upheld an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ('EEOC') regulation that would exempt Medicare carve-outs for retiree health benefits from the prohibition in the Age Discrimination in Employment Act ('ADEA')." (Groom Law Group)
Opinion: Extend Health Benefits to Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "Wisconsin puts itself at a costly disadvantage in the job market by failing to cover the domestic partners of state employees under the state's family health insurance benefit." (Wisconsin State Journal)
Colombia to Recognize G.ay Unions with Extension of Health and Other Benefits
Excerpt: "Colombia's Congress voted to recognize g.ay unions, approving a bill to give same-sex couples full rights to health insurance, social security and inheritance benefits. The measure would make Colombia the first country in Latin America to extend such rights to g.ay couples . . . ." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Plan Provision Making Separated Spouses Ineligible for Coverage Did Not Violate ERISA or COBRA
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The lesson of this case is a basic one. An offer of COBRA coverage is required only in the limited situations described in the COBRA rules. Consequently, there will be situations where coverage is lost but COBRA is not required (although other requirements may apply, such as the obligation to provide a HIPAA certificate of creditable coverage)." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Patients Wary of Employer- and Plan-Sponsored Personal Health Records
Excerpt: "So far, the public has yet to embrace the records, in part because the main push to promote them has been from health plans and employers. A recent survey found that 52 percent of the respondents were worried about employers using medical information to limit job opportunities." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Book Chapter: Dominant Health Plans and the Search for a 'Level Playing Field' (PDF)
Excerpt: "Providers have long argued that IPAs, PHOs, hospital mergers, and other forms of provider collaboration receive disproportionate scrutiny from antitrust regulators when compared to the continuing consolidation in the health insurance industry. Organized medicine in particular has pointed to what it perceives as an increasingly unlevel playing field that forces doctors into take-it-or-leave-it managed care contracts." (Health Law Handbook via Drinker Biddle Gardner Carton)
Opinion: What I Did When I Finally Got to Use My Health Savings Account
Excerpt: "With my HSA, a $2,500 deductible, and a swollen knee, I was about to become part of this experiment. Would I make better decisions than if I were spending an HMO's money? Or would I end up hurting myself by forgoing necessary care?" (Weekly Standard via Cato Institute)
Overview: CMS Issues Medicare Part D Benefit Parameters for 2008
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The new parameters will help group health plan sponsors determine whether their plans' prescription drug coverage is creditable for 2008. This, of course, is needed for the disclosures to CMS and Part D eligible individuals that must be made annually and at other specified times." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Overview: CMS's Final RDS Reconciliation Process (PDF)
Excerpt: "Medicare Part D Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) payments from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to plan sponsors (including those already received) that provide coverage that is actuarially equivalent to Part D coverage are contingent on the provision of a final reconciliation of all eligibility, claims and rebate information." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Successful Consumer-Driven Health Plans Integrate Wellness and Prevention
Excerpt: "[F]rom Spencer's Benefits Reports: Health care plan members taking greater responsibility for health care decisions 'present a viable opportunity to address shortcomings in the [health care] system,' according to an Aon Consulting report entitled The Impact of Consumer-Directed Health Plans with Integrated Health Improvement Services on Health Care Consumers." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Opinion: Should States Require Residents to Buy Health Care Insurance? (PDF)
Excerpt: "Massachusetts is the first state in the country to require everyone to buy health insurance – known as an 'individual mandate' – or pay a fine. The idea is to force people to be 'responsible' for their own medical care. Employers are also fined for not providing coverage." (San Diego Union-Tribune via Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
Podcast/Transcript: Global Health Care -- Emerging Issues and Strategies
Excerpt: "This podcast highlights some of the challenges multinational companies face in designing and delivering cost-effective health care programs for employees worldwide and offers insights on how leading global organizations are addressing these challenges." (Towers Perrin)
Health Systems Abroad: Markets Are Vital
Excerpt: "Health policy guru Mark McClellan was the keynote speaker at our major conference . . . at the National Press Club, answering with a resounding 'Yes!' the question we had posed in the title of our event, 'Is there a role for markets in health care?' " (Galen Institute)
Transforming the Health Care System: Does the Story of Mexican Coca-Cola Provide Insight?
Excerpt: "5 Questions Answered By This Week's Program (Click on a question [on the target page] to see its answer) 1. What are some of the struggles experienced by hospital leaders, physicians and nurses in today's health care environment? 2. Why is the current environment so difficult for consumers? 3. How is Mexican Coca-Cola being brought across the U.S. border? 4. Why is it being brought across the border? 5. What can health care leaders learn from the story of Mexican Coca-Cola?" (Health Politics)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
GASB Reconciles Disclosure Requirements for Governmental Pension and OPEB Reporting (PDF)
Excerpt: "In view of progress made in disclosure requirements for state and local governments on retiree health insurance and other postemployment benefits (OPEB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has brought those same improvements to reporting for pension costs and obligations." (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
Overview on Proposed Regulations on Deductions for Entertainment Use of Business Aircraft (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "More than two years after the issuance of Notice 2005-45, the Internal Revenue Service has finally issued proposed regulations addressing the deductibility of entertainment expenses under section 274(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (and later technical amendments legislation)." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
Faulty Description of Benefits Constitutes Wrong Without Remedy
Excerpt: "'Even if Gillette had breached a fiduciary duty, no remedy exists under ERISA in this case. This conclusion may seem harsh, but it is consistent with the ERISA policy of ensuring that benefits are paid consistently and predictably in accordance with a written plan.'" (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
The Principal Financial Well-Being Index Executive Summary - Second Quarter 2007
Excerpt: "The Principal Financial Group® commissioned Harris Interactive® to conduct online research with employees (ages 18+) of small and mid-sized (SMB) U.S. businesses (firm size 10 - 1,000 employees) about their attitudes and perceptions regarding their financial well being and their current employee benefits." (Principal Financial Services, Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Cross-Tested Plans Workshop
Nationwide on August 15, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Elements of State Health Reform: Covering Kids - Webcast
Nationwide on June 19, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Maternity Care and Consumer-Driven Health Plans - Webcast
Nationwide on June 19, 2007
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plans Workshop
Nationwide on August 16, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
Two-Step Software Finds Chief Financial Officers Struggling To Meet Greater FAS 123R Requirements And Increased Scrutiny By Auditors
Two-Step Software, Inc.
ERIC Supports Mental Health Coverage, But Opposed to Amending ERISA and New Mandates
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
TIAA-CREF Introduces Policyholder Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation Policy
TIAA-CREF
Shaping America’s Health and American Diabetes Association National Office Employees Start “Walking the Talk” to Improve their HealthStyle
American Diabetes Association
Retirement Plan Participants Want More Financial Planning
Spectrem Group
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Pension Recordkeeper
for Iris Bashi Associates, LLC
in NJ
401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for The Douglas Group
in CA, FL, GA, MA, NJ, NY, TX
ERISA Associate
for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina
in NC
Senior Pension Analyst
for T. Rowe Price
in MD
Installation Administrator
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
New Business Project Manager
for National Retirement Plan Services Firm
in
Vocational Case Manager
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Manager, Health & Welfare Benefits
for Republic National Distributing Company
in GA
ERISA Administrative Assistant
for Charles Schwab
in TX
ERISA Consultant
for Charles Schwab
in TX
Pensions New Business Manager
for CUNA Mutual Group
in WI
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, Too!
Sign-up form is at https://benefitslink.com/newsletter (free).
This newsletter is sent to you each workday except federal holidays.
This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor
Copyright 2007 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
Other useful links: