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| June 19, 2007 |
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| Record Retention Requirements for Health & Welfare Plans |
| In Record Retention Requirements for Health & Welfare Plans, EBIA's experts analyze record retention requirements for ERISA health and welfare plans as well as other employer-provided health and welfare benefits not subject to ERISA. You'll find answers to your record retention questions for many benefits including cafeteria plans, DCAPs, qualified transportation plans, HSAs, group health plans (like major medical, dental, health FSAs, and HRAs), and other ERISA benefits.
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Companies Help Workers Save on Gasoline Costs
Excerpt: "The breathtaking cost of gas has companies adopting programs to curb commuting costs and employees developing more economical alternatives to driving to work." (USA TODAY)
Overview: Federal Appeals Court Upholds EEOC's Proposed 'Erie County' Exemption to the ADEA (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "As noted in the Bulletin, once adopted in final form, the limited exemption will give plan sponsors more flexibility in designing retiree health benefits and in coordinating those offerings with Medicare, including the Medicare prescription drug benefit." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
University of Kentucky Changes Domestic Partners Plan
Excerpt: "The University of Kentucky has changed its domestic partners benefits plan to comply with an opinion issued by the state attorney general's office. Under the new plan, a UK employee may extend health coverage to one qualifying adult and/or children in the household, the school announced . . . ." (WorldNow and WLEX-TV)
California Family Leave Law Allows Fathers to Savor Precious Moments
Excerpt: "As California nears the third anniversary of its groundbreaking Paid Family Leave program, women still file four times more claims than men to bond with children. But the number of fathers taking advantage of the law is inching up -- from 22,939 in the first year of the law to more than 31,323 so far this fiscal year." (The Contra Costa Times; free registration required)
OPM Says Telework Has Increased Despite Recent Report Numbers
Excerpt: "The 2006 Status of Telework in the Federal Government report, released Friday, stated that 119,248 federal employees teleworked in 2005. In 2004, the number was 140,694. At first, the findings suggest that despite increased initiatives, the number of people who chose to work from home actually went down substantially. Actually, the reverse is true, according to OPM. More people are working from home than ever before, and they're doing so more frequently than in the past." (GovExec.com)
BCBS Statement on Ways and Means Hearing to Examine Comparative Effectiveness Research
Excerpt: "Too much of the healthcare delivered today lacks a basis in evidence. Researchers and policymakers agree there often is not enough information on which medical treatments work best." (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Evidence-Based Medicine Should Include Costs because Costs Influence Decisions
Excerpt: "Evidence-based medicine (EBM) has increasingly influenced decision making in health policy and patient care. Appropriate use of EBM in decision making requires a clear understanding of the distinct 'anatomical' components of all decisions: (1) scientific evidence and (2) judgments applied to that evidence by individuals or organizations. In this interview, Sean Tunis discusses these principles with David Eddy." (Health Affairs)
UAW President Indicates Union Might Grant Health Care Concessions to Chrysler
Excerpt: "In suggesting Monday that his union might grant Chrysler health care concessions already given to General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., UAW President Ron Gettelfinger is showing added willingness to be part of the solution for money-losing domestic automakers, an industry watcher said." (Detroit Free Press)
Texas and Oklahoma Enact Universal Coverage Laws
Excerpt: "Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry (D) signed a bill on June 4 that expands eligibility requirements for the Oklahoma Employer/Employee Partnership for Insurance Coverage (O-EPIC) program, under which small businesses receive subsidies to purchase coverage for low-income employees." (Managed Care Week via AISHealth.com)
Health Care Expenses Increased at Two Times Rate of Inflation for the Last Several Years
Excerpt: "Health care is a top concern in the U.S. for employers who primarily foot the bill for health care -- unlike other major industrialized countries where the government is the primary payer." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Overview of Senate Drug Importation Provisions' Approval
Excerpt: "In May, the Senate approved a provision to allow the importation of prescription drugs from Can.ada and other industrialized countries, but a separate provision requiring the secretary of Health and Human Services to certify the safety of imported drugs would likely prevent the measure from taking effect." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
'Pill Splitting' Cuts Drug Costs for Patients and Health Plans
Excerpt: "A practice patients often use to cut down on drug costs, called 'pill splitting,' can also save money for insurance companies and employers, a study of the University of Michigan's own health benefit plan shows." (HealthDay News via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Overview: Changing Deadline for Submitting Medicare Part D Retiree Drug Subsidy Applications
Excerpt: "CMS now proposes to replace the 90-day deadline with a date to be established by CMS. The date would generally be an end-of-month deadline, but would allow CMS the flexibility to take into account operational systems changes in determining the actual RDS deadline." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Michigan's Searchable Prescription Price Web Site Expands to 150 Drugs
Excerpt: "The Michigan Department of Community Health . . . announced that it will add the information on an additional 120 prescription drugs to a state-run Web site that allows consumers to search drug prices, the AP/Detroit News reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
A New Generation of Behavioral Health Coverage: Perspectives from Medical Leaders (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "AHIP recently explored [behavioral health care] trends in a series of telephone interviews with medical leadership at nine member companies and gathered additional data from one of these companies, a large national behavioral health insurance plan. This issue brief reviews key findings from our discussions and data analysis." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Opinion: Michael Moore Refocuses Health Care Debate
Excerpt: "Advocates of a single-payer national healthcare system welcome Moore's movie." (The Christian Science Monitor via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Argument in Fiduciary Duty Breach Damages Case
Excerpt: "Since the case involves issues under both Section 502(a)(2) and 502(a)(3), it could be another watershed case in the development of ERISA remedies caselaw." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
(Popular Press) Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Argument in Fiduciary Duty Breach Damages Case
Excerpt: "James LaRue says there is $150,000 less in his retirement fund than there should be. And according to a federal lawsuit, he blames administrators at his workplace, DeWolff, Boberg and Associates Inc., for that because they did not, he says, invest the money where he wanted." (The Post and Courier)
Eligibility Exclusion Based on Plan Sponsor's Classification of Workers Upheld
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: As with all plan terms, but especially those involving eligibility, the plan document must include clear language to effectively implement the plan sponsor's intent. Plan sponsors should routinely review plan language to ensure that it continues to reflect their intent in light of changing practices -- for example, by adding or excluding a class of workers not originally envisioned when the language was first drafted." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
A Brief Review of Employee Benefits Developments, June 2007
Excerpt: "A brief look at developments in Employee Benefits law from May and June 2007, including cases, rulings, and opinions." (Hodgson Russ LLP)
Metlife's Benchmarking Report Helps Employers Compare Benefits Practices with Competitors
Excerpt: "[F]rom Spencer's Benefits Reports: Employee retention was the most important benefits objective identified by more than half (55%) of employers overall, according to MetLife's annual Employee Benefits Benchmarking Report." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Newly Posted Events
Fundamentals of 401(k) and Other Qualified Plans
in Colorado on July 11, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Section 409A: Employment Lawyers' Guide to Understanding the Final Regulations, Including Executive Employment Agreements - Webcast
Nationwide on June 19, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Watson Wyatt Data Services Releases 2007/2008 Survey Report on Employee Benefits
Watson Wyatt
Qualified Plan Forms -- New Book from ALI-ABA
ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
ETF Giant Launches 401(k) Plan Invasion
BenefitStreet, Inc.
Goldowitz, Finke And Morris Lead Litigation Practice At PBGC
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Sentinel Benefits Appoints Adam Pozek Vice President, Consulting Services
Sentinel Benefits
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Judgment Seeking Restoration of More Than $50,000 for Participants of Phoenix 401(k) Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Labor Department Sues to Appoint Independent Fiduciary For 401(k) Plan Abandoned by New York City Company
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
New Leadership Announced For ABA's Council On Retirement And Employee Benefits
American Bankers Association
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc. Announces Enhancements to Participant Internet Site
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.
Employee Benefits Institute of America Acquired by Thomson Tax & Accounting
Thomson
First Mercantile and Scott & Stringfellow Co-Brand Small Business Retirement Product
First Mercantile
Brasseler USA Sees Employee Contribution Increase With Retirement Income Report Tool
Synapses Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
401k Conversion Implementation Project Manager
for Fidelity Investments
in KY, MA, TX
Relationship Manager - Defined Contribution Plans
for Vanguard
in AZ
Defined Benefit Calculation Developer
for Vanguard
in PA
Retirement Compliance Testing Manager
for Vanguard
in PA
Pension Administrator
for Valley Forge Consulting Corporation
in PA
Benefits Consultant
for Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Quality Assurance Analyst
for Leading Financial Services Software Vendor
in NY
Client Service Representative
for Leading Financial Services Software Vendor
in NY
Senior Plan Consultant-Conversion Specialist
for ABG-MA, a BenefitStreet co.
in PA
NQDC Product Specialist
for Merrill Lynch
in NJ
Defined Contribution Administrator
for Gary Mann & Associates, Inc.
in IL
Insurance Policy & Compliance Analyst
for Office of the Insurance Commissioner - Washington State
in WA
Manager, Retirement Programs
for Avon Products, Inc.
in NY
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