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| July 9, 2007 |
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EEOC Revises Rules Due to Supreme Court Decision
Excerpt: "The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has published final regulations to amend its Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) regulations to conform them to the Supreme Court's holding in General Dynamics Land System, Inc. v. Cline." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Online Crisis-Support Service Prevents Employees from Feeling Isolated While Maintaining Privacy
Excerpt: "On its Web site, CareCircle promotes its product as particularly effective for families affected by a medical crisis, elder care, a new baby or military duty. However, the space also can be used to assist families affected by natural disasters, children with special needs and bereavement . . . ." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Overview: The HRA Beneficiary Issue
Excerpt: "On August 14, 2006 the IRS issued Revenue Ruling 2006-36 to clarify the beneficiary status of Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs). The Revenue Ruling indicates that HRA reimbursements, whether taxable or not, may no longer be made to non-spouse or non-dependent beneficiaries. Plans have until December 31, 2008 to comply with the ruling; there are no consequences for reimbursements to such beneficiaries prior to that date." (ICMA-RC)
Laws Against G.ay Marriage Threatening Benefits for Domestic Partners
Excerpt: "The clash between local policies and state laws puts a growing number of public employers at the uncomfortable center of the ongoing debate over g.ay marriage. Cities and public schools say the benefits are necessary to make them attractive when competing for top-notch employees." (Los Angeles Times via San Francisco Chronicle)
Local Tampa Bay Governments Reassess Generous Health Plans
Excerpt: "Nationwide, private employers have become stingier with health plans, trimming benefits and shifting premium costs to workers. But that's not true for local government workers in the Tampa Bay area." (St. Petersburg Times via International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)
Small Employer That Offered COBRA to One Employee May Be Estopped from Claiming Not Subject to COBRA
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Although this decision is based on a technical legal distinction, it has important practical consequences for small employers. The application of the doctrine of equitable estoppel to a small employer might create COBRA rights for employees, spouses, and dependents who would not otherwise have them and might prevent the employer from withdrawing mistakenly offered coverage that was not required by COBRA." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets, 2007 Update (PDF)
46 pages. Excerpt: "The goal of the study is to identify problem markets where competition is diminished and to prompt discussion about the long-term impact of consolidated health insurance markets on the health care system and find solutions." (American Medical Association)
Major Employers Increase Health And Disease Management Programs, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Companies with disease management programs are less likely to offer incentives for those programs than for other types of programs. According to the survey, this indicates that employers are targeting programs and incentives based on the needs of their employees, rather than simply building a generic program." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Federal Test of PHRs May Drive New Privacy, Security Standards
Excerpt: "Late last month, the federal government began a national test of personal health records (PHRs), working with three health plans and an academic medical center to get a sense of what PHR features patients like and how much they use them." (Report on Patient Privacy via AISHealth.com)
In Health Care, the Opportunity Is in Keeping Costs Down
Excerpt: "The drive to hold down medical costs is spawning a new industry, known as health care information technology. Small companies offering software systems and medical devices are attracting venture capital and giving rise to visions of doctors as high-tech tinkerers, coming up with money-saving ways to diagnose diseases and provide care." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Blue Cross May Hurt Health Revamp - Lower Contributions by Firms Could Leave More Without Policies
Excerpt: "Small employers that are only willing to pay one-third of their workers' healthcare insurance premiums can now offer policies through Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts. Previously, the state's largest health insurer only offered coverage to companies that contributed at least one-half of premium costs." (Boston Globe via California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee)
Will the Obese Be Penalized by Insurers Like Smokers?
Excerpt: "A small but growing number of employers charge smokers more for their health care than they do for nonsmokers. But as evidence continues to link unhealthy lifestyle choices to health care costs and lost productivity, another question arises: Are obese workers next?" (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Chart: Health Benefit Costs by U.S. Region
Excerpt: "Among the four regions, the average cost to employers in private industry for health insurance benefits ranged from $1.59 per hour in the South to $2.04 per hour in the Northeast in March 2007." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Women with High-Deductible Health Plans Face Greater Financial Burden, Studies Find
Excerpt: "An April Harvard Medical School study on high-deductible plans found that in 2006, health costs for working-age women averaged about $1,844, compared with $847 for men. Among people ages 18 to 44, women's median outlays were about $1,266 for high-deductible plans, compared with $463 for men." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Drug Pricing Lawsuits May Lead Renegotiations with PBMs
Excerpt: "A court case last week revealed that patients, insurers and employers overpaid for medications between 1991 and 2003. Fallout from such lawsuits may lead to revised drug pricing terms that could open doors for advisers and their employer clients to negotiate new drug pricing agreements with PBMs." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Interview with Author with Maverick View of Workplace Offers Eyebrow-Raising Advice to Employers
Excerpt: "EBN: One of your gripes is that too many folks are just goofing off at work, so you've got to have a bone to pick with onsite fitness programs, right? Winget: Yeah, I do. It's a waste of time, energy and money. What's really important is to teach people the value of doing it on their own. You can't force somebody to be healthy; you can't force them to exercise." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Employers Challenge Legal Restrictions on Wellness Programs
Excerpt: "[W]hile few companies have gone as far as Scotts in forcing employees to change their lifestyles, many are luring employees with substantial incentives as they move in the direction of making wellness mandatory. At the same time, federal and state anti-discrimination and privacy laws limit how far an employer can go. In the absence of court rulings and regulatory guidance, employers venturing into mandatory programs run the risk of violating the law." (WBI/CLT LLC via Inside Counsel)
Opinion: Ideological Divide Over What 'Reforms' Should Take Place
Excerpt: "Ideology is preventing reform at the federal level of the health-care and retirement 'non-systems.' It is up to employers to grasp the pragmatic reins and force debate -- and action -- on these crucial services. " (Dallas Salisbury via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
IRS Clarifies Rules on Transfers of Substantially Vested Stock
Excerpt: "In its latest revenue ruling the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) clarifies the tax consequences under Section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code when restrictions are imposed on substantially vested stock causing that stock to become substantially nonvested." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Private Companies May Win Exemption from SEC Registration of Option Grants
Excerpt: "Private companies would not have to register securities used in employee stock option plans, under a proposed rule from the Securities and Exchange Commission." (Financial Week; free registration required)
Court Refuses to Enforce Alleged Oral Modification of ERISA Plan
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This case caught our eye because it illustrates the perils of an employee's reliance on oral statements to enforce alleged rights under an ERISA plan. Oral communications cannot change the terms of a plan. And a claim for estoppel based on oral misrepresentations will be ineffective when there are clearly written plan terms to the contrary." (Employee Benefits Institute of America Inc.)
Stock Taxable When Options Exercised
Excerpt: "The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a taxpayer was incorrect when she claimed income for stock shares obtained when options were exercised based on the price at which she later sold the shares and not at the price of the shares at the time the stock options were exercised." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted Press Releases
Many Workers Struggle With Basic Health Benefit Terms, Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt
Judge OKs Delay in Exelon 401(k) Case
Pensions & Investments
Dell Delays Filing 401(k) Statement
Dell
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Actuarial Benefit Consultant
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in CA
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in CA
Pension Administrator
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in CA
Client Relationship Manager
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in KY, TX
TRS - Client Relations Manager - Los Angeles and San Mateo, CA
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in CA
Sales Executive
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in IL
Investment Consultant
for The Newport Group
in FL
Implementation Manager
for USI Insurance Services
in NY
Pension Administrator
for Benefit Systems, Inc.
in ANY STATE, TX
Assistant to the Deputy Administrator
for Pompano Beach Police & Firefighters' Retirement System
in FL
Legal & Document Spec
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Senior Consultant - Health & Welfare - AON
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in FL
Pension Manager
for USI Insurance Services
in NY
Vice President - Health & Welfare - AON
for AON
in FL
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