BenefitsLink |   |
| July 12, 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. |
Dependent Care Flex Spending Accounts Lead List of Family Friendly Benefits, Says Survey
Excerpt: "The survey, which garnered 590 responses from human resources professionals across the country, provided information about health care benefits; leave benefits; family-friendly benefits; and retirement, housing, personal service, financial, and travel benefits." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Overview: The Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act: What Must Employers Do?
10 pages. Excerpt: "Given the various arguments concerning preemption, it is not possible to say with confidence whether the fair share contribution requirement or, more broadly, other parts of the Act, will be found to be preempted. The better approach may be for employers to comply with the Act unless and until it is found to be preempted. That is particularly true with respect to the Section 125 plan requirement since that requirement will, for most employers, be minimally burdensome . . . ." (Utz, Miller & Kuhn, LLC)
Overview: Fourth Circuit Reaffirms Prohibition on FMLA Waivers in Release (PDF)
Excerpt: "Although employers routinely include waivers of Family and Medical Leave Act ('FMLA') claims in release agreements, a recent decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has again called that practice into question." (Winston & Strawn LLP)
Some Companies Are Providing Employees with the Option of Getting a Second Opinion
Excerpt: "Sometimes, especially during complex, expensive medical cases or emergencies, doctors will misdiagnose an illness or mistakenly suggest a certain treatment. The result is poor but costly medical care." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
'Pay-for-Performance' Less Likely to Improve Hospital Care Than Provision of Necessary Information
Excerpt: "[F]rom Spencer's Benefits Reports: Paying hospitals more money to improve their care for heart attack patients did not seem to significantly improve hospitals' performance, but giving hospitals the information they need to improve such care did. This was conclusion of a study recently conducted by researchers led by the Duke University Clinical Research Institute." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Some Chronically Ill Adults Wait for Medicare to Receive Treatment
Excerpt: "When uninsured adults with common chronic illnesses became eligible for Medicare, they saw doctors and were hospitalized more often and reported greater medical expenses than people who had had insurance. . . . [The] study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, is one of the first to follow a large group of people through that crucial time of transition from being ineligible for Medicare to receiving Medicare benefits." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Distorted Payment System Undermines Business Case for Health Quality and Efficiency Gains
Excerpt: "Efforts to improve the efficiency and quality of health care are unlikely to be successful if physicians and hospitals incur steep financial losses from success in accomplishing these goals . . . . Currently, most efforts to improve efficiency for a specific medical condition usually reduce the number of services per patient that can be billed, posing financial challenges for providers." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
UnitedHealth Wellness Program Cuts Deductibles
Excerpt: "A managed care company is starting to offer financial incentives for group health plan members who adopt healthy lifestyles. . . . UnitedHealth will provide credits toward the plan deductible for Vital Measures program members who refrain from smoking, keep their blood pressure and cholesterol levels under control, and meet body mass index benchmarks, the company says." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
Hospital-Only Coverage Targets Mid-Income Uninsured, Enrollees with High Deductibles
Excerpt: "More health plans are rolling out 'hospital-only' products that target middle-income individuals without insurance and small businesses that pass on rising health costs to employees through high-deductible plans, according to insurers that offer the products." (Managed Care Week via AISHealth.com)
Arkansas State Health Plan Off to Slow Start, Signing Up 665
Excerpt: "Arkansas' Department of Human Services' insurance program for small businesses has been slow to gain steam. Since December, 665 people with 178 Arkansas businesses have enrolled in ARHealthNet, a limited-benefit program for companies with low-income workers. State officials said then that the program could cover 80,000 people by late 2008." (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (Little Rock))
Overview: State Health Plan Regulation Continues - Requirements in Two New England States
Excerpt: "This e-Alert addresses some of [the most recent Massachusetts Health Care Reform Ac] developments and a less publicized set of requirements in Vermont." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)
Dominican Republic's Universal Health Care Plan to Go Into Effect in September
Excerpt: "Implementation of a new universal health care system has been postponed until September 1, 2007, to give the government more time to educate the public. The system will be financed by employer and employee contributions." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Opinion: 'National Health Care: Breeding Ground for Terror?'
Excerpt: "'[Fox] News host Neil Cavuto and the commentator Jerry Bowyer solemnly discussed how universal health care promotes terrorism. While this was crass even by the standards of Bush-era political discourse, Fox was following in a long tradition. For more than 60 years, the medical-industrial complex and its political allies have used scare tactics to prevent America from following its conscience and making access to health care a right for all its citizens." (The New York Times via Physicians for a National Health Program)
New Web Site: health08.org - Election News, Analysis, and Events
Excerpt: "With health care emerging as the top domestic issue in the 2008 presidential election, the Kaiser Family Foundation today launched a new website -- health08.org -- that will provide analysis of health policy issues, regular public opinion surveys, and news and video coverage from the campaign trail." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Job-Based Insurance Shrinking in California
Excerpt: "Less than half of California workers get health insurance through their jobs, according to a study set for release today. The rest find coverage through a partner or spouse, a government program or are uninsured. The study by the Center on Policy Initiatives, a San Diego nonprofit that researches issues affecting workers, found 49 percent of working Californians receive coverage through their employers, while 15 percent have insurance through somebody else . . . ." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Review of Claim Denials: Limitation of Argument to the Administrative Record
Excerpt: "A class consisting of members of collective bargaining units at Phillips Petroleum plants sued for benefits under a 'workforce stability plan' ('WFSP') when the plaintiffs were laid off following a merger." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Text of Corrections to Final IRS Regs on Application of Section 409A to Nonqualified Deferred Comp (PDF)
6 pages. (Internal Revenue Service)
Overview: The IRS Explains the Tax Consequences of Imposing Restrictions on Vested Stock
Excerpt: "In Revenue Ruling 2007-49, the Internal Revenue Service clarified the income tax consequences under section 83 of the Internal Revenue Code if restrictions are imposed on substantially vested stock causing that stock to become substantially nonvested." (Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP)
Overview: Proposed Regulations on Deductions for Entertainment Use of Business Aircraft (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "On June 14, 2007 the Internal Revenue Service issued proposed regulations . . . relating to the use of business aircraft for entertainment. These proposed regulations, which follow the initial guidance of Notice 2005-45, affect taxpayers that deduct entertainment expenses under Section 274(e)(2) of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended by the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004." (BNA Daily Tax Report via Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
Small Correction to IRS Prop. Reg. on Entertainment Use of Business Aircraft
Excerpt: "[T]he language 'General rule. Except as provided in paragraph (f)(4) of this section, for' is corrected to read 'General rule. For'." (Internal Revenue Service)
Newly Posted Events
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: 403(b) Plans
Nationwide on August 30, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: Amending and Restating Qualified Plans for EGTRRA
Nationwide on August 28, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: Comparing Roth and Traditional IRAs
Nationwide on August 9, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: Coverdell Education Savings Accounts
Nationwide on August 7, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: General Traditional IRA Distributions
Nationwide on August 21, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Beneficiary Distributions
Nationwide on August 16, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Required Minimum Distributions
Nationwide on August 14, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Update
Nationwide on August 30, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
2007 Web/Telephone Seminar: SEP Plans
Nationwide on August 2, 2007
presented by BISYS Retirement Services
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop
in California on August 15, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop
in Illinois on August 15, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Cross-Tested Plan Workshop
in Ohio on August 15, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Fiduciary Issues for Internal ESOP Trustees
in Illinois on October 23, 2007
presented by National Center for Employee Ownership
Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans
in District of Columbia on October 4, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Pension, Profit-Sharing, Welfare, and Other Compensation Plans - Webcast
Nationwide on October 4, 2007
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop
in Illinois on August 16, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop
in Ohio on August 16, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Safe Harbor 401(k) Plan Workshop
in California on August 16, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
The 20th Annual ERISA Litigation Conference
in New York on October 25, 2007
presented by West Legalworks
The 401k Service Training Program for Retirement Sales & Service Professionals
in Pennsylvania on August 20, 2007
presented by Financial Service Standards, LLC
Newly Posted Press Releases
Pension Reporter Government Forms Software from DATAIR
DATAIR Employee Benefit Systems, Inc.
Prudential Launches Simplified Long-Term Care Solution for Small to Mid-Size Business Owners
Prudential Financial, Inc.
In First Case of Its Kind, NASD Charges Former Securities America Broker With Misleading Union Retirement Plans About Receipt of More Than $280,000 in Improper Directed Brokerage Commissions, Other Payments
NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers)
Retirement Plan Guide Book for Small Employers Now Available
Benefit Publications, LLC
Small Businesses Adamantly Oppose AB 8
California Small Business Health Coalition
Closing the Health Insurance Gap: AmWINS Group Benefits Launches Limited Medical Plan for Uninsured and Underinsured Workers
AmWINS Group Benefits
Transcend Technologies Group, Inc. Announces Acquisition of Comm5 Web Systems
Transcend Technologies Group, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs)
Plan Administrator
for Third Party Administration Firm
in FL
National Marketing/Project Manager
for Gallagher Retirement Services
in ANY STATE
Retirement Plan Administrator/Consultant
for Noble-Davis Consulting, Inc.
in OH
Senior Counsel
for Lincoln Financial Group
in IN
Defined Benefit - Plan Specialist
for National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA)
in DC, VA
Health & Welfare Senior Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CA, DC, NY
Experienced Peer Reviewer
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Director of Operations
for BenefitStreet, Inc.
in KS
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: