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| September 19, 2007 |
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New Compliance Rules; News
Negotiations Between UAW, GM Continue; VEBA's Complexities Drawing Out TalksExcerpt: "Although United Auto Workers and General Motors contract negotiators generally agree on creating a voluntary employees' beneficiary association that would shift more than $50 billion in retiree health care obligations to the union, a contract agreement 'remained elusive' during talks on Monday, the Detroit Free Press reports . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Health Plan Overhauled at Wal-Mart
Excerpt: "Wal-Mart, long criticized for its health care coverage, unveiled a broad plan yesterday that is intended to cut employee costs, expand coverage and offer workers thousands of cheap prescription drugs." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Wal-Mart Shakes Up 2008 Health Care Benefit Offerings
Excerpt: "Wal-Mart has made some significant changes to its health care benefits this year, including an increased number of plan choices and premium choices and a decrease in prescription drug prices." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Congress Tells NFL to Fix Pension Disability Plan, or Else
Excerpt: "The NFL and its union, already under heavy fire from former Bears coach Mike Ditka and others who claim officials deny aid to retired players with debilitating injuries, yesterday received a no-nonsense directive from Congress: Fix your pension and disability policy or we'll do it for you." (NYDailyNews.com)
Senate Passes Mental Health Parity Bill
Excerpt: "The Senate passed legislation [last] night that would require equal health insurance coverage for mental and physical illnesses when policies cover both. The bill, which passed by unanimous consent, moves advocates one step closer in their years-long quest for a concept known as mental health parity." (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)
Description of the Chairman's Amendment to the Revenue Provisions of H.R. 1424 (PDF)
9 pages. Description Of The Chairman's Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute To The Revenue Provisions Of H.R. 1424, The 'Paul Wellstone Mental Health And Addiction Equity Act Of 2007" (U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation)
Estimated Revenue Effects of the Chairman's Amendment to the Revenue Provisions of H.R. 1424 (PDF)
1 page. Estimated Revenue Effects Of The Chairman's Amendment In The Nature Of A Substitute To The Revenue Provisions Of H.R. 1424, The 'Paul Wellstone Mental Health And Addiction Equity Act Of 2007,' Scheduled For Markup By The Committee On Ways And Means, Subcommittee On Health, On September 19, 2007 (U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation)
Compliance Rule Summaries/Analysis/Filed Comments
Partially Insured MEWA Subject to State Regulation to Extent Regulation Not Inconsistent with ERISAExcerpt: "EBSA found that the MEWA was not fully insured as, as such, would be subject to state insurance regulation only to the extent that state law was not 'consistent with' Title I of ERISA." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Trends; Surveys; Research
Making Obese Pay Higher Health Premiums QuestionedExcerpt: "Some companies nationwide are tackling health-care costs by charging obese employees higher premiums. But local experts, including attorneys who represent employers, have poohpoohed the approach because they believe the solution could be worse than the problem. Commack attorney Allen Breslow said that the weight-differential costs could violate obese employees' rights." (Newsday)
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Offers New Approach to Customer Group Wellness
Excerpt: "The Blues' new approach to wellness and care management -- called Consultative Tailoring -- combines the Blues' vast care management capabilities and customer group-specific health data with Blues consultants who initially will work directly with the largest customer groups (with 1,000 or more members) to understand their goals, health risks and highest potential areas for health improvement." (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
State Mandated Benefits: Contraceptives, as of August 1, 2007
Excerpt: "While almost all insurance plans cover prescription drugs, many still do not provide coverage for a range of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices. A number of states, however, require insurance policies that cover other prescription drugs to also cover all FDA-approved contraceptive drugs and devices, as well as related medical services. Some of these policies allow employers or insurers to refuse to cover contraceptives on religious or moral grounds." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Employers Should Prepare Retirees for Medicare Part B Premium Cost
Excerpt: "In general, the cost for Medicare Part B is based upon an individual's adjusted gross income (AGI), as modified. Tax-exempt interest must be added back to AGI in determining the amount of monthly premiums for Medicare Part B. If modified AGI is over $80,000 for a single individual, or over $160,000 on a joint return, a retiree will have to pay Part B premiums of $105.80 per month, not the $93.50 for the average employee." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Boating Challenge Allows Coworkers to Bond, Get Healthier
Excerpt: "Sixteen employers from St. Louis earlier this summer completed an employee wellness program with a unique twist. They joined forces to promote healthy lifestyles in The Gateway to Health Challenge, a 12-week program culminating in a health fair and dragon boat festival on the city's Creve Coeur Lake." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
New Tools Help Employers Gauge Health Claims and Absence Costs
Excerpt: "Getting a reliable measurement of health and absence costs may be difficult, especially for fully insured employers without access to real health claims data. Two new tools may supply the answer to that problem." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Hospital-Comparison Web Sites Seen As Confusing
Excerpt: "A study of six Web sites that offer hospital comparison information to consumers found those sites may give inconsistent results. According to a research paper published in the September Archives of Surgery, a Journal of the American Medical Association publication, the various public and private sites use different standards to measure and score quality, which leads to confusing results for consumers who are increasingly turning to the Internet to gather information on hospitals." (Modern Healthcare; free registration required)
Pharmacist-Coordinated Health Management Delivers ROI (PDF)
Pages 1-2 of pages. Excerpt: "While the health care costs for employees with chronic conditions will continue to be higher than average per employee costs, these pharmacist-coordinated programs are helping to narrow the gap." (Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute, LP)
Insurers Limit Coverage of Some High-Cost, Experimental 'Specialty Drugs'
Excerpt: "Health insurers 'are pushing back' against the high cost of new 'specialty drugs' by limiting coverage of the drugs 'to only the disease for which they are specifically approved by [FDA] -- or for which there is extensive evidence of efficacy in clinical trials, the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
The Role of Private Insurance in Financing Long-Term Care (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt: "This brief will discuss the potential benefits of long-term care insurance, review its current structure and status, and explore possible explanations for low takeup rates. Finally, it will consider future issues surrounding the role of this product." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Policy; Opinion; Advocacy
Hearing: The Family and Medical Leave Act - Extending Coverage to Military Families Left at HomeChairwoman Woolsey Statement. Excerpt: "I am honored to have introduced H.R. 3481, the House companion to Senators Dodd and Clinton's legislation, S.1975, which amends the FMLA to provide 6 months of leave for spouses, children, parents and other 'next of kin' to care for injured service members." (U.S. House Committee on Education and Labor)
Overview: The 2008 Presidential Candidates on Health Care Reform, Updated Sept. 17, 2007 (PDF)
Excerpt: "While it is still early in the campaign process and plan details are incomplete for most candidates, these summaries provide a snapshot of the candidates and their blueprint for reform. Our intent is to be thorough and accurate in compiling what they have said or indicated they want to do." (Council for Affordable Health Insurance)
Opinion: The Imminent Death of the Insurance Industry
Excerpt: "Andrew Horowitz submits: This is frank discussion about growing epidemic that is set to become one of this countries biggest scams. It is so monumental that it has the potential of bringing down the entire insurance industry. Seriously. If you scare easily, stop reading now. (Note: Podcast 28 has an amazing interview with Steven Leimberg on this subject, subscribe via iTunes to ensure delivery on Sept 19th.)" (Yahoo! Finance)
Opinion: Health Reform Failure
Excerpt: "Now, according to the Census Bureau's latest figures, we're back where we started, with 47 million uninsured in 2006 - up 2.2 million since 2005. But this time, most of the uninsured are neither poor nor elderly. The middle class is being priced out of healthcare. Virtually all of this year's increase was among families with incomes above $50,000; in fact, two-thirds of the newly uncovered were in the above-$75,000 group. And full-time workers accounted for 56 percent of the increase . . . ." (Steffie Woolhandler and David U. Himmelstein, The Boston Globe via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
When Is an Extension Not an Extension? - An Update on 409A Compliance Deadline
Excerpt: "IRS Notice 2007-78 extended the document amendment deadline until December 31, 2008. However, the extension is subject to a significant pre-condition. Generally speaking, the extension will only apply to an arrangement if the time and form of payment for that arrangement are documented before 2008. In other words, employers will still have to make fundamental decisions about their deferred compensation arrangements and make sure required documentation is in place before the end of 2007." (Poyner Spruill)
Experimental Estimates of Compensation Levels/Trends for Workers in the 15 Largest Metropolitan Areas, 2004-05
Excerpt: "This article introduces experimental ECI and ECEC estimates for the 15 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, as ranked by total population in 2000." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Senators Seek Retirement and Health Care Reforms
Excerpt: "The U.S. Senate's top budget overseers on Tuesday joined forces to tackle escalating costs of retirement and health care programs they say threaten to bankrupt the government, but they would wait until after next year's elections for recommendations to be made public." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
Overview: Requirement for 2007 Actions for 409A Plan Despite Relief from Written Plan Requirement
Excerpt: "In Notice 2007-78, the IRS has extended the December 31, 2007, deadline for complying with the written plan requirement under the final regulations for Code §409A to December 31, 2008. Although the written plan requirement has been delayed, the Notice requires the plan to document in writing certain key 409A compliance provisions by December 31, 2007. In effect, this is a 'mini-document' requirement." (SunGard Corbel LLC)
Newly Posted Events
Coal Sales Contracts and Mining Retiree Health Benefits - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Death, Old Age, Retirement and Withdrawal: A 2007 Partnership Law Update - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Executive Compensation Institute: Complying with Section 409a (Part 1) - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Executive Compensation Institute: Complying with Section 409a (Part 2) - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Retirement, Deferred Compensation, and Welfare Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers - Part 3 - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Retirement, Deferred Compensation, and Welfare Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers - Part 4 - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Retirement, Deferred Compensation, and Welfare Plans of Tax-Exempt and Governmental Employers - Part 5 - Webcast
Nationwide on September 20, 2007
presented by West LegalEdcenter
Understanding Health FSA Reimbursements: Rules for Substantiation, Debit Cards, and Claims Procedures
Nationwide on October 18, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)/Thomson Tax & Accounting
Newly Posted Press Releases
Adam Pozek Testifies On DC Benefit Statement Issues Before DOL On Behalf Of Sentinel Benefits Group, ASPPA & CIKR
ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
Families USA/Federation Of American Hospitals Announce "Health Care 2008: Presidential Candidate Forums"
Kaiser Family Foundation
Watson Wyatt Data Services' Newest Report Covers Latest Trends in Compensation Policies & Practices
Watson Wyatt Data Services
New BenefitStreet 401(k) Platform to Combine Exchange Traded Funds and Mutual Funds
BenefitStreet, Inc.
Segal Survey Predicts Declines In Trends for Fifth Consecutive Year
The Segal Company
Council Urges Ways and Means Subcommittee to Pass Camp Mental Health Parity Substitute
American Benefits Council
Governor Rendell Announces Plan to Save Taxpayers Money, Protect School Employee Health Benefits
Pennsylvania Office of the Governor
Wal-Mart Announces Improvements to 2008 Health Benefits Package
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Don Trone to Lead Independent Foundation for Fiduciary Studies; Blaine Aikin Named CEO of fi360
Fiduciary360 (fi360)
Medical Travel Today Debuts as Premier Medical Tourism Newsletter Serving All Industry Stakeholders
CPR Strategic Marketing Communications
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Compliance Manager, Retirement
for TRI-AD Actuaries
in CA
401(k) & DC Administrator
for Flynn, Shojinaga & Associates, Inc.
in CA
Disability Benefits Analyst
for Standard Insurance Company
in NY
Implementation Project Lead
for Vanguard
in PA
Pension Administration Services Supervisor
for Milliman, Inc.
in TX
Client Relations Manager, Philadelphia, PA
for ING, US Financial Services
in PA
Actuary Practice Leader
for MassMutual Financial Group
in MA
ERISA Compliance Administrator
for MFS/Sun Life Retirement Services
in MA
Administrative Assistant -- New Business Installation
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Daily Valuation Processor and Participant Services Representative
for Retirement Planners
in VA
401(k) Administrators
for Matthews Benefit Group Inc.
in FL
Handy Links:
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- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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