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| September 28, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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(a) New Guidance Documents
IRS Rev. Proc. 2007-63: Update of Rules for Deemed Substantiation of Employee's Lodging, Meals and Incidental Expenses (PDF)
32 pages. Revenue Procedure 2007-63 updates the rules for determining the amount of an employee's ordinary and necessary business expenses for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses incurred while traveling away from home that are deemed substantiated under § 1.274-5 of the Income Tax Regulations. (Internal Revenue Service)
(b) News
House Committee Passes Mental Health Parity Bill
Excerpt: "The House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday voted 27-13 to approve a bill (HR 1424) sponsored by Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) that would require most health insurers to provide equal levels of coverage for physical and mental illnesses, CQ Today reports (Armstrong, CQ Today, 9/26). The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act -- named for the late senator who advocated for the issue -- would take effect on Jan. 1, 2008 . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Wal-Mart to Widen $4 Drug Program -- Retailer Says Prescription Sales Are Still Profitable
Excerpt: "The company says it will add eight generic drugs to its $4 list, including treatments for acne, attention-deficit disorder, glaucoma and fungal infections. It will also make available two types of birth control pills and one fertility drug for $9 a prescription." (USA TODAY)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
Health Claim Appeals: An Online Guide to Resolving Health Insurance Disputes
Excerpt: "[AHIP has established] a clearinghouse to provide you with the information you need to know about the appeals process for health insurance claims. This site is the first step in that process. In a short period of time, we will be adding additional content. The information here is intended to provide basic information and to answer commonly asked questions. Our goal is to ensure that every American gets the full value of their health insurance coverage." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Most Missouri Employers Must Offer Cafeteria Plans
Excerpt: "This new law takes effect as of January 1, 2008. Thus, any Missouri employer offering insured health coverage to its employees -- but not currently maintaining a cafeteria plan -- will want to take immediate action to comply with this law. Employees should be informed of this pre-tax premium option as part of any upcoming open enrollment, and a plan document should be drafted and formally adopted before the January 1st deadline." (Spencer Fane Britt & Browne LLP)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Long-Term Health of UAW and GM Tied to Plan
Excerpt: "The contract agreement reached between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union early Wednesday turns on a historic plan that is fraught with risk: moving the struggling automaker's $50 billion retiree health-benefit plan into a union-controlled fund." (Chicago Tribune; free registration required)
GM/UAW Deal Spotlights Benefits Debate
Excerpt: "The labor agreement reached by General Motors Corp. is the most striking example of a bigger trend sweeping U.S. health care: employers renouncing their decades-old role as chief health-care buyer. The automaker's iconic status in American industry, and the example it sets as one of the biggest U.S. employers, is likely to speed this shift - and drive discussion in the presidential campaign about overhauling the health system." (The Wall Street Journal via The Arizona Republic)
Health Care: You'd Better Shop Around
Excerpt: "A small number of early converts are starting to shop for health care, forcing some hospitals to drop prices and make other concessions to compete. And it's just the beginning." (The Star Tribune Company)
Top Health Plan Web Sites Reveal Much About Consumerism
Excerpt: "TheRatingsGuy.com released their list of Top 20 Health Plan Web sites at the Health Content '07 Conference in Philadelphia, on Monday. The ratings show what consumers prefer from their Web experience -- not what people who build Web sites or carriers think makes a good site. That's an important distinction, given the health benefits industry's mission to find out what 'consumer driven' really means . . . ." (Employee Benefit Advisor; free registration required)
Towers Perrin Health Care Cost Survey Projections
Excerpt: "As employers across the United States get ready to unveil next year's health plan changes -- and the costs associated with them to America's workers and retirees, new data from Towers Perrin indicate that the average corporate health benefit expenditure in 2008 will be $9,312 per employee -- an increase of 7% over 2007." (Towers Perrin)
U.S. Playing Catch Up in Health Care IT
Excerpt: "Health care IT in the U.S. lags behind that of many other countries, such as Denmark and New Zealand, but the prognosis is for gradual improvement if the country continues a steady regimen of investment and development." (eWEEK.com)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Family Values at Work: Why We Need Minimum Standards to Ensure a Family-Friendly Workplace
Excerpt: "'Family Values at Work' lays out six reasons for adopting new rules at work: Not many families have a wife at home full time. The lack of time to care harms families. Setting minimum standards to protect workers is a legitimate and necessary role of government. Flexibility works for families. Flexibility also pays off for employers and taxpayers. And voters want action." (9to5.org)
Arizona Groups Propose Health Care Plans for 2008 Ballot
Excerpt: "Two Arizona surgeons on Tuesday unveiled a 2008 statewide general election ballot proposal that would prevent mandated health coverage from ever being enacted in the state, the Arizona Republic reports. Jeffrey Singer, treasurer of the ballot measure campaign, said the proposal would preserve residents' rights to purchase or abstain from purchasing health insurance . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Opinion: About Single-Payer Insurance
Excerpt: "Perhaps the greatest conceit of health-care reform debates is the notion that free-market competition among private insurance companies will lower costs. Instead of a free market, the insurance industry is increasingly a monopoly market, now dominated by three national firms: UnitedHealth, WellPoint and Aetna." (Colorado Springs Independent via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Introductory Statement and Text of Protecting Employees and Retirees in Business Bankruptcies Act, S.2092 (PDF)
Excerpt: "S. 2092. A bill to amend title 11, United States Code, to improve protections for employees and retirees in business bankruptcies; to the Committee on the Judiciary." (American Benefits Council)
General Motors Becomes the Latest Company to Offload Retiree Healthcare Liabilities to a Trust. Who Will Be Next?
Excerpt: "VEBAs became popular after a 2003 tax court ruling made the trusts more viable. The ruling, in response to a dispute brought by Wells Fargo & Co., eases the annual funding restriction on companies setting up new trusts, allowing employers to contribute large lump-sum amounts for current retirees and take the full tax deduction." (CFO.com)
Michigan State Lawmakers Float a First: A Tax on Health Care Benefits
Excerpt: "In a possible first, individuals would pay state income tax on health benefits from their employers under one scenario lawmakers are considering to resolve the state's budget crisis. Rep. George Cushingberry Jr., D-Detroit, said extending the income tax to benefits, as well as wages, would allow for a lower income tax rate increase as part of a final budget agreement. Currently, benefits are not taxed as income." (Detroit Free Press)
The Impact of Demographic Shifts on the Benefits Landscape: Single Women Voicing Benefits Needs
Excerpt: "Deven McGraw, 43, chief operating officer of the National Partnership for Women & Families, a nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., thinks single women in particular get overlooked sometimes when it comes to work-life benefits. However, rather than blame the employer, she believes it's up to the employee to assert herself and make sure she's getting the same access to benefits as her colleagues." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
ERISA Could Prevent State Efforts To Expand Health Care Access, According to Christian Science Monitor
Excerpt: "The Christian Science Monitor [today] examined how the Employee Retirement Income Security Act -- a federal law enacted in 1974 that exempts employer-sponsored pension plans, as well as health insurance and other benefits provided by employers, from state regulation -- could 'invalidate many of the budding efforts by states and cities to expand access to health care.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Not Notice 2007-90: Death of Service Provider; Application of Section 409A to Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans (Humor) (PDF)
This just in, from an unknown source; 7 pages. Excerpt: "This notice provides additional guidance on the definition of a service provider's death for purposes of the application of section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code to nonqualified deferred compensation plans. This guidance includes: A more precise definition of death ('separation from life'); Presumptions the Service will apply in determining whether a service provider has experienced a separation from life under § 409A; [and] Examples to help illustrate the Service's position on separation from life." (Not the Internal Revenue Service)
Text: Estimates of Federal Tax Expenditures for Fiscal Years 2007-2011 (PDF)
46 pages. (U.S. Joint Committee on Taxation)
Employers May Need to Reconsider Their Form 5500 Filings
Excerpt: "The new IRS mailings should cause employers to reconsider filing any delinquent Form 5500s under the Delinquent Filer Voluntary Compliance Program. If an employer files under this program, prior to the initiation of any action by the IRS, the penalties are minimal, compared to the draconian penalties that could have previously be imposed -- such as IRS penalties of $15,000 per plan year and DOL penalties of $1,100 per day." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Integrated Disability and Retirement Systems in Chile (PDF)
29 pages. Excerpt: "Chile has successfully integrated disability insurance into its retirement system. It is prefunded and it provides financial incentives (and opportunities) for private firms to control costs. If a worker becomes disabled before retiring, he receives a defined benefit. Part of this benefit is covered by his or her own retirement account." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
Newly Posted Events
Specialty Medication Coverage: Plan Design Decisions Teleweb
Nationwide on October 11, 2007
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
NAGDCA Elects 2007-2008 Executive Board
NAGDCA (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
New Frontier or Familiar Ground? Opportunities and Challenges for Institutional Asset Managers Post PPA and FAS 158
Chatham Partners
Wells Fargo Survey Finds Sharp Increase in Automatic 401(k) Plans and Diversified Default Funds
Wells Fargo
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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