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| October 15, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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| Meet Licensing and Recertification Requirements with the International Foundation |
| The International Foundation's suite of e-learning courses provides numerous options for those needing continuing education/recertification. There is a suite of courses which have been approved by HRCI -- and we're adding more options everyday. All courses deliver the quality content you'd expect from the International Foundation and are written by experienced benefit and compensation professionals. Topics range from introductory level to specific compliance issues. Watch for one-hour courses coming soon. |
(a) New Guidance Documents
(None today.)
(b) News
New Online Service Lets Patients Calculate Costs of Health Care at Hospital
Excerpt: "Hawaii Pacific Health has launched a new online service that calculates out-of-pocket costs for medical procedures at Kapiolani Medical Center at Pali Momi. The pilot program aims to help patients better understand the complicated pricing structure surrounding medical procedures . . . ." (Pacific Business News (Honolulu) via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Unscheduled Absences Cost Employers $760K a Year
Excerpt: "According to a survey from CCH, the nation's largest employers estimate unscheduled absenteeism costs their businesses more than $760,000 per year in direct payroll costs, and even more when lower productivity, lost revenue, and the effects of poor morale are considered." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
UAW Focuses on Ford; Chrysler's VEBA Funding Level Lower Than GM's
Excerpt: "United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger on Thursday said he expects the union to reach a contract agreement with Ford Motor that is similar to a tentative deal with Chrysler Group, which included creating a union-run voluntary employees' beneficiary association to assume the automaker's retiree health care liabilities, the Detroit Free Press reports . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
(None today.)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Controlling Prescription Drug Expenditures: A Report of Success (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Conclusions: A combination of interventions can successfully manage prescription drug spending while preserving utilization of chronic medications. Additional studies are needed to determine the effect of these cost-control interventions on other health outcomes." (The American Journal of Managed Care)
Value-based Insurance Design: Aligning Incentives to Bridge Divide Between Quality Improvement and Cost Containment (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Value-based insurance design (VBID) provides an opportunity to fundamentally change the way health benefits are structured, and to reframe the national debate on healthcare to focus on the value of health services -- not on cost or quality alone." (The American Journal of Managed Care)
Between Real Estate Savings and Lower Attrition, Telecommuting Is Saving Companies Millions
Excerpt: "Arguments for telecommuting often stress the advantages for employees of being able to work from home some or all of the time, ranging from the time they save by not having to commute to the ability it gives them to take care of errands or care for a sick child. But big companies with experience using telework say that the practice offers substantial benefits for employers as well, benefits that reach all the way to the bottom line." (Financial Week; free registration required)
NBER Working Paper: The Lifetime Costs and Benefits of Medical Technology
Excerpt: "Measuring the lifetime costs and benefits of medical technologies is essential in evaluating technological change and determining the productivity of medical care." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
2008 Annual Employee Health Care Costs Will Exceed $9,300; Employers See Reform Looming
Excerpt: "From Spencer's Benefits Reports: According to Towers Perrin's annual Health Care Cost Survey, the average corporate health benefit expenditure in 2008 will be $9,312 per employee an increase of 7% over 2007. The survey shows a significant cost differential for companies that are actively and effectively managing program performance. Those 'high-performing companies' will see annual per-employee costs of about $1,500 less than low performers in 2008, a significant advantage in today's intensely competitive markets." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
CIGNA/ICMA Local Government Employee Health Insurance Survey (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "In 2006, ICMA conducted a survey of local governments to determine the goals, needs, and concerns they have regarding their employee health insurance plans. . . . More than 2,200 local governments responded to the survey." (CIGNA/ICMA)
An Actuarial Analysis of the Impact of HR 1424, 'The Paul Wellstone Mental Health and Addiction Equity Act of 2007' (PDF)
22 pages. (Milliman)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Estate Planning for Same-Sex and Unmarried Couples
Excerpt: "By planning ahead, same-sex and unmarried couples can protect their assets and employ a tax-efficient transfer of wealth, especially with the help of permanent life insurance policies and the careful creation of an irrevocable trust." (The National Underwriter Company; free registration or paid subscription required)
Milliman's Monthly Benefit News and Developments, October 2007 (PDF)
2 pages. The newsletter provides a summary of the previous month's legislative, regulatory, and judicial information on employee benefits. (Milliman)
Levin Introduces Bill to Include Stock Option Compensation Under 162(m) $1 Million Cap
Excerpt: "Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) has introduced the 'Ending Corporate Tax Favors For Stock Options Act,' (S. 2116), which would eliminate the exemption for stock options granted to the CEO and five highest compensated executive officers under section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code." (HR Policy Association)
Overview of SEC Staff Observations in its Review Report of Executive Compensation and Related Disclosure (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "This letter summarizes the report's observations and suggestions to improve compliance. The full report may be found at www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/execcompdisclosure.htm. Individual comment letters and company responses will be posted on the SEC's EDGAR website no earlier than 45 days from the date the staff completes its review of a company's filing." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Federal Probes Find Improper Use of Religious Comp Time
Excerpt: "The 1978 law that created religious comp time makes no mention of taking money for unused time and expressly states that federal employees can attend religious events 'in lieu of overtime pay.' Regulations that the government created later, however, state that workers can receive money for unused portions of religious comp time when they change jobs or retire." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Firms Could be More Creative in Benefits Offerings for Recruits
Excerpt: "While most companies include time off, health insurance, and pension plans as part of their compensation packages, there are other types of benefits some organizations are offering to attract new talent." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Text of S. 2044 -- ''Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007'' (PDF)
11 pages. Excerpt: "To provide procedures for the proper classification of employees and independent contractors, and for other purposes." (U.S. Senate via American Benefits Council)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
When Health Insurance Reimbursement Becomes a Maze
Excerpt: "While you can refer to your health plan explanation of benefits for many issues, some are simply not clear-cut. For example, take the issue of a pre-existing condition. While the federal government has tried to make it more difficult to deny people benefits based on pre-existing medical conditions, it is still a fraught issue, particularly for those covered by individual, rather than group, health care plans." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Invitation to Kick-Off Meeting of the National Coalition on Benefits, Wednesday, October 17th (PDF)
Excerpt: "NCB Mission and Purpose: To work with Congress to maintain employees' and retirees' access to employer-provided uniform health and retirement benefits across states and localities and to ensure that federal health reform initiatives preserve ERISA benefits." (HR Policy Association)
Opinion: The Value Proposition in Healthcare (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "To engage our readers in lively discussion, The American Journal of Managed Care is inaugurating a series of editorials on value in healthcare. This month, Richard T. Clark, CEO of Merck & Co., provides his perspective. We invite you to share your thoughts with us about how value affects your industry, practice, and everyday lives." (The American Journal of Managed Care)
Opinion: Demonstration on Why We Need Single Payer Health Care
Excerpt: "While I will almost always advocate for a market based economic approach to allocating resources, health care is not an area where the profit motive should dominate decision making. Simply put, the end product is a patient's health. Private health insurance has a conflict of interest between the insurance company and the insured which will be resolved in favor of the insurance company a majority of the time." (Physicians for a National Health Program)
Health Plan Precedent Lesson -- Massachusetts' Universal Insurance Runs Into Difficulties
Excerpt: "In short, Massachusetts is struggling to reconcile the law's central tenet -- a requirement that everyone in the state carry insurance -- with the high, ever-growing cost of health care. That issue is at the crux of health care negotiations in California, too. Schwarzenegger wants everyone to have to carry insurance, much like the Massachusetts plan does; Democrats say it won't work without some assurance it will be affordable. But defining what's affordable, the Massachusetts experiment shows, isn't easy." (San Jose Mercury News via The Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights)
Republican Presidential Candidate McCain Announces Health Care Proposal that Focuses on Cost Containment
Excerpt: "Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Thursday at the Des Moines, Iowa, chapter of Rotary International announced details of his health care proposal, which seeks to expand health insurance to more U.S. residents and reduce costs, the Des Moines Register reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
A Market Makeover for Health Insurance: A Business Group Offers a Starting Point for Debate
Excerpt: "As the United States prepares for the next great debate on its ailing health-care system, support is growing for a shift from the traditional employer-based financing to publicly subsidized individual health insurance. . . . And this week the Committee for Economic Development (CED), a high-powered business group, will give a strong push to the idea with a report saying in blunt terms that business can no longer afford to pay the rising costs and lacks the clout to curb the forces that are driving health-care inflation." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Benefits Webinar - Free
Nationwide on October 30, 2007
presented by Ogletree Deakins
Health Care Options for Your Business - Webcast
Nationwide on October 17, 2007
presented by Wells Fargo
Qualified Retirement Plan Seminar
in Wisconsin on November 14, 2007
presented by Summit Benefit & Actuarial Services, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
National Save for Retirement Week October 21-27
NAGDCA (National Association of Government Defined Contribution Administrators, Inc.)
Financial Engines Signs 200th Managed Account Sponsor
Financial Engines, Inc.
UBS Global Asset Management and ACS Form Strategic Alliance to Offer End-to-End Retirement Solution for DC and DB Plans
Actuarial Systems Corporation (ASC)
Lincoln Financial Launches Small-to-Mid Size Plan Product
Lincoln Financial Group
Barclays Global Investors Introduces SponsorMatch
Barclays Global Investors
WisdomTree Launches EFT Based 401k Platform
WisdomTree Investments, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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401(k) Client Relationship Manager
for The Douglas Group
in CA, CO, MA, NJ, NY
Retirement Plan Manager
for Capital Group Companies
in VA
Attorney Benefits / ERISA
for Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLC
in AL
Senior Pension Administrator
for Retirement Benefit Solutions, LLC
in DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA
Senior ERISA Consultant
for Charles Schwab
in OH
401(k) Plan Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD
Assistant 401(k) Administrator
for Pollard & Associates, Inc.
in MD
Software Certifier
for SunGard Relius
in FL
Support Representative
for SunGard Relius
in FL
Consulting Plan Actuary
for July Business Services
in IL
401(k) Administrator
for DR Human Resources
in NY
Pension- Technical Consultant
for Pension & Estate Planners, Inc.
in DE, NJ, PA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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