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| October 18, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is World Congress
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| The 3rd Annual Consumer-Centric Healthcare Congress |
| Thursday, November 8-9, 2007 | Sheraton Crystal City Hotel | Arlington, VA
The 3rd Annual Consumer-Centric Healthcare Congress addresses the convergence of healthcare, financial services and technology, and the rise in healthcare consumerism fueled by the Internet and direct-to-consumer marketing from the perspectives of all the stakeholders. Click above for more information or to register. |
(a) New Guidance Documents
(None today.)
(b) News
AT&T, Verizon May Shift to Union-Run Health Funds
Excerpt: "AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. phone company, and No. 2 Verizon Communications Inc. may follow General Motors in trying to shift retiree health-care liabilities to a union-run fund, a trend that has broad implications for American workers." (Bloomberg News via tennessean.com)
House Committee Approves Mental Health Parity Legislation, Sends Bill to Chamber Floor
Excerpt: "The House Energy and Commerce Committee with a 32-13 vote on Tuesday became the third House committee to approve a measure (HR 1424), sponsored by Rep. 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." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Labor Group Says Schwarzenegger's Health Care Plan Doesn't Address Cost of Insurance
Excerpt: "Powerful California labor interests, backed by a key Democratic operative, have declared war on Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's ambitious health care proposal, a strategy that could pose problems for Hillary Rodham Clinton, who has made a similar plan a major component of her presidential campaign." (San Francisco Chronicle)
California Health Care Reform Debate 'Divisive,' USA TODAY Reports
Excerpt: "A proposal by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) that would require all state residents to obtain health insurance has become 'increasingly divisive, possibly jeopardizing major health legislation this year and highlighting the difficulties other state or national reform efforts might face,' USA Today reports . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
ALCOA Retirees Win One: Judge Says 'Intent of Parties' Can Be Considered in Suit
Excerpt: "Judge Thomas Phillips, the U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Tennessee, ruled Wednesday that the attorneys for thousands of ALCOA retirees could submit evidence to the court beyond the wording of the actual Collective Bargaining Agreement." (thedailytimes.com)
Unusual Behavior Enough for FMLA Mental Health Condition Notice
Excerpt: "The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a worker's claim that her employer did not inform her of her Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) rights after she suffered a mental breakdown when a stray dog meandered into her work area." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
(None today.)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Health-Related Absenteeism Cost Employers $48B
Excerpt: "The most common chronic conditions that led to 10 or more days of employee absences in 2003 from work were depression, sadness or mental illness, followed by any type of cancer and respiratory disorders, according to a recent study by the American Hospital Association (AHA)." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Poll Finds People Like Health Care Plans That Encourage Them to Change Their Behavior
Excerpt: "Losing money feels worse, dollar for dollar, than gaining money feels good. That's the conclusion of researchers at Princeton University's Institute for Advanced Studies who, in conjunction with Survey Sampling International (SSI), recently conducted a health care plan study. The survey found that people like to pay a standard monthly fee and co-pays for preventive tests when they are reimbursed for taking the tests." (Business Wire via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
More Insurers Are Marketing Child-Only Coverage as Employers Reduce Dependent Eligibility
Excerpt: "As employers step up scrutiny of dependent eligibility for company-sponsored health coverage -- and continue to require workers to contribute more for dependent insurance -- some health insurers say they have noticed an increase in the number of parents purchasing stand-alone health policies for their children. In response, some carriers are expanding availability of child-only health plans and stepping up marketing of such products." (HEALTH PLAN WEEK via AISHealth.com)
Some Companies Snuff Out Tobacco by Testing Workers and Applicants
Excerpt: "Here's what Homac Co. of Corcoran has to say to hard-core smokers who want a job: Don't bother. For two years, the maker of electrical connectors has been testing prospective employees for nicotine, just as it does for drugs and alcohol." (The Fresno Bee)
Report: Healthy People Are the Foundation for a Productive America (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "More and more employers, including hospitals, are recognizing that health status has a direct link to day-to-day productivity. They are taking new steps to promote health and wellness among their employees. Health care -- that helps employees stay well, recover and return to work after illness, and effectively manage chronic conditions -- not only benefits individuals but also has a positive effect for employers and the economy as a whole." (American Hospital Association)
Working Paper: Overweight in Adolescents -- Implications for Health Expenditures
Excerpt: "We consider two compelling research questions raised by the increased prevalence of overweight among adolescents. First, what factors explain variation in adolescent bodyweight and the likelihood of being overweight? Next, do overweight adolescents incur greater health care expenditures compared to those of normal weight?" (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Presidential Candidates Push Health Care Reform, but Who Will Pay?
Excerpt: "To pay for the added coverage, Democrats often suggest rolling back President Bush's tax cuts and ending the war in Iraq. Republicans tend to point to competition, deregulation and new efficiencies as ways to reduce costs." (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
Interactive Map of States Moving Toward Comprehensive Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "The . . . summaries of state coverage initiatives are current as of October 10, 2007. The map and summaries will be updated . . . to reflect developments as they occur." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
A Roadmap to Health Insurance for All: Principles for Reform
Excerpt: "Presidential candidates, governors, and members of Congress are advancing proposals to expand health insurance coverage to all Americans -- the most important step in improving access to quality health care. This report . . . explores the different options and how each may not only increase coverage for the uninsured, but also improve quality and efficiency and gain control over spiraling health care costs. Proposals are grouped into three approaches . . . ." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Quality, Affordable Health Care for All: Moving Beyond the Employer-Based Health-Insurance System (PDF)
134 pages. Excerpt: "The recommendations presented herein are those of the trustee members of the Research and Policy Committee and the responsible subcommittee. They are not necessarily endorsed by other trustees or by non-trustee subcommittee members, advisors, contributors, staff members, or others associated with CED." (Committee for Economic Development)
Opinion: Flawed Testing Could Result in Medicare Covering Fewer Breakthrough Medicines
Excerpt: "IF Congress overrides President Bush's veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, a little-known provision of the original House bill could be revived. As written, the provision would allocate $300 million to create a Center for Comparative Effectiveness that would test whether newer, more expensive drugs work better than their older and cheaper counterparts. Medicare would use the center's findings to help decide which drugs to cover." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Opinion: Child Care for Working Parents -- The Issue that Isn't Addressed
Excerpt: "'You have a work force that makes $8.78 an hour. They have no training. They have not been background checked, and we've put them in with children who don't have the verbal skills to even tell somebody that they're being treated badly,' said Linda Smith, the executive director of Naccrra. 'What is wrong with a country that thinks that's O.K.?'" (The New York Times; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
'Eldercare Generation' Cares About Continuing to Work: Are Companies Interested in Keeping Them?
Excerpt: "In an effort to attract and keep older employees, some employers have responded with a menu of benefits that, by law, are offered to all employees but clearly appeal to the older worker." (Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania)
Why Employers Should Care About Their Workplace -- and Their Employees
Excerpt: "[A] growing body of research is finally proving what advocates of workplace quality have known for decades: that the human beings who execute the goals of business are more than just cogs in a wheel. Truly engaging them can have an almost magical effect on the bottom line." (The Wall Street Journal Online via Career Journal.com)
Overview: The SEC's Emerging Concerns with Rule 10b5-1 Plans (PDF)
Excerpt: "Rule 10b5-1 plans . . . are coming under increasing scrutiny from the SEC. In a nutshell, Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 allows officers and directors of public companies to buy and sell their shares, even while in possession of material non-public information, as long as the purchase or sale takes place pursuant to a trading plan that was entered into with an independent broker when the insider did not possess material non-public information." (Winston & Strawn LLP)
Overview: IRS Partial Extension of Section 409A Amendment Deadline with Compliance Still Required This Year
Excerpt: "The IRS also made clear that, following the effective date of the regulations, the good faith compliance standard would no longer apply and compensation arrangements would be required to be in full operational and documentary compliance with the final regulations as of January 1, 2008." (Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP)
Fact Sheet: 2008 Social Security Changes
Excerpt: "Based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-W) from the third quarter of 2006 through the third quarter of 2007, Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries will receive a 2.3 percent COLA for 2008." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Opinion: Social Security Peg Is a Fix Boomers Can Embrace
Excerpt: "For the past 10 years or so, various lawmakers and Washington officials have sporadically tried to change the peg. Back in 2001, President George W. Bush appointed another Social Security commission. As it happened, that commission pushed for a serious reform of the wage peg. But the commission released its report in December of the same year and the findings got lost in the post-Sept. 11 haze. Lawmakers were thinking about Afghanistan, not pension formulas." (Bloomberg News)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Auto Enrollment: Set-Up Strategies for Higher Employee Contributions
Nationwide on October 29, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Creating A Policy Manual: Your Practical Guide To What Needs To Be Included
Nationwide on October 23, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Flextime Strategies That Boost Productivity And Your Bottom Line
Nationwide on October 30, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
New Frontiers for 403(b) Plans
in District of Columbia on October 24, 2007
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Washington Chapter
Salary Discussions: Effective Compensation Communication
Nationwide on October 31, 2007
presented by HRTrainingCenter.com
Wellness Programs - They Bring Good Things to the Bottom Line!
in District of Columbia on November 6, 2007
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Washington Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
Institute for Pension Plan Management Partners with ASPPA
ASPPA (American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries)
PBGC Protects Pensions at Werner Holding Co. Inc. (Greenville, Pennsylvania)
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
IRS Announces Pension Plan Limitations for 2008
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
2008 Inflation Adjustments Widen Tax Brackets, Raise IRA/401(k) Limits and Expand Tax Benefits
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
PacificSource Health Plans Partners with Assist America for Global Emergency Medical Assistance Services
Assist America, Inc.
Administaff's Retirement Plans Top $1 Billion In Assets
ELM Income Group Offers "New to the Industry" Provisions in Its Fixed Income Annuity
ELM Income Group, Inc
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Relationship Manager
for New York Life Retirement Plans Services
in MA
Financial Services Analyst
for The Newport Group
in FL
Human Resources Division Manager I/II - Benefits Division
for County of Riverside
in CA
Client Services Manager
for NADA Retirement Administrators, Inc.
in VA
Compliance Manager
for NADA Retirement Administrators Inc
in VA
Benefits Review Specialist
for Standard Insurance Company
in OR
Pension Consultant
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
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