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| October 29, 2007 |
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(a) New Guidance Documents
(None today.)
(b) News
CalPERS Looks at Putting Big Health Plans Under One Overseer
Excerpt: "The California Public Employees' Retirement System, stumped by ever-rising healthcare costs, is eyeing a promising military model in its own back yard. The giant pension fund wants to know if it can get a better deal and improve care to the 1.2 million active and retired government workers in its health benefits program by hiring a single administrator to handle everything from medical management to contract negotiations." (Sacramento Business Journal via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Insurer Fighting to Hang on to Union, Municipal Business in Massachusetts
Excerpt: "Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts' lucrative business of selling health insurance to municipalities and unions is under attack since a law was enacted in June allowing cities and towns to join the health insurance plan for state employees." (The Boston Globe)
Ohio May Solidify Moms' Right to 12 Weeks Maternity Leave
Excerpt: "The Ohio Civil Rights Commission will consider a proposal . . . that would guarantee all working mothers in the state at least 12 weeks of maternity leave without fear of losing their jobs. The change would supersede the federal Family and Medical Leave Act by extending guaranteed pregnancy leave to Ohio employees no matter how long they've worked at a company, to part-time workers and to anyone at a company with at least four employees." (The Plain Dealer)
Chrysler Workers Approve Contentious Labor Pact
Excerpt: "Among its cost-saving provisions, the Chrysler contract will establish a trust fund to take over the company's roughly $19 billion obligation for health care for more than 55,000 Chrysler retirees and 23,000 surviving spouses." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
IRS Releases 2008 Reporting Forms and Instructions for HSA and Archer MSA Trustees and Custodians
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Remember that these 2008 forms aren't to be used until 2009, when reporting for the 2008 tax year is due. Note that employers and account holders of HSAs and Archer MSAs also have IRS reporting obligations. Employers must report their contributions to employees' HSAs and Archer MSAs on Form W-2. HSA account holders must report HSA information on Form 8889, which is filed with Form 1040 . . . . Archer MSA account holders must file Form 8853 with Form 1040 to report information about their Archer MSAs." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Overview: IRS Goes After Abusive IRC Sec. 419(e) Schemes
Excerpt: "From Spencer's Benefits Reports: In two notices and a revenue ruling issued on October 18, the Internal Revenue Service has provided a series of warnings and cautions in an attempt to curtail the growing use of certain trust arrangements under IRC Sec. 419(e), which are being sold to professional corporations and other small businesses as welfare benefit funds." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
Failure to Provide Election Notice to Spouse Violated COBRA but Penalties Against Employer Were Not Justified
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: DOL COBRA notice regulations issued in 2004 contain detailed guidance on how to provide notice to multiple qualified beneficiaries, resolving much of the conflict in the case law. Under the regulations, a covered employee and spouse may be notified by furnishing a single notice addressed to both of them if based on the most recent information available to the plan, the spouse resides at the same location as the employee." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Employer Disaster Relief Payments to Workers Affected by California Wildfires (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Many employers are seeking to help their employees devastated by the wildfires occurring in Southern California. In considering how to provide financial assistance, employers should consider the . . . general federal tax guidelines." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Health Consumerism Impacting Behavior, According to Survey
Excerpt: "The percentage of adults making cost-conscious decisions regarding health care is on the rise, according to the just released 2007 EBRI Health Confidence Survey. Behavioral changes have been registered in the prescription-drug area for some years -- and the latest findings are not all good news as 28 percent of adults report not filling prescriptions or skipping medications because of cost." (Dallas L. Salisbury via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
HR's Inaccurate Perceptions Revealed by Harris Interactive on Behalf of Spherion Corporation
Excerpt: "Many HR executives believe employees would rather have good managers and supervisors than more money and better benefits. A new study concludes the executives are way off base." (Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Lawsuits and Legislation Fail to Ensure Prompt Payment from Insurers to Health Care Providers
Excerpt: "By 2007, all 50 states had some form of law penalizing health insurers for late payments. Yet the problem persists, physicians say. Insurers have found loopholes to get around the deadlines and are using federal law to slip out of state laws, doctors say." (American Medical Association)
Retirees' Costs Worry Officials: Jurisdictions Must Set Aside Health Funds
Excerpt: "There's a big bill in the mail for many state and local governments, including several in the Washington area, as accounting regulations imposed this year begin requiring them to calculate the future cost of retiree health insurance and set aside money to pay for it." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
2006-07 Survey of Wellness Programs at Business Roundtable Member Companies (PDF)
56 pages. Excerpt: "Ask any group of chief executive officers (CEOs) to name their companies' greatest asset and they will almost always say, 'Our employees.' As business leaders and as people, CEOs understand the importance of having a qualified, productive and engaged workforce -- so it is no surprise that Business Roundtable's 2006-07 Wellness Survey reveals 'healthier employees' as the number one reason cited by member companies for having a corporate wellness program." (Business Roundtable)
Report Outlines Plans for State-Level Health Information Exchanges
Excerpt: "Each state should work toward implementing a public-private entity for governing health information exchanges and expanding interoperability, according to a preliminary report by the Foundation of Research and Education arm of the American Health Information Management Association, Health Data Management reports. According to the report, 'State-based [health information exchange] efforts must address the legal, regulatory and fiscal policies that drive accountabilities and structure incentives for insurers, providers and agencies that serve the state's population.'" (California HealthCare Foundation)
Health Care Advocates Say Government Support of Electronic Data Can Improve Care and Prevent Errors
Excerpt: "U.S. health-care providers continue to make errors that hurt tens of thousands of patients each year, and e-health records could prevent many of those problems, said Dr. Alan Lotvin, senior vice president of oncology for Magellan Health Services Inc. The U.S. health-care system is failing patients 'despite the fact we have the knowledge and the technology to really do a much, much better job.'" (PC World via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Few Employers Offering CDC-Approved Stop Smoking Program
Excerpt: "A new study by a business advocacy group found that only a small fraction of employers polled offer smoking cessation programs to workers that are as comprehensive as recommended by federal health officials. A Business Insurance report said the National Business Group on Health (NBGH) -sponsored survey found only 2% of employers offering programs that fit within U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Product Combines Workstation, Treadmill
Excerpt: "A number of employers apparently are willing to let their workers walk. Steelcase Inc. says many companies have expressed interest in its newest product, which combines an office workstation with a treadmill so workers can burn calories while earning a paycheck. The nation's largest office furniture maker will begin taking orders for its Walkstation beginning Nov. 19." (AP via The Washington Post; free registration required)
Massachusetts Medical Society Podcasts: Why 'Consumers' Can't Rein in the Cost of Health Care
Excerpt: "Maggie Mahar, Ph.D., author of 'Money-Driven Medicine,' contrasts the consumer-driven model of health care with the patient-centered model, and concludes that patient-centered health care is more likely to provide better quality better patient experience, and perhaps even control costs more effectively. Excerpted from remarks delivered at the Massachusetts Medical Society's 2007 State of the State of Health Care Leadership Forum." (Massachusetts Medical Society)
NewsLetter on Total Health Management (PDF)
4 pages. Sponsors of multiemployer health plans that want to adopt THM should take the following into consideration: Data analytics to identify plans' cost drivers, Developing multi-year strategic plans for implementing THM programs that target those cost drivers, Implementing disease management and wellness programs, Redesigning plan provisions to eliminate barriers to needed care and provide incentives to comply with recommended care for particular diseases and/or conditions, Evaluating vendors and negotiating contracts to ensure collaborative support of THM programs . . . ." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Full Committee Hearing on 'Health Insurer Consolidation: The Impact on Small Business'
The target page provides links to witness testimony at the hearing held by the House Committee on Small Business on October 25, 2007. (U.S. House Committee on Small business)
Opinion: Health Care Crisis
Excerpt: "According to the IOM, an estimated 18,000 adults die each year because they are uninsured and can't get appropriate health care. Hospitalized patients without health insurance receive fewer needed services and lower-quality care, and have a greater risk of dying in the hospital or shortly after discharge than patients with insurance. Uninsured victims with trauma due to an auto crash are 37 percent more likely to die of their injuries." (The Baltimore Sun; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Why the Law Firm Pillsbury Eliminated Mandatory Retirement (PDF)
3 pages. (Law.com via Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)
Presentation: Fiscal, Health, and Retirement Challenges (PDF)
44 pages. Presentation by the Comptroller General David M. Walker, before the Conference of Consulting Actuaries' annual conference, in San Antonio, Texas, on October 22. (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
New York Adjusts Stock Option Allocation Rules for Part-year Residents
Excerpt: "The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance has modified amended rules for the tax treatment of stock option grants for non-residents and part-year residents." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Follow the Money: How to Handle Cafeteria Plan Salary Reductions
Nationwide on November 8, 2007
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)/Thomson Tax & Accounting
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
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Restitution For Pension Plans Of Defunct Tennessee Company
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
AMF Bowling Selects Great-West Retirement to Manage 401k Plan
Great-West Retirement Services
House Ways and Means Committee Proposes Cutback in Benefits of Stock Options in S ESOP Companies
ESOP Association
42.8% of Corporations Offer Some Type of Consumer-Driven Health Care Option, New survey looks at employee benefits offered in several employment sectors
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
ftwilliam.com Announces The Development Of A Defined Contribution Plan Testing Module
ftwilliam.com
Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute Research Confirms Employers' Drug Cost Increases Remain in Single Digits
Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI)
BHCO Capital Management Inc. Is Certified For Fiduciary Excellence
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)
Rogers Capital Management, Inc. Is Certified For Fiduciary Excellence
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)
Legal Advantage, LLC Appoints Regional Sales Director - Boston, MA
Legal Advantage, LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Second Vice President, DC Administration
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in TX
Pension Administrator/TPA
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in CA
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