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| October 31, 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
(None today.)
(b) News
U.S. Makes New Push on E-Health Records
Excerpt: "The Bush administration is recruiting about 1,200 doctors nationally to remove the paperwork from their medical practice in return for higher Medicare payments." (Yahoo! News)
Big 3's E-Drug Plan Boosts Use of Generics While Reducing Glitches, Analysis Shows
Excerpt: "Launched nearly two years ago, the first review of the initiative shows that it is not only protecting patients from the harmful consequences of medication errors, but is also helping them have better discussions with their doctors about medications at the time a prescription is written." (The Detroit News)
New Mexico Governor Richardson's Executive Order Requires State Vendors to Provide Health Insurance
Excerpt: "Gov. Bill Richardson . . . kicked off his new universal health care initiative by signing an executive order that requires state vendors to provide their employees health insurance." (Technology Marketing Corporation)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act Deadlines Approach
Excerpt: "Despite persistent questions about whether certain provisions are preempted by ERISA, The Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act (the Act) has started to apply to employers with the equivalent of 11 or more full-time employees in Massachusetts. With some employer deadlines approaching, we have prepared this e-Alert to review several basic requirements that the Act imposes on employers." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)
Summary: Proposed Changes to 2002 Trade Act's Health Provisions on COBRA and Health Care Tax Credit (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Two committees of the House of Representatives recently proposed several changes to the health provisions under The Trade Act of 2002. The 2002 Trade Act created a health care tax credit of 65% of the cost of qualified health insurance coverage for certain workers who were terminated due to globalization. The Act also gave these workers a second COBRA election period. Two bills that would either expand the COBRA rights for these workers or change the tax credit provisions are working their way through House Committees." (American Benefits Council)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Amid California Wildfires, Flex Is Key to Getting Workers Back on Job
Excerpt: "Atlanta-based Cox [Communications] immediately granted paid time off to employees who needed it and offered financial assistance to those staying in hotels. [T]his policy made it easier for people to come back to work. Within a couple days . . . 80 percent of . . . 2,200 employees were back on the job." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Failure, De-Installation of EHRs Abound, According to Study
Excerpt: "Failures of electronic medical-record systems are part of the lore of healthcare information technology. Not surprisingly, a recently released survey of healthcare IT use conducted by the Boston-based Medical Records Institute found data to back up the legends." (Modern Healthcare Online; free registration required)
Preparing the Way -- Disaster Readiness Planning for Health Insurance Plans
16 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he Board of Directors of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) formed the Readiness Task Force to discuss how the health insurance industry could mobilize and prepare for future events such as Hurricane Katrina. . . . One of the recommendations of the Readiness Task Force was to assemble some of the best practices and procedures employed by health insurance plans in emergency preparedness and contingency planning. This report is a result of that directive and it draws on expertise and experience from a wide range of AHIP's member plans." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Consumer Choice in the Health Insurance and Provider Markets: A Look at the Evidence Thus Far (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "As more pressure is exerted on consumers to engage more fully in their health care experiences, policy-makers will want to craft quality reporting interventions that have the greatest positive impact on consumer health. Though researchers have made great strides in this arena, future studies that build on this knowledge base will be essential to pinpoint mechanisms that facilitate informed consumer decision making in the health care sector." (AcademyHealth)
Employers Considering Wellness Programs Are Advised To Look Before Leaping (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "[E]mployers contemplating a workplace wellness program are well advised to consider that conditioning a reduction in health care costs on satisfying a health-related goal, such as actual smoking cessation or meeting a certain cholesterol level, may be subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Nondiscrimination Rules and/or federal and state discrimination statutes. In addition, regardless of the structure contemplated, employers should consider requirements for wellness programs that may arise under the HIPAA Privacy Rule (45 C.F.R. §§ 160,164)." (The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel, Inc.)
Rising Health Care Costs Top Concern of Companies in Brazil, According to Survey
Excerpt: "The survey, which drew responses from 222 companies, found that 57% of the companies had average medical plan cost increases of 10.2% -- considerably higher than the general inflation rate. The median per capita cost of health care reached R$160 (US$81.69, €59.26) per month in 2006, up 16% compared to 2005. Health benefit costs as a percentage of payroll have risen to an average of 10.7% for companies in Brazil." (Towers Perrin)
Overview: IRS Issues 2008 Inflation-Adjusted Limits for Pre-Tax Transportation and Other Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "In general, IRC § 132(f) allows employees to exclude from their gross incomes, the value -- up to certain limits -- of 'qualified transportation fringe' benefits provided by their employers. 'Qualified transportation fringe' benefits include – transportation between home and work in a 'commuter highway vehicle;' mass transit passes; and 'qualified' parking." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
Health Care Debit Cards Remain Convenient Tool Despite High-Profile Exit of American Express
Excerpt: "Despite American Express Co.'s decision to stop offering its health care-related debit cards at the end of the year, other major issuers will continue offering the credit cards to pay health care bills using employees' health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Health Care Credit Cards Are Stirring Debate
Excerpt: "As the price of healthcare keeps rising, health insurers are offering cash-strapped consumers a new way to pay their bills -- credit cards that only can be used for medical expenses. The cards typically feature low- or no-interest introductory periods, and they're tailored for use only at doctors' offices, pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare providers. The catch: Just like traditional plastic, the health cards often come with fees and high interest rates after the grace period for payment is over." (Star-Telegram.com; free registration required)
Do CDHPs Increase Use of Wellness Services?
Excerpt: "Although most consumer-driven health plans are designed to emphasize wellness and prevention to reduce future health care costs, experts say it is too early to tell whether plan members are using those kinds of services more frequently than members of traditional health plans." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Employer to Fine Unhealthy Workers
Excerpt: "The punitive approach taken by Indianapolis-based Clarian Health is a departure from the methods used by most employers, but it is permitted under the final rules the federal government issued in December 2006. Other employers are expected to follow suit." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Opinion: Lowering Health Care Costs by Empowering Employees
Excerpt: "Taking advantage of the dynamics of the marketplace has reduced 2008 county health care costs by more than a half-million dollars from 2006. Rates reflect the emphasis on prevention and wellness, financial incentives to save and, most important, the market power placed in the hands of individual employees who will now make decisions based on their own best interests. Why does this work so well in the public sector? Simply put, it's a matter of scale. Government spends more, so we can save more. The key dynamic of the high-deductible plan is not in an incentive to defer care; remember, preventative care is free." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; free registration required)
Overview: The 2008 Presidential Candidates on Health Care Reform, Updated Oct. 29, 2007 (PDF)
14 pages. 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)
A Call for Action -- The Final Report from the U.S. Bipartisan Commission on Comprehensive Health Care (PDF)
328 pages. Published September 1990. Excerpt: "The Pepper Commission, chaired by Sen. Jay Rockefeller, is all but forgotten. But the insights and recommendations contained in the commission's final report make for fascinating reading today and offer guidance as the nation ramps up for another try at major health reform. [The 18-page summary is at http://www.allhealth.org/publications/Uninsured/Pepper_Commission_Final_Report_Executive_Summary_72.pdf.]" (The Pepper Commission via Alliance for Health Reform)
Opinion: Health Care Debate's Real Issue is Who Decides
Excerpt: "In health care, the question is whether you, together with your doctor, will make your most personal and important health care decisions, or whether the government will make them for you. Government-run national health care systems are all about limiting choices. For example, nearly all national health care system impose global budgets, strictly limiting how much can be spent on health care. This leads to the rationing of care, either directly by denying certain procedures altogether, or indirectly by limiting the availability of modern medical technology. The United States has five times as many MRI units per million people and three times as many CT scanners as, say, Can.ada." (Examiner.com via Cato Institute)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Federal Employees' Union, Law Firm Partner to Pursue Reservists' Benefit Claims
Excerpt: "The American Federation of Government Employees has teamed up with a New York law firm to help federal employee reservists collect thousands of dollars in back pay. The union and Tully, Rinckey & Associates will co-represent about 10,000 AFGE members who claim they were improperly charged leave for reserve duties, even if such duties occurred on weekends, federal holidays or other days when they were not regularly scheduled to work." (GovExec.com)
2007 Director Compensation Survey of the 100 Largest U.S.-Based Companies Listed on NYSE and NASDAQ (PDF)
21 pages. Excerpt: "Over the past four years, this study has demonstrated increases in director compensation as the roles, responsibilities, and potential liability of outside directors have expanded significantly. The increases we saw in prior years, however, moderated last year. This year's study reports a plateau in compensation levels for outside directors, owing to flatter trends in cash compensation and continuation of trends in equity compensation design among NASDAQ and NYSE companies." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
The 2007 Top 250 Survey of Long-Term Incentive Grant Practices for Executives (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "Resuming a movement from last proxy season, pension-funds, activist investors, and their advisors (ISS, Glass-Lewis, etc.) continue to use shareholder proposals and voting for equity compensation plans and compensation committee members to push back on excessive practices. In the coming months, prospective legislation introduced by Rep. Barney Frank requiring shareholder approval of executive compensation programs could also take center stage in affecting Compensation Committee decision-making processes." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
Newly Posted Events
Free Web Seminar: "Uncover and Manage Your Plan's 401(k) Expenses"
in California on November 7, 2007
presented by TRI-AD
PSCA QDIA Webinar - Free
Nationwide on November 9, 2007
presented by Profit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)
What's Hot in Employment Taxes: Independent Contractor or Employee? - A Tax Talk Today Webcast
Nationwide on November 6, 2007
presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Extends Annual Reports Deadline After Wildfires Hit California
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
The Principal Financial Group Gives Sole Proprietors A New Way to Save for Retirement
Principal Financial Group
BenefitsZoom.com Offers Innovative Consulting Service To Those That Need It Most
BenefitsZoom LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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DB/DC Administrator
for Peery & Associates, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Retirement Services Facilitator
for National Life Group
in VT
Consulting Assistant
for McCready and Keene, Inc.
in IN
Data Processing Manager Position
for Hancel McCord Company
in TX
Call Center Manager, Retirement Plans
for The Newport Group
in NC
Retirement Plan Specialist
for Elliott Davis/Retirement Plan Advantage, LLC
in SC
Senior Plan Administrator
for NestEggs, Inc.
in FL
RVP/External Wholesaler
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
WRS Relationship Manager I
for Wachovia
in VA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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