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| November 6, 2007 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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| Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press |
| The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers. |
(a) New Guidance Documents
(None today.)
(b) News
Same-Sex Benefits to Have Day in Michigan Court
Excerpt: "The Michigan Supreme Court [today] will begin weighing whether state universities and other public-sector employers can provide health insurance to the partners of g.ay workers." (AP via Traverse City Record-Eagle)
Highmark Offers the Ultimate Get-Well Card
Excerpt: "Just in time for the holidays, you'll be able to buy Dad a gift card that pays for his semiannual trip to the urologist. That's gotta rank below socks and underpants, no? But Highmark Inc., the Pittsburgh-based health insurer, hopes its new Healthcare Gift Card will encourage people who might be reluctant to visit the doctor or spend their money on prescriptions -- namely, seniors and college students -- to do so." (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
WellPoint Agrees to Stop Using 'Burdensome' Agreements with Providers in California
Excerpt: "WellPoint, Inc. unit Blue Cross of California will stop using 'burdensome confidentiality agreements' in provider contract negotiations, according to an agreement with the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC)." (Health Plan Week via AISHealth.com)
Clarian Won't Dock Workers Who Fail to Meet Health Standards
Excerpt: "Clarian Health apparently has decided the punitive approach may not be the best way to motivate employees to shape up. The Indianapolis hospital system has abruptly ended a plan -- which Clarian had touted on national TV just months before -- to dock workers up to $30 out of their paychecks every two weeks if they did not control certain risk factors such as body-mass index, high cholesterol and high blood sugar." (IndyStar.com)
Lawsuit Over San Francisco Health Plan Goes to Court
Excerpt: "A federal judge heard arguments Friday on whether employers in San Francisco should be required to help pay for a new city program designed to provide basic health care for uninsured residents. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White heard from attorneys for the city, labor unions and a local restaurant owner's group. The Golden Gate Restaurant Association is seeking an injunction to block the employer mandate from taking effect on January 1." (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
From the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation: Text of Extensive Comments on Proposed Cafeteria Plan Regs (PDF)
37 pages; filed November 5, 2007. Very well-written: clear, precise; includes explanation of issues and a detailed suggested revision for each issue. (Employers Council on Flexible Compensation at http://www.ecfc.org)
Text of American Benefits Council Comments to IRS on Proposed Section 125 Cafeteria Plan Regulations (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "Although many of the rules in the proposed cafeteria plan regulations are helpful clarifications, employers and service providers are concerned about several aspects of the rules, including the IRS' position that any mistake in the plan document, or any mistake in administering the plan, will result in adverse tax consequences that impact all cafeteria plan participants." (American Benefits Council)
2008 Assessments Under the New York Health Care Reform Act (PDF)
2 pages. The target page reports the recently announced 2008 covered lives assessments under the New York Health Care Reform Act (HCRA). (The Segal Group, Inc.)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
EHRs Lack Features To Boost Patient Care, New York City Official Says
Excerpt: "Electronic health record systems available to physicians and clinics do not support disease prevention or enhance patient care, Farzad Mostashari, head of New York City's Primary Care Information Project, recently said at a House subcommittee hearing, Government Health IT reports." (California HealthCare Foundation)
AHIP Long-Term Care -- Key Survey Findings
9 pages. Excerpt: "One in four Baby Boomers erroneously believe they have coverage for long-term care expenses, according to new survey data released today by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The survey found that many Baby Boomers have misconceptions about who pays for long-term care services and have not thought about long-term care insurance." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
CIGNA Could Set Trend with Doctor Ranking Deal
Excerpt: "CIGNA Healthcare's agreement with the New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office to revamp its doctor ranking program may become the standard for similar programs at other health insurers. Ratings will emphasize quality considerations in addition to pricing." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
NYT Column Examines Misstatements About U.S. Health Care System
Excerpt: "Harvard University economics professor N. Gregory Mankiw -- a former adviser to President Bush, who currently is advising presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) -- on Sunday in a New York Times column discussed 'true but misleading statements about health care that politicians and pundits love to use to frighten the public.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Big Business Launches Health Care Lobby Group
Excerpt: "The newly formed National Coalition on Benefits will spend the next two months working to convince members of Congress that the health benefits they provide their workers, through a federal exemption for state insurance regulations, are an essential component of the current system that should not be undermined in any reform initiatives." (The Hill)
Tax Breaks Sought for Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums
Excerpt: "A bill recently introduced would exclude from gross income certain retirement plan distributions paying for long-term care insurance premiums." (Investment News; free registration required)
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Health and Welfare -- Updated November 1, 2007 (PDF)
51 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
Opinion: We Need to Begin a Conversation about 'Cost Effectiveness'
Excerpt: "Polling data shows that Americans are ready to talk about cost. Indeed, it is hard to argue that cost is a non-starter when the public views it as the nation's most important health care problem. Back in 1999, Americans thought AIDS and cancer were bigger concerns, but today it is the cost of health care that keeps Americans up at night. The average American is just as worried about cost as is the policy wonk, making now the perfect time to institutionalize a role for the public in cost management." (The Century Foundation)
U.S. Health Spending by Age, Selected Years Through 2004
Excerpt: "This paper examines variations in health spending by children, working-age adults, and seniors for selected years between 1987 and 2004. Seniors spent far more per person than children or working-age adults, but the relative gap between the age groups has not changed much since 1987 except for those age eighty-five and older." (Health Affairs)
Webcast Series, Dec. 4-6: Staying Below the Health Care Cost Curve
Excerpt: "In this Webcast series, we will explore local results of our health benefit cost research, including: A detailed review of region-specific health care costs and utilization statistics, such as cost per employee, prescription costs, length of hospital stay, disease prevalence, episode costs and risk profiles and more Comparison of local data against other regions and national norms Primary cost drivers and how to reign in increases Outliers -- what they mean and what to do about them Regional best practices in delivering value and controlling costs." (Towers Perrin)
The Current and Future Role of Consumers in Making Treatment Decisions (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This issue brief is based on the paper exploring the evidence for and use of patient decision aids . . . ." (AcademyHealth)
Navigating Health Care: Why It's So Hard and What Can Be Done to Make It Easier for the Average Consumer (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The concept of patient navigation has emerged as a way of characterizing the experiences of consumers in health care. For the purposes of this issue brief and the paper on which it is based, patient navigation is defined as 'the process(es) by which patients and/or their health caregivers move into and through the multiple parts of the health care enterprise in order to gain access to and use its services in a manner that maximizes the likelihood of gaining the positive health outcomes available through those services.'" (AcademyHealth)
Working Paper: Who Gets What from Employer Pay or Play Mandates?
Excerpt: "Critics of pay or play mandates, borrowing from the large empirical minimum wage literature, provide evidence that they reduce employment. Borrowing from a smaller empirical minimum wage literature, we provide evidence that they also are a blunt instrument for funding health insurance for the working poor. The vast majority of those who benefit from pay or play mandates which require employers to either provide appropriate health insurance for their workers or pay a flat per hour tax to offset the cost of health care live in families with incomes twice the poverty line or more and, depending on how coverage is determined, the mandate will leave a significant share of the working poor ineligible for such benefits either because their hourly wage rate is too high or they work for smaller exempt firms." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full text)
Surprising Consensus Sees Health Coverage for Everyone Coming Soon
Excerpt: "Liberals and conservatives may be duking it out over the issue of universal healthcare, but more than a few participants at the Health Industry Group Purchasing Association's 2007 International Expo, held Oct. 22-24 in Palm Desert, Calif., said the outcome of the fight is a foregone conclusion: Like it or not, within the next few years the U.S. is going to have a nationwide, single-payer system." (Modern Healthcare via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Is Can.ada's Health System a Cure for U.S.?
Excerpt: "[There are] two faces of the Canadian health system: All 33 million Canadians, regardless of income, get hospital and doctor care as a civic right. But the health program leaves patients waiting -- sometimes more than a year -- for surgeries, diagnostic tests and appointments with specialists." (The Dallas Morning News; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Corporate Aircraft: Grounded by the IRS? (PDF)
14 pages. Excerpt: "Employers make corporate aircraft available for the sake of convenience, efficiency, security or simply to provide a perk. Some allow personal use of corporate aircraft. In this age of increased scrutiny of compensation -- especially executive compensation -- that may invite some extra attention from the IRS. Here's a look at how this benefit is regulated." (Thompson Publishing Group, Inc.)
Milliman's Benefits Perspectives, Fall 2007 (PDF)
8 pages. This issue covers prescription drug benefit design and defined benefit plan risk management. (Milliman)
Firms Fail to Plan for the Impact of Retiring Baby Boomers, According to Survey
Excerpt: "From Spencer's Benefits Reports: Although human resources executives at top Fortune 1,000 companies expressed concern about losing to retirement the talents and knowledge of their aging baby boomer work force, few have studied the actual impact on their businesses or developed a strategy to mitigate it, financial accounting and consulting firm Ernst & Young LLP concluded." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
How to Handle Beneficiary Designations: Tips for Ensuring Your Assets Flow to the Right People
Excerpt: "The decision about how to designate beneficiaries for your company retirement plan, life insurance policies, and other assets might seem like a no-brainer. Chances are you would like those near and dear to you to inherit any money you've accumulated during your lifetime, so making sure that happens should be as simple as writing their names on the appropriate forms, right?" (Morningstar)
What the C-Suite Needs to Know About Benefits (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt: "Benefit expenses have been a horrendous headache for American corporations, but some organizations are looking at benefits in a more positive light. Learn how benefits can be part of an integrated competitive strategy." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Charts -- Human Resources -- Updated November 1, 2007 (PDF)
13 pages. Excerpt: "These charts summarize selected federal legislation that would affect employee benefit programs. The bills included on the charts are based on judgments regarding the prominence of the issue, the likelihood of enactment, and the influence of the sponsors." (Towers Perrin)
Key Differences in U.S. and UK Stock Purchase Agreements (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Although market practice in the UK and US in respect of share/stock purchase agreements is becoming more closely aligned, there are still some important M&A distinctions of which lawyers working on transatlantic transactions, and their clients, should be aware." (Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP)
Newly Posted Events
Automatic Enrollment: QDIA, EACA, and QACA Web Seminar
Nationwide on November 28, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
The Pension Protection Act of 2006 Update!
Nationwide on November 30, 2007
presented by Executive Benefits Design Group
Newly Posted Press Releases
Hewitt Associates Augments 401(k) Services with Rollover Resource
Hewitt Associates LLC
BusinessPlans, Inc. - myCafeteriaPlan Hires New Marketing and Sales Director
BusinessPlans, Inc. - myCafeteriaPlan.com
Tamarack Funds Added to CPI Retirement Platform
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.
SEI Launches Distribution-Focused Strategies for Advisors to Fill Retirement Income Gap
SEI
Ingham Group Obtains The First ASPPA Certification
Roland|Criss Fiduciary Services
ACS and Wealth Management Systems Inc. to Offer Enhanced IRA and Annuity Services
ACS
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Plan Administrator for Retirement Plans & ERISA Specialists
for Chicago Loop TPA firm
in IL
Retirement Consultant - SunTrust Investment Services Product Management Group
for SunTrust
in GA
Relationship Manager - Large Plan Team
for New York Life Retirement Plan Services
in MA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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