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| November 8, 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
Michigan's High Court Hears Same-Sex Benefits Case
Excerpt: "The implications of the 2004 marriage amendment to the Michigan constitution were argued for the first time before the state Supreme Court . . . in a case involving the extension of health care benefits to the same sex partners of public employees." (Detroit Free Press)
University of Maine Moves Toward GASB 45 Trust for Retiree Health Benefits
Excerpt: "The University of Maine board of trustees is looking for an additional $8 million from the Legislature as it takes a first step toward meeting new accounting standards set by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a private non-profit organization. The university system has a total liability of $181 million for health care benefits and other non-pension benefits for former employees. Participants will contribute $59 million, but the system may set up a trust to cover the remaining liability of $122 million." (Portland Press Herald)
CEO Had No Obligation to Resign as Fiduciary of Health Plan
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the District of Utah has determined that the CEO of a hotel and casino who also served in a fiduciary capacity to the company-sponsored employee health plan did not breach his fiduciary duties under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA)." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
Slimming Down the ERISA Fiduciary Profile - Good or Bad for ERISA Claims Administrators?
Excerpt: "In Deluca v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mich., the district court faced the question of what fiduciary duty, if any, BCBS owed to self-funded plans in negotiating reimbursement rates with providers. According to the facts, 'BCBSM negotiated lower hospital rates for the [Blue Cross Network] in exchange for higher rates for its traditional open access and PPO products.' Did BCBS violate fiduciary duties in doing so?" (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Overview: Cash Value Life Insurance by Welfare Benefit Funds; IRS Designates New Listed Transaction Category for Such Funds (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The IRS states in the Notice that it intends to challenge these arrangements on various grounds, many of which are the same grounds outlined in Notice 2007-83 against cash value insurance arrangements involving closely-held businesses, including asserting: that contributions to a purported welfare benefit fund on behalf of an owner may be dividends or deferred compensation subject to sections 404(a)(5) and 409A; and that the arrangement may be subject to the rules for split-dollar arrangements." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
Overview: November 14 Deadline for Group Health Plans to Provide Part D Creditable Coverage Notices
Excerpt: "The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has tried to ease the associated compliance burden for plans by providing a design-based safe harbor test for creditable coverage status, and model 'fill-in-the-blank' disclosure notices plans can use." (Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Work/Life Balance Not a Priority for Many Organizations, According to Monster Survey
Excerpt: "Despite a growing awareness of the importance of a healthy work/life balance, workers and employers are often at odds when it comes to the issue, according to survey results released today by Monster ®, the leading global online careers and recruitment resource and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. . . . . Among the findings of the 2007 Monster Work/Life Balance Survey, 89 percent of employees polled believe work/life balance programs, such as flextime and telecommuting, are important when evaluating a new job, yet only about half of HR professionals polled consider work/life balance to be an important initiative for their companies." (Business Wire via Human Resource Executive Online; free registration required)
Audio and Text: India's Middle Class Gets Brand-Name Health Care
Excerpt: "Medicine is changing around the world as incomes and expectations rise. And big-name American institutions are out there at the forefront of change. Take the Cleveland Clinic, one of the top brand names in American medicine. It has partnered with the government of Abu Dhabi to build a deluxe new teaching hospital on the Persian Gulf -- at the Arabian government's expense." (All Things Considered via National Public Radio)
CDHPs Lowered Costs for CIGNA Members, But Workers Still Unfamiliar With Such Plans
Excerpt: "From Spencer's Benefits Reports: Two recent studies of consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) indicate the potential for cost savings and the continuing employee unfamiliarity with CDHP plans." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
More Employers Scheduling Two Days Off for Turkey Day
Excerpt: "More employers than ever are designating both Thanksgiving Day and the day after as paid holidays, a new survey has found." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Health Blog: Genetic Crystal Balls Arrive on Internet
Excerpt: "Tests that assess broad panels of genetic markers to predict a person's risk of illness and death are becoming as simple as sending a sample of saliva to a lab and logging on via the Web for the results." (The Wall Street Journal Online)
New Genetic Tests Will Assess Risk of Multiple Conditions
Excerpt: "Genetic tests to help people determine whether they have higher risks of developing a variety of conditions are becoming more widely available on a direct-to-consumer basis, the Wall Street Journal reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Opinion: Addressing Rising Health Care Costs -- A View from the Congressional Budget Office (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "A variety of evidence . . . suggests that there are opportunities to constrain health care costs without incurring adverse health consequences. One approach that could reduce total health care spending (rather than simply reallocating it among different sectors of the economy) involves generating more information about the relative effectiveness of medical treatments and enhancing the incentives for providers to supply, and consumers to demand, effective care." (The New England Journal of Medicine)
Opinion: U.S. Health Care System Faces 'Expert Service Problem'
Excerpt: "Possibly the 'biggest flaw' with the health care system is that patients in most cases 'aren't sophisticated enough to make an independent judgment' about the medical services they require and thus have to rely on physicians, columnist David Leonhardt writes in the New York Times." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Opinion: Why Not Single Payer? What's Wrong with the Clinton / Obama / Edwards Health Care Plans
Excerpt: "In Part 1 of this multi-part Huffpost series on the health care debate, I criticized the leading Democratic candidates -- Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and John Edwards -- for surrendering, without firing a shot, to the insurance and drug companies by opposing universal single payer health care. In this second installment, I elaborate on the difference between universal single payer health care and the Clinton/Obama/Edwards universal insurance mandate plans and argue that universal mandates are bad social policy." (The Huffington Post via Physicians for a National Health Program)
Testimony: Telework Programs Need Clear Goals and Reliable Data (PDF)
13 pages. Excerpt: "This statement highlights some of GAO's prior work on federal telework programs, including key practices for successful implementation of telework initiatives, identified in a 2003 GAO report and a 2005 GAO analysis of telework program definitions and methods in five federal agencies. It also notes more recent work where agency officials cite their telework programs as yielding benefits." (U.S. Government Accountability Office)
Newly Posted Events
403(b) Plan Workshops
in Georgia on December 5, 2007
presented by SunGard Corbel
403(b) Plan Workshops
in Massachusetts on December 6, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
403(b) Plan Workshops
in Illinois on December 6, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
EGTRRA Pre-Approved Plan Workshops
in Georgia on December 4, 2007
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
ERIC Presents New Benefits Platform for Life Security to Congress
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
'Safe and Sound' Retirement Goals Include Raising Financial Literacy, Expanding Coverage
American Benefits Council
Treasury, IRS Issue Additional Pension Protection Act Guidance
U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service
The Retirement Security Project to Testify on Automatic IRA Legislation Before House Education and Labor Subcommittee
Retirement Security Project
Journal Article Provides Graphic Method for Retirees to Determine How Much to Withdraw
Financial Planning Association
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Reporting & Testing Analyst
for Boston Financial Data Services
in MA
Business Systems Analyst
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Health and Welfare Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in GA, NJ, NY, TX
Retirement Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CT, DC, MA, NJ, NY, PA
Senior Retirement Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in DC, MA, PA
Retirement Associate
for Towers Perrin
in CT, DC, MA, NY, PA
Health and Welfare Associate
for Towers Perrin
in NJ, NY, PA
Associate Consultant
for Fidelity Investments
in MA
Benefit Administration Team Associate
for Towers Perrin
in PA
Health and Welfare Actuarial Consultant
for Towers Perrin
in CT, NJ, NY
Pension Asset Liability Modeling Specialist
for Bank of America - Global Wealth and Investment Management
in MA
Relius Expert Needed
for Benesystems
in AZ
Business Systems Analyst
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Sr. Business Systems Analyst
for Transamerica Retirement Services
in CA
Executive Director - SVEF/SVEIF
for Silicon Valley Employers Forum
in CA
Senior Compliance Testing Consultant
for Vanguard
in PA
Retirement Compliance Testing Manager
for Vanguard
in 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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