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| December 7, 2007 |
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(a) New Guidance Documents
(None today.)
(b) News
Massachusetts Tax Group Sees Big Health Care Cost Hit to Employers
Excerpt: "Employers will spend an estimated $175 million more a year for health insurance under the state's healthcare reform law, according to a report released yesterday by the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation." (The Boston Globe)
(c) Summaries of Guidance; Filed Comments
(None today.)
(d) Trends, Surveys, Research
Most HSAs Provide First-Dollar Coverage for Preventive Care
Excerpt: "From Spencer's Benefits Reports: The great majority of high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) that are compatible with health savings accounts (HSAs) covered recommended preventive care services before the deductible (first-dollar coverage), according to recently released research by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). The survey, A Survey of Preventive Benefits in Health Savings Account (HSA) Plans, July 2007, also revealed that more than half of those plans (52%) did not place an annual dollar limit on the preventive care coverage, and fewer than one-fourth limit it to $500." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
Wellness Programs that Require Unhealthy Employees to Pay More
Excerpt: "Employees at some companies who are overweight, smoke, or have high cholesterol, for instance, and who don't participate in supplementary wellness programs, will pay more for health insurance. In extreme cases, employees' insurance deductibles could rise by $2,000." (Workplace Prof Blog)
Deductibles for Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance in the Private Sector, by Firm Size Classification, 2002-2005 (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "This Statistical Brief examines what percentage of enrollees had a deductible and the amount of such deductibles. Data for 2002 are compared to those for 2005. Estimates for small firms (fewer than 50 employees) and large firms (50 or more employees) are analyzed. Only those comparisons that had a statistically significant difference at the 0.05 percent significance level are noted in the text." (U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)
Wall Street Journal Examines Challenges Drug Industry Will Face in Coming Years
Excerpt: "'Over the next few years, the pharma.ceutical industry will hit a wall,' the Wall Street Journal reports in an examination of challenges that face large pharma.ceutical companies." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
(e) Policy, Opinion, Advocacy
Working Paper: Health Insurance and the Labor Supply Decisions of Older Workers
Excerpt: "This paper exploits a major mid-1990s expansion in the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care system to provide evidence on two important and interrelated U.S. policy issues: retirement policy and universal health care." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Working Paper: The Impact of Late-Career Health and Employment Shocks on Social Security and Other Wealth
Excerpt: "This study examines the impact of disability onset and job layoffs on Social Security wealth, traditional employer-sponsored pension wealth, and other household wealth for a nationally representative sample of workers age 51 to 55 in 1992." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Policy Report: An Analysis of the Essential Role of Employers in Massachusetts Health Care Reform
22 pages. Excerpt: "The purpose of this report is to highlight and clarify the broad scope of employer participation that is critical to the success of health care reform. . . . Implementation of Chapter 58 will result in an even greater amount of employer-based coverage by encouraging employees who had chosen not to accept employer coverage to do so. . . . Health care reform will also affect employer-sponsored coverage through the requirement, effective January 2009, that individuals must maintain 'minimum creditable coverage' (MCC) . . . ." (The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation)
Opinion: Rx for Health Care -- Pain
Excerpt: "But for all the uninsured, the cost of coverage is a major obstacle. Health care is ultimately a political issue of making choices. Our present politics aims to camouflage the costs and skew the choices. Until we change that, our debates will lead to dead ends." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Audio and Text: Socialized Medicine Belittled on Campaign Trail
Excerpt: "[W]hat is socialized medicine? 'The term socialized medicine, technically, to most health policy analysts, actually doesn't mean anything at all,' says Jonathan Oberlander, a professor of health policy at the University of North Carolina. Oberlander says the phrase actually dates back to the American Medical Association's fights against national health insurance in the early decades of the 1900s." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)
Current Approaches to Improving the Value of Care: A Physician's Perspective
Excerpt: "Payers are seeking new ways to bring rapidly increasing health care costs under control. In the past five years, health plans have implemented a variety of programs, the most visible of which have been pay-for-performance, public reporting (PR), consumer-directed health plans (CDHP), and tiering. This paper reviews the emerging concerns about measurement programs generally and specific assessments of the above four types in particular." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Opinion: The Mandate Debate
Excerpt: "Over time, if private insurers are forced to compete with public sector insurance on a level playing field (which means that all insurers offer community rating and that all offer benefits that are, at a minimum, as rich and comprehensive as Medicare), I think that the majority of Americans will wind up picking the public sector plan. The public sector plan should be able to offer better value for our health care dollars because it doesn't have as many extra expenses: Medicare doesn't have to return profits to investors; it doesn't have to advertise and lobby Congress, and it doesn't pay its executives the seven-digit salaries that for-profit insurers feel they must pay in order to compete with each other." (The Century Foundation)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide Updated December 5, 2007, for Health and Welfare Plans (PDF)
12 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding health and welfare benefit plans. (Hewitt Associates)
Opinion: Candidate Obama and the Health Insurance Mandate Muddle
Excerpt: "Mr. Obama's health plan is weaker than those of his Democratic rivals, but it's infinitely superior to, say, what Rudy Giuliani has been proposing. My main concern right now is with Mr. Obama's rhetoric: by echoing the talking points of those who oppose any form of universal health care, he's making the task of any future president who tries to deliver universal care considerably more difficult." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Final SEC Regs: Exemption of Compensatory Employee Stock Options From Registration Under Section 12(G) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "SUMMARY: We are adopting two exemptions from the registration requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for compensatory employee stock options. The first exemption will be available to issuers that are not required to file periodic reports under the Exchange Act. The second exemption will be available to issuers that are required to file those reports because they have registered under Exchange Act Section 12 a class of security or are required to file reports pursuant to Exchange Act Section 15(d). The exemptions will apply only to the issuer's compensatory employee stock options and will not extend to the class of securities underlying those options." (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Employment at Older Ages and the Changing Nature of Work
Excerpt: "In this AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper . . . the changes over time in job demands and the impact of these changes on the employability of older workers [is examined]." (AARP)
Overview: IRS's Limited 409A Correction Program (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Sponsors of deferred compensation plans are likely to be disappointed in the relief provided by the new Notice, particularly if they are comparing it to the type of relief granted to qualified retirement plans in the EPCRS program. While there may be certain instances in which the new relief will be useful, it is very narrow in scope, is subject to a variety of conditions, and will require sponsors of such plans to notify the IRS that they have self-corrected under the program, all of which may reduce the attractiveness of this relief to sponsors." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
Congress OKs New Military Pay and Benefits Provisions
Excerpt: "After months of bickering, congressional negotiators have approved a $649 billion defense policy bill that includes a 3.5 percent military pay raise, improvements to treatment and benefits for wounded combat veterans, and precedent-setting changes in reserve retired pay and survivor benefits." (Army Times Publishing Company)
Review of Workplace Laws and Regulations -- Changes at Federal, State Levels
Excerpt: "Civil unions: New Hampshire law now permits same-gender couples to enter into civil unions and have the same, rights, responsibilities and obligations as married couples. However, federal ERISA and the Defense of Marriage Act prohibit the recognition of civil unions or same-sex marriage. Employers need to look at the applicable law for every benefit they offer to married spouses to determine whether they are required, prohibited or allowed to offer the same benefit to civil union partners." (New Hampshire Business Review)
Hewitt Federal Legislation Quick Guide for December 5, 2007, on Human Resources & Employment Law (PDF)
12 pages. This Federal Legislation Quick Guide provides short updates on federal legislation that is currently under active consideration by Congress or has recently been enacted into law regarding human resources and employment law. (Hewitt Associates)
Newly Posted Events
Fundamentals of Employee Benefits Law -- On-Site in Texas or Live Webcast
Nationwide on March 6, 2008
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Newly Posted Press Releases
North Branford, Connecticut Employer Agrees To Restore $30,000 To Employee pension plan, Settling U.S. Labor Department Lawsuit
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Department of Labor Secures $20,000 For Participants of Delmont, Pennsylvania 401(k) Plan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Judgment Leading To Disbursement Of 401(k) Plan Assets To Workers In Auburn Hills, Michigan
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
2007-08 Holiday Season Shows Employers Demonstrating Unprecedented Generosity to Workers in the Form of Parties and Paid Leave, While External Charitable Giving Drops
BNA, Inc.
Michigan Health Plans Continue Focus On Generics For Cost Savings
HealthLeaders-InterStudy
Synapses Opens Production Facility to Meet Growing Customer Orders for 401(k) Education Materials
Synapses Inc.
Mass. Tax Group Sees Big Healthcare Hit To Employers
Boston Globe
Study: Investors In Broker-Sold Mutual Funds Miss Published Performance Numbers By Wide Margin, Timing Is Culprit
Zero Alpha Group
MTF Analysis: Employers to Spend an Additional $175 Million a Year Under Health Reform
Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs |
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Defined Benefit Administrator and DB/DC Combo Administrator
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ
401(k) / Defined Contribution Administrator
for Pension Investors Corp.
in FL
Pension Administrator
for Redwood Administrators, Inc.
in NJ
401(k) Sales
for Weber Asset Management
in NY
Defined Contribution Analyst II
for Standard Retirement Services
in WA
PepsiCo - 401K Planning and Compliance Analyst
for PepsiCo, Inc.
in NY
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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