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| February 20, 2008 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is University Conference Services
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Are Your Health and Welfare Benefit Plans Headed Down the Right Road? |
| Dramatic cost increases have made the job managing your medical benefit plans a real challenge. Attend the Health & Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers, March 2-5, in Orlando to find out how to map a long-term course for your plans. |
[Guidance Overview] San Francisco's Employer Health Mandate Goes Into Effect
Excerpt: "San Francisco's pay-or-play health care mandate -- the Employer Spending Requirement (ESR) of the Health Care Security Ordinance (HCSO) -- was enacted in 2006 as part of an effort to provide health care services to the uninsured. Still the subject of a legal challenge that initially delayed implementation . . ., the ESR has now been allowed to take effect." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview] FMLA Leave Expanded for Armed Service Member Families (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Although employers do not yet have the benefit of regulations issued by the DOL, the Wage and Hour Division's website states that the division will require employers to act in good faith in providing leave under the new legislation. Thus, employers would be wise to revise their FMLA policies immediately to reflect, at a minimum, the new reasons for which an eligible employee may take FMLA leave." (Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP)
[Guidance Overview] Can Spouse Beneficiary Change the Contingent Beneficiaries Named by the Original HSA Owner?
Excerpt: "As for changing beneficiaries, the surviving spouse is now an HSA owner and can name and/or change the beneficiaries on his/her HSA at any time." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
[Opinion] Cost Impact Analysis for the 'Health Care for America' Proposal (PDF)
56 pages. Excerpt: "Under the Health Care for America Proposal, employers would be required to provide coverage or pay a payroll tax to have their workers covered under a newly created national health insurance pool called Health Care for America (HCA). Modeled on Medicare, Health Care for America would offer a single Medicare-like fee-for-service option (public HCA plan) and a selection of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) or other private managed care plans (private HCA plans)." (The Economic Policy Institute)
Fighting to Live, and, Remain Insured
Excerpt: "What kind of society builds obscene profit into healthcare, makes medical insurance a luxury, replaces secure pensions with risky 401(k)s and saddles its hard-working citizens with doubts and fears about being able to afford their most basic needs as they grow old? Something to think about when you vote for president this year." (Los Angeles Times)
Health IT Bill Hits House - Lawmakers Stress Privacy to Build Patient Confidence in Health Systems
Excerpt: "Hoping to bridge the gap between the call for national IT health care systems and privacy concerns, two lawmakers are promoting new legislation that would mandate user opt-in programs, encryption and breach notification. The Technologies for Restoring Users' Security and Trust (TRUST) in Health Information Act (H.R. 5442) would establish a public-private partnership to recommend health IT standards and criteria for exchanging electronic data and to encourage the creation of a nationwide interoperable health information technology infrastructure." (eWeek.com)
The U.S. Economy and Changes in Health Insurance Coverage, 2000-2006
Excerpt: "The number of uninsured Americans increased by 3.4 million between 2004 and 2006, despite improving economic conditions. In the first four years of the decade, during a period of economic recession, the number increased by 6.0 million. The dominant factor in both periods was a decline in employer-sponsored insurance coverage." (Health Affairs)
Geographic Variation in Health Care Spending (PDF)
39 pages. Excerpt: "Per capita health care spending varies widely across the United States. In 2004, as an example, per capita spending ranged from roughly $4,000 in Utah to $6,700 in Massachusetts . . . . The variation is even greater among smaller geographic units and among individual medical providers . . . ." (Congressional Budget Office)
People with Private Health Insurance More Likely to Receive Early Cancer Diagnosis, Study Finds
Excerpt: "Uninsured U.S. residents and Medicaid beneficiaries are more likely than people with private health insurance to be diagnosed with cancer in late stages, which reduces their chances for survival, according to a recent study by the American Cancer Society . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
Commission Report Cites Flaws in New Jersey Civil Union Law
Excerpt: "New Jersey's civil union law 'creates a second-class status' for same-sex couples and is particularly vexing for people in the military, transgender people, the poor and minorities, according to a report issued on Tuesday by a commission set up to review the law." (The New York Times; free registration required)
New Jersey Civil Union Law Fails to Protect Same-Sex Couples
Excerpt: "A new state civil unions law has failed to ensure that same-sex couples in New Jersey enjoy the same rights as married heterose.xuals, an official report said on Tuesday. On the first anniversary of the law's implementation, the Civil Union Review Commission said some employers in New Jersey have refused to provide benefits to the partner of employees in a civil union." (Reuters Limited via Yahoo! News)
Small Businesses - Dealing with Employees Called into Military Service
Excerpt: "Nearly all employers are bound by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA) to provide reemployment, as well as additional benefits to employees who perform military service as a member of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Public Health Service commissioned corps (including the reserve components of each of these services)." (AllBusiness.com Inc. via The New York Times; free registration required)
What is America Saves Week? February 25-March 2, 2008
Excerpt: "Compared with the 2007 Week, America Saves Week 2008 will address a broader range of savings needs and involve a broader range of organizations. At present, hundreds of organizations are planning activities focused on savings needs ranging from debt repayment to emergency savings to homeownership to education to retirement." (America Saves)
Audio and Text from AP on Age Discrimination Cases before the Supreme Court
Excerpt: "The Supreme Court [heard arguments yesterday] on whether the Age Discrimination in Employment Act prohibits federal employers from retaliating against workers who complain of age discrimination. Madeleine Brand talks to Slate.com legal analyst Dahlia Lithwick about the case." (National Public Radio)
Differing Treatment of Dividends in ESOP Stock Did Not Affect Status As Employer Securities
Excerpt: "In a private letter ruling, the IRS has ruled that company securities held in an employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) were 'employer securities' despite differences in their treatment of special dividends." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
Expanded Benefits May Prevent Labor Shortage for Employers in Puerto Rico
Excerpt: "In order to remain competitive, employers in Puerto Rico must address the aging work force and consider expanding benefits as key approaches to preventing a labor shortage in their firms in terms of employee retention and recruitment, according to the report Workforce Trends: An AARP Study of Employers and Workers in Puerto Rico." (Wolters Kluwer Financial Services)
Fact Sheet on Tax Expenditures and Employee Benefits - Estimates from the FY 2009 Budget (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The federal government supports the provision of employee benefits through preferential tax treatment in the Internal Revenue Code. For the next fiscal year (2009), all employee benefits-related tax expenditures ($347.9 billion) will account for 36.7 percent of the $948.157 billion tax expenditures in the budget." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)
Newly Posted Events
162(m) - Have the Rules Changed for Termination Payments and Performance-Based Compensation
Nationwide on March 18, 2008
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
Advanced COBRA Compliance: Thorny Issues for Employers, COBRA Administrators, and Advisors
Nationwide on March 20, 2008
presented by Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)/Thomson Tax & Accounting
Newly Posted Press Releases
CEOs at Best-Performing Companies Receive Long-Term Incentive Payouts Substantially Above Target, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds
Watson Wyatt
Council Applauds New PBGC Investment Strategy
American Benefits Council
Non-Traditional Families Face Retirement Planning Hurdles, According To MetLife Study
MetLife
Buck Consultants Survey Finds Cost Containment Is Top Corporate Concern for Pensions in Canada
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
Coty & Bruce Benefits, Inc. to Change Name to Atéssa Benefits, Inc.
Atéssa Benefits, Inc.
Experts to Discuss Key Concerns in the Rapidly Changing 401k Marketplace
Interlake Capital Management, LLC
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Pension Administrator
for Geller Group, LLC
in NY
Supervisor, Benefits Administration (JP31369-CW)
for Southern California Edison
in CA
401(K) Plan Conversion Specialist
for BenefitStreet, Inc.
in CA
401(k) Senior Plan Administrator
for Matthews Benefit Group, Inc
in FL
Manager, Benefits
for Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.
in NJ
Defined Benefit Administrator
for Pension Strategies, LLC
in AZ
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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