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| March 26, 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.)
| How Do Your Medical Plan's Vital Signs Look? |
| Are you searching for a new strategy that will contain your health care costs yet distinguish you as an employer of choice? The Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers, April 27-30, 2008, in Boston, offers practical, reality-based solutions that will ensure the "health" of your benefit plans. |
[Guidance Overview] DOL Checklist Offers Key to the Mysteries of Wellness Program Identification
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued Field Assistance Bulletin (FAB) No. 2008-02, which includes a Wellness Program Checklist, in response to questions concerning what types of programs must be in compliance with the final regulations. The DOL's Wellness Program Checklist takes some of the uncertainty out of this process." (Little Mendelson P.C.)
[Guidance Overview] Are Rollover and Transfer Contributions to Health Savings Accounts Permitted?
Excerpt: "Rollover and transfer contributions from Archer Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs) and other HSAs to an HSA are permitted. They need not be in cash and are not subject to the annual contribution limits. . . . Rollovers from certain flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) are also allowed, subject to the rules of IRS Notice 2007-22." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Guidance Overview] Plan Committee Can Seek Reimbursement of Disability Overpayment
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has ruled that a retirement and welfare plan committee can seek reimbursement of over $260,000 in overpaid disability benefits to a retired airline pilot." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] Court Rejects Benefits Denial for Accident of Participant Driving with No License
Excerpt: "The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee has ruled that the third-party administrator for a medical benefits plan was wrong in denying a claim for benefits for a participant who had a car accident while driving with no license or insurance." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Medical Scans Face Scrutiny by Insurers, Doctors Over Safety, Expense, Even Fraud
Excerpt: "Insurance companies are taking a harder look at advanced medical scans like CT scans, citing spiraling costs and safety concerns. And some doctors agree there's emerging evidence that these scans are being over-prescribed." (AP via San Francisco Chronicle)
Washington State Lawmakers Have Added More Than 50 Health Insurance Requirements, Raising Cost Concerns
Excerpt: "Critics contend that while one or another of these mandates may increase the cost of coverage only 1 percent or 2 percent, cumulatively they make insurance markedly more expensive." (Puget Sound Business Journal via bizjournals.com; free registration required)
Experts Predict Key Trends in Value-Based Health Plan Design
Excerpt: "The Center for Health Value Information recently identified five key trends in value-based health design. Some might say the trends speak to the fact that employers still believe a market economy can produce creative solutions to reduce health care costs." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Maryland House OKs Flexible Paid Leave Measure
Excerpt: "Private-sector employees who receive paid leave in Maryland would be allowed to use it while caring for sick members of their immediate family, under legislation approved by the House of Delegates today. An employee who gets more than one form of paid leave could choose the type and amount of the leave to take to care for a sick spouse, child or parent. The measure also would prohibit an employer from taking action against an employee for taking the time off to care for a sick relative." (The Baltimore Sun)
WSJ Examines How Federal Government Use of Contract Workers Contributes to Number of Uninsured U.S. Residents
Excerpt: "The use of contract workers by the federal government is 'quietly' contributing to the number of uninsured U.S. residents because some of the contractors do not offer employee health benefits, the Wall Street Journal reports." (Medical News Today)
Summary of Results of the Online 2008 Health Care for America Survey
Excerpt: "The failures of America's health care system, the survey reveals, are a significant factor in broader economic problems facing working families today." (AFL-CIO)
The 2008 Medical Cost Reference Guide
Excerpt: "Now in its sixth year of publication, the Medical Cost Reference Guide provides comprehensive information on healthcare economics, utilization and management trends from credible, peer-reviewed sources. We hope the 2008 Medical Cost Reference Guide continues to meet the needs of all healthcare stakeholders." (Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association)
Presidential Candidates Diverge on Health Care Plans
Excerpt: "While McCain sees soaring medical costs as the initial problem to address, Obama and Clinton have competing plans that focus first on expanding coverage. They say too many Americans don't have adequate health insurance, and 47 million aren't covered at all. These sharply different philosophies are at the core of the three candidates' potential solutions for how Americans should get and pay for their health care in the coming decade." (USA TODAY)
2008 Annual Report of the Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds (PDF)
242 pages. Excerpt: "The Boards of Trustees issued their most recent report on March 25, 2008. The Trustees Report is a detailed, lengthy document, containing a substantial amount of information on the past and estimated future financial operations of the Hospital Insurance and Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds . . . . We recommend that readers begin with the 'Overview' section of the report. This section is fairly short, is written in 'plain English,' and summarizes all the key information concerning the expected financial outlook for Medicare. Substantial additional material is available in the later sections for those wishing to delve more deeply into the actuarial projections." (Boards of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance and Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Funds)
Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report Highlights Issues Related to Genetic Tests
Excerpt: "Several newspapers recently published articles related to take-home genetic tests. Summaries appear [on the target page]." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Concern That Some Generics Aren't As Effective As Their Brand-Name Brethren
Excerpt: "With about 9,000 generic drugs on the U.S. market, concerns raised about a handful do not suggest a broad failure in the nation's formulary of low-cost medications. But many physicians and pharmacologists caution that with new generics entering the market at a rate of almost 500 per year, and millions of consumers switching to them, their safety and effectiveness will be increasingly critical." (Los Angeles Times)
Generics Helping Employers Trim Pharmacy Costs
Excerpt: "To help boost the use of generic drugs, nearly 50% of companies surveyed require members to pay the difference between the cost of a name-brand drug and the generic version, in addition to imposing a generic copay, if they request a brand drug that has a generic equivalent. This is often referred to as a 'dispensed as written' penalty." (Business Insurance via Financial Week; free registration required)
[Opinion] 'Socialized Medicine' - the Bogeyman That Just Won't Die
Excerpt: "Never mind that nobody is proposing to turn doctors into public employees and hospitals into government institutions -- the literal meaning of socialized medicine. The slogan gets its punch because it invokes a visceral public fear: that government involvement will drive up costs and drive down quality, wrecking the economy and damaging your health. Expanding government's role, the naysayers insist, will destroy what McCain calls 'the world's best medical care.' " (The Washington Post; free registration required)
[Opinion] Patient Health Management Incentives from the Payer's Perspective
Excerpt: "Scott MacStravic, Ph.D, questions whether insurance industry payers have sufficient economic incentives to promote their members' proactive health management." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
[Opinion] ERISA - License to Cheat, Lie and Steal for the Disability Insurance Industry
Excerpt: "As will be argued, ERISA (the acronym for the misnamed, 'Employee Retirement Income Security Act) has created a brutal, arbitrary and inefficient administrative process that is controlled by the insurance industry. ERISA governs employee welfare benefit programs that consist of 'any plan, fund, or program . . . established or maintained by an employer' to provide benefits through an insurance policy. This article concerns ERISA's application to employment short term and long term disability plans (Plans)." (Doctor Law's Legal Scalpel)
Sponsored by: ALM
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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. |
| (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
OMB Announces New Cap on Executive Compensation Costs in Federal Contracts
Excerpt: "The ceiling on executive compensation costs under government contracts is $14,284 higher in fiscal 2008 than in fiscal 2007, according to an administration memo released Tuesday." (National Journal Group, Inc.)
National Compensation Survey - Employee Benefits in State and Local Governments in the United States, September 2007 (PDF)
32 pages. Excerpt: "In addition to presenting data on access to and participation in benefit plans, the tables in this release include data on provisions of life insurance plans, employee contributions to costs of medical care premiums, the allocation of medical plan costs between employees and employers, and employer premiums." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Elkhorn, Nebraska, Retention Agreements Promise Severance Pay and Benefits to Town Workers in Case Omaha Annexes
Excerpt: "Former employees of Elkhorn are asking the state's highest court to decide whether the city of Omaha owes them thousands of dollars in severance packages. A lower court has ruled that the contracts the employees had with Elkhorn are against the law." (AP via Houston Chronicle)
Outlook Remains Bleak for Two U.S. Social Insurance Programs
Excerpt: "The Bush administration issued a grim report [yesterday] on the financial outlook for Medicare and Social Security, but said the condition of the programs had not significantly deteriorated since last spring." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Status of the Social Security and Medicare Programs - A Summary of the 2008 Annual Reports
Excerpt: "The financial difficulties facing Social Security and Medicare pose enormous challenges. The sooner these challenges are addressed, the more varied and less disruptive their solutions can be. We urge the public to engage in informed discussion and policymakers to think creatively about the changing needs and preferences of working and retired Americans. A national conversation and timely political action are essential to ensure that Social Security and Medicare continue to play a critical role in the lives of all Americans." (Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees)
The 2008 Annual Report of the Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds
Excerpt: "The 2008 OASDI Trustees Report . . . presents the current and projected future financial status of the trust funds." (Board of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance and Federal Disability Insurance Trust Funds)
Babies-at-Work Programs Let New Parents Stay Close to Their Kids
Excerpt: "At a few companies in Texas and across the country, every day is Bring Your Baby to Work Day. They let employees bring their infants to the office, typically until they're about 6 months old. But some say that dirty diapers and blankies don't mix with coffee pots and cubicles. They say it's a liability issue for employers, they wonder whether babies will distract workers, and they question whether parents will be fully engaged in their work." (The Dallas Morning News)
Social Security's Financial Outlook - The 2008 Update in Perspective
Excerpt: "The Trustees of the Social Security system have just issued the 2008 projections for the system over the next 75 years. The report contains two surprises. First, the 75-year deficit dropped to 1.70 percent of taxable payrolls from the roughly 2 percent it has been for the last 14 years. The decline was driven primarily by a change in the way Social Security projects immigration." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
Newly Posted Events
401(k) Plan Workshop
in Massachusetts on April 25, 2008
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Plan Workshop
in New York on April 25, 2008
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Plan Workshop
in Texas on April 25, 2008
presented by SunGard Relius
Annual Spring Employee Benefits Law and Practice Update - Webcast
Nationwide on May 1, 2008
presented by ALI-ABA (American Law Institute-American Bar Association)
Form 5500 Workshop
in Massachusetts on April 24, 2008
presented by SunGard Relius
Form 5500 Workshop
in Texas on April 24, 2008
presented by SunGard Relius
Form 5500 Workshop
in New York on April 24, 2008
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
Statement by Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. on the 2008 Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund Reports
U.S. Department of Treasury
Buck's Canadian Health Care Survey Finds Slight Slowdown in Cost Increases, But Double-Digit Trend Continues
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
PacifiCare Capitulates to Latest Patient Revolt
California Nurses Association
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Employee Benefits Manager
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in TN
Defined Contribution Administrator
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in PA
Benefits Analyst
for Chugach Alaska Corporation
in DC
Daily 401k Plan Administrator
for The Newport Group
in NC
Senior DC Plan Administrator
for Columbus Retirement Administrators, Inc.
in OH
Pension Plan Administrator/Pension Plan Actuary
for The Waage Law Firm
in CA
Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Administrator
for Loren D. Stark Company, Inc.
in TX
Retirement Plan Administrator
for Northeast Professional Planning Group, Inc.
in NJ
Retirement Plan Conversion Project Manager
for Charles Schwab
in TX
Handy Links:
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