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| August 21, 2008 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Be Smart by Association with the International Foundation |
| Smart is not a permanent state of being. What's your maintenance plan? Take advantage of the education and information available through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a nonprofit educational association, and find out why over 35,000 industry professionals like Cindy Conway rely on the Foundation to stay informed and educated. Make sure you have the most comprehensive information on health, pension and compensation issues. Be smart by association. www.ifebp.org/memberkit |
DOL Views on Wellness Programs (PDF)
Pages 2-3 of 5 pages. Excerpt: "The American Bar Association, Joint Committee on Employee Benefits recently posed a number of questions to the Department of Labor (DOL), including a question regarding when a wellness program will be considered an ERISA plan. (While an agency staff opinion is non-binding, it often provides useful information as to staff interpretation.) The DOL staff noted that a wellness program is only subject to the HIPAA nondiscrimination rules for wellness programs if it is part of an ERISA health plan as defined in ERISA section 3(1)." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
2009 Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The 2009 Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey forecasts continued declines in trends for 2009, marking the sixth consecutive year of declining trends. Most trend rates are projected to be lower in 2009 than in 2008, but cost trends for all medical plan types are higher than inflation." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Rochester, New York-Area Retirees Suffer from Loss of Benefits
Excerpt: "[An increasingly large number of the nation's retirees] find themselves without the post-retirement health-care benefits that their employers had previously promised. Kodak, which has provided such benefits since 1954, is eliminating dental coverage and its life insurance plan, phasing out dependent coverage and shifting future health care cost increases to retirees." (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)
Physician Care and Telemedicine
Excerpt: "The use of information technology in diagnosing, treating and monitoring patients -- known as telemedicine -- is adding a new dimension to modern health care. Entrepreneurs are using the telephone, the Internet and personal computers for innovative solutions to traditional problems of health care delivery. These advances are not only making care more accessible and convenient, they are also raising quality and containing medical costs." (National Center for Policy Analysis)
PPO's Come Under State Scrutiny
Excerpt: "[PPOs] operating in Texas may soon be required to register with the Texas Department of Insurance. Future regulations may give the Texas Department of Insurance authority over PPOs engaging in illegal practices. Currently, the Texas Legislature has provided the Department of Insurance with the ability to study the lack of PPO regulation, but it has not granted it the ability to effectively regulate PPOs." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Health Care/Insurance No Longer Primary Election Issue for Candidates
Excerpt: "The continual tussle between the two presumptive presidential nominees -- Obama and McCain -- has largely centered recently on national security and the high price of gasoline. Public opinion polls have shown that among the top issues of concern to Americans, health care is languishing far behind the economy, the war and the price of gas. One CBS poll from July put voter interest in health care at just 3 percent. In August, it was at 8 percent." (Chicago Tribune)
The Medicare Part D Coverage Gap: Costs and Consequences in 2007
Excerpt: "This study quantifies, for the first time, the number of Medicare Part D plan enrollees in 2007 who reached a gap in their prescription drug coverage known as the 'doughnut hole,' as well as the changes in beneficiaries' use of medications and out-of-pocket spending after they reached that gap. The analysis excludes beneficiaries who receive low-income subsidies because they do not face a gap in coverage under their Medicare drug plan." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
How the Loss of Adequate Health Insurance Is Burdening Working Families
Excerpt: "In 2007, nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults, or an estimated 116 million people, struggled to pay medical bills, went without needed care because of cost, were uninsured for a time, or were underinsured (i.e., were insured but not adequately protected from high medical expenses)." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Globalization and Health Care
Excerpt: "Over 45m Americans are uninsured, and many millions more are severely underinsured. Such people may find it cheaper to fly abroad and pay for an operation out of their own pockets than to find the money for deductibles or 'co-payments' charged for the same procedure at home. Arnold Milstein of Mercer, a consultancy, calls them America's 'medical refugees'." (The Economist)
The Coming Boom in Medical Travel Could Help Both Rich and Poor
Excerpt: "Tens of millions of middle-class Americans are uninsured or underinsured and soaring health costs are pushing them and cost-conscious employers and insurers to look abroad for savings (see article). At the same time the best hospitals in Asia and Latin America now rival or surpass many hospitals in the rich world for safety and quality. On one estimate, Americans can save 85% by shopping around and the number who will travel for care is due to rocket from under 1m last year to 10m by 2012 -- by which time it will deprive American hospitals of some $160 billion of annual business." (The Economist)
Striking Jump in Consumers Seeking Health Care Information
Excerpt: "In 2007, 56 percent of American adults -- more than 122 million people -- sought information about a personal health concern, up from 38 percent in 2001, according to a new national study . . . . Consumers who actively researched health concerns widely reported positive impacts: More than half said the information changed their overall approach to maintaining their health, and four in five said that the information helped them to better understand how to treat an illness or condition." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
California Assembly OKs Amended Bill Capping Health Insurers' Administrative Costs
Excerpt: "On Tuesday, the California Assembly voted 41-26 to approve legislation that would require health insurers to spend 85% of premiums and other fees on patient benefits, the AP/Los Angeles Daily News reports." (California HealthCare Foundation)
Presumptive Democratic Presidential Nominee Obama Discusses Single-Payer Health Care System
Excerpt: "Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.) earlier this week during a town hall meeting on the economy in Albuquerque, N.M., discussed prospects for the implementation of a single-payer health care system over time, the Wall Street Journal's 'Washington Wire' reports. He said, 'If I were designing a system from scratch, I would probably go ahead with a single-payer system.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
South Carolina Will Begin Charging Public Employees Who Smoke More Each Month for Health Insurance Coverage
Excerpt: "Each employee who falls into [the category of either being a smoker or has insured dependents who smoke] will have to pay $25 a month extra for health insurance than nonsmokers. The charge is per policy, not the number of smokers in the family. The new rules will take effect in January 2010, giving smokers ample time to quit if they choose." (The Herald, Rock Hill, South Carolina)
[Opinion] A Four-Point Plan for Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "The solution is to make health care much more like other sectors of the economy, where competition drives entrepreneurs to offer a wide range of affordable products and services to consumers -- like $300 laptops, cut-rate vacation packages sold online, and discount brokerage firms. To unleash a new wave of entrepreneurial energy in health care, policymakers should focus on a four-point plan of action . . . ." (National Review Online)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview] DOL Service Provider Disclosure Regs: A New and Improved (?) Way of Doing Business
Excerpt: "The proposed regulations are intended to introduce transparency to service providers' fees and potential conflicts of interest, so as to provide plan fiduciaries with sufficient information to be able to make informed decisions about services and costs, and will require major changes in how service providers operate as well as impact employers who contract for those services. The regulations would take effect 90 days after publication of the final regulations." (Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP)
[Guidance Overview] IRS Proposed Regs Clarify Rules for Tax Deadline Postponement Due to Disaster, Terrorism or Military Action
Excerpt: "The IRS has issued proposed regulations, amending existing regulations under Code Sec. 7508A, to clarify rules relating to the postponement of certain tax-related acts by reason of a Presidentially declared disaster or terroristic or military action." (Wolters Kluwer)
Supreme Court Cases May Impact Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans
Excerpt: "As I discussed last Friday, the 2008 term of the U.S. Supreme Court was a bad one for qualified and non-qualified plan sponsors. The Court's rulings in Metropolitan Life Ins. Co. v. Glenn and LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates, Inc., made it significantly easier for plan participants to bring legal challenges against the decisions of employers and retirement plan fiduciaries." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
Executive Pay Guidelines are Changing
Excerpt: "Responding to criticism of executive pay packages, a growing number of U.S. companies are making their executive pay programs, as well as portions of their executive benefit plans and severance policies, more shareholder friendly, Watson Wyatt found." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Delivery Firm Seeks OK to Use In-House Insurance Firm for U.S. Benefits
Excerpt: "U.S. affiliates of German delivery giant Deutsche Post, including DHL Express, are asking the Labor Department for permission to fund employee benefit risks through the Vermont branch of its in-house insurance company." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
403(b) Plan Documents Webcast
Nationwide on September 3, 2008
presented by ftwilliam.com
ERISA Plan Fee Disclosures
Nationwide on September 9, 2008
presented by Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP
Reforming the U.S. Health Care System: Supporting the Role of Individuals Webcast
Nationwide on August 25, 2008
presented by KaiserNetwork.org
Newly Posted Press Releases
Companies Making Executive Pay Programs More Shareholder Friendly, Watson Wyatt Proxy Analysis Finds
Watson Wyatt
Segal Trend Survey Predicts Continued Declines in All Trends: Rx Drops to Single Digit
The Segal Company
Ninth Circuit Rejects IRS Interpretation of ERISA's Anti-Backloading Rules
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
During Economic Bust, Best Companies Don’t Burden Employees
Principal Financial Group
ftwilliam.com Announces Reaching The 1,500 Customer Mark.
ftwilliam.com
401k Averages Book - All New Average 401(k) Fee Information
401k Averages Book
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Director Nonqualified Plan Services
for Retirement Capital Group, Inc. (RCG)
in CA
Senior Actuary
for Major pension fund in NYC
in NY
Defined Benefit Data Analyst I
for Diversified Investment Advisors, Inc.
in MA
Pensions Administration Specialist (Pre Sale)
for Nationwide Financial
in OH
Senior Compliance Manager-HR Services Risk & Compliance
for Fidelity Investments
in MA, NC, NH
Benefit Plan Administrator
for McCamish Systems
in GA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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