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October 2, 2008

Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy.


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[Guidance Overview] Ninth Circuit Rules ERISA Does Not Preempt San Francisco Health Care Ordinance
Excerpt: "In Golden Gate Restaurant Association v. City and County of San Francisco, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the employer spending requirements of a San Francisco ordinance, ruling that the requirements are not preempted by ERISA. Golden Gate is at odds with a 2007 Fourth Circuit decision which held that the Maryland Fair Share Health Care Fund Act was preempted by ERISA, creating a split that the U.S. Supreme Court could address." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)


[Guidance Overview] Annual Part D Creditable Coverage Notice Due by November 15
Excerpt: "The November 15 deadline is fast approaching for sponsors of group health plans to provide their Medicare-eligible beneficiaries with a notice advising the beneficiaries whether or not the employer coverage for prescription drugs is actuarially equivalent (creditable coverage) to the Medicare Part D drug coverage." (Wolters Kluwer)


Wal-Mart Offers Employees Personal Health Records
Excerpt: "Wal-Mart is offering some of its employees personal health records using technology from WebMD Health and Dossia, an employer coalition, Health Data Management reports. Wal-Mart is one of eight companies involved in Dossia. Employees who qualify through health insurance through Wal-Mart are eligible for the program." (California HealthCare Foundation)


Abusive Insurance and Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "Single–employer section 419 welfare benefit plans are the latest incarnation in insurance deductions the IRS deems abusive." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)


California Requires Insurers to Cover Cost of Screening for H.I.V.
Excerpt: "California came closer than any other state to instituting routine H.I.V. screening as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday signed into law a bill requiring private health insurance providers to cover the cost of the testing regardless of a primary diagnosis. As soon as next year, health care providers in California will no longer have to manipulate the codes on insurance forms to goad private insurers into paying for the tests that screen for H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS." (The New York Times; free registration required)


Programs That Target Obesity and Other Employee Behaviors Face Scrutiny, Legal Hurdles
Excerpt: "Employers must consider federal rules when implementing programs aimed at improving employee health. HIPAA, for example, prohibits health plans from discriminating in eligibility or contributions/benefits based on health factors, although there is 'a significant exception' for wellness programs that satisfy specific requirements . . . . But government employers can avoid the HIPAA nondiscrimination requirements entirely by choosing to 'opt out' of those requirements." (AISHealth.com)


Congress Extends Health Premium Subsidies
Excerpt: "Legislators give a five-month extension to a federal trade law that provides health insurance premium subsidies to workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition and older pension-plan participants whose plans fail." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Health Benefit Offer Rates and Employee Earnings
Excerpt: "It is well-known that highly-paid workers are more likely to receive employer health insurance offers. Many of the studies available on the salaries and fringe benefits of workers do not show how the salaries of a group of co-workers influence an employer's decision to offer insurance. For example, even if most employees in a firm earn low wages, employers may still decide to offer health benefits if they also employ a few higher-wage workers in the same establishment who value this coverage. This paper addresses this question by showing how the offer of employer health insurance differs depending on the distribution of worker earnings within an establishment." (Kaiser Family Foundation)


Compensation for Workers with and without Access to Health Benefits at Work
Excerpt: "This paper compares the payroll and benefit compensation of workers that had access to employer-sponsored health benefits at work to that of workers who did not have an insurance offer. By analyzing compensation differences within occupations and establishment sizes for those with and without access to health benefits, we provide new information to help policymakers as they consider how to design effective and targeted strategies to increase job-based coverage." (Kaiser Family Foundation)


The 2008 Presidential Candidates' Health Reform Proposals
Excerpt: "This report describes the 2008 presidential candidates' proposals, examines key differences in their vision of a future health insurance system, and evaluates the proposals against principles outlined by the Commonwealth Fund Commission on a High Performance Health System. [See an interactive Web feature comparing the two plans.]" (The Commonwealth Fund)


Congress Approves Adoption Bill Tightening the Definition of a Child
Excerpt: "The 'qualifying child' definition impacts the taxation of employee benefits, various child and dependent tax credits, and exemptions. President Bush is expected to sign the bill, which would be effective for taxable years after December 31, 2008." (Hewitt Associates)


House Passes Health Insurance Restrictions and Limitations Clarification Act of 2008
Excerpt: "The bill would require that group health plans disclose to health plan participants any exclusions or limitations on their health coverage in a timely manner. In addition, the bill mandates that health insurance coverage limitations and restrictions be explicit and clear to plan sponsors prior to the time of sale and to participants prior to enrollment." (Hewitt Associates)


Global Impact: Healthcare Planning for an Ageing World
Excerpt: "This article is based on ideas from the 2008 report of the World Economic Forum (the Forum) - The Future of Pensions and Healthcare in a Rapidly Ageing World: Scenarios to 2030. It contains references to scenarios that relate to the Forum report, which explores the effects of a rapidly ageing population and the projected economic and social conditions on pensions and health care under each of the three main scenarios." (Mercer LLC)


ERIC Testifies in Opposition to Tierney Retiree Health Legislation
Excerpt: "Scott Macey, Senior Vice President and Director of Government Affairs of Aon Consulting, testified September 25 on behalf of ERIC at a hearing before the House Education and Labor Committee on options to safeguard retiree health benefits. Macey . . . cautioned that major employers do not support legislation that would prevent employers from modifying benefits in the face of escalating costs or retroactively vest employees in retiree health benefits that had been put in place many years ago." (The ERISA Industry Committee)


Costs of Home Health Care Services Up in 2008, According to MetLife Mature Market Institute
Excerpt: "The national average hourly rate for home health aides is $20, a $1 or 5% increase from 2007, though the 2008 national average hourly homemaker/companion rate is $18, unchanged from last year." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Kaiser September Health Tracking Poll Finds Health Care Ranks Behind Economy as Election Issue Among Independent Voters
Excerpt: "The September poll, the tenth in a series designed and analyzed by the Foundation's public opinion research team, also examines the voters' specific health care issue interests and perceptions of the major presidential candidates' positions on health care and reform." (Kaiser Family Foundation)


Jackson, Michigan, Employers Develop Wellness Program As Crucial Part of Corporate Strategy
Excerpt: "In this factory town in south-central Michigan, hard hit by the decline of the auto industry and home to a population whose health grimly lags well below national averages, several dozen small-business owners have joined forces in a wellness campaign that rivals those of the country's giant corporations." (The New York Times; free registration required)


[Opinion] Harnessing Employer Inventiveness in U.S. Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "As policy analysts evaluate the effects of employer-sponsored insurance on universal coverage, the question of portability, and the lack of central control, employers will be trying to determine whether reform alternatives would leave their company and their employees better off than the current system. There is no single 'voice of business.' Large employers offering health benefits differ from smaller employers providing coverage, and both have priorities that are different from those of firms that don't offer health benefits. Major suppliers to the health care system have an additional set of interests that are affected by reform. Most companies, however, face some common issues." (The New England Journal of Medicine)



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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview] Reminder on Re-Approval of 162(m) Plans
Excerpt: "[I] wanted to remind you of a requirement that a few companies seem to miss each year -- the need to seek and receive shareholder approval of compensation plans under Code Sec. 162(m). As a reminder, Code Sec. 162(m) includes an exception to the $1 million cap on the annual compensation that a public company may pay and deduct. To qualify for the performance-based compensation exception, the company and the compensation must meet four requirements . . . ." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)


The 2008 Director Compensation Survey: NASDAQ 100 vs. NYSE 100 (PDF)
23 pages. Excerpt: "For the past several years, this study has documented increases in director compensation in conjunction with the expanding roles and responsibilities of outside directors. Last year's study found compensation levels for outside directors stabilizing. Again this year, we report a moderate change to compensation levels for non-employee directors due to the slower growth in cash compensation and to the broadening of trends in equity compensation design, analogous to the trends reported in the prior year's report." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)


Older Workers Worried About Promised Medicare and Social Security Benefits
Excerpt: "A new study has found that many older workers, and particularly those without employer-sponsored retirement plans or other financial resources, do not expect to receive their full Social Security or Medicare payments after they retire. Confidence is particularly low among those who are younger, female or have a lower level of education, according to a recent survey." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)


Employee Benefit Plans – Why Manage Globally?
Excerpt: "Multinational companies often struggle to find the time to effectively manage the plethora of insured employee benefit plans that they have around the world. This article argues for taking a more centralized approach to the management of insured employee benefits and better leveraging the network of brokers and consultants through the consolidation of providers." (Mercer LLC)


Employee Benefits Developments September 2008
The newsletter covers recent IRS/DOL Rulings, Opinions, etc. and Cases. (Hodgson Russ LLP)


[Opinion] The Present and Future of Executive Compensation Regulation in Light of Proposed Bailout Bill
Excerpt: "In anticipation of future legislation and/or regulation, companies should now review their compensation practices and procedures for executives. In particular, boards of directors and compensation committees should examine closely existing arrangements for incentive forms of compensation, caps on total compensation, and levels of severance and change of control benefits." (Nixon Peabody LLP)




Newly Posted Press Releases

Owner Of Columbus Business Pleads Guilty To Violating Employee Retirement Income Security Act
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Over 100,000 Companies Trust Two Step Software With Their Capitalization Information
Two-Step Software, Inc.

Dreyfus Mutual Funds Added to CPI Retirement Platform
CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.



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