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| January 8, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA)
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| Keep up with the latest developments! |
| EBIA’s Cafeteria Plans manual provides detailed coverage of all legal requirements for cafeteria plans, health FSAs, and DCAPs.
EBIA’s Consumer-Driven Health Care manual is the country's best HSA and HRA Guidebook. With both manuals, subscribers get EBIA's top-notch analysis, copies of critical source documents, examples, administration tips, and sample documents. For more information, visit Cafeteria Plans manual and Consumer-Driven Health Care manual. |
[Guidance Overview]
Massachusetts Minimum Creditable Coverage Certification
Excerpt: "Important guidance concerning Massachusetts Health Care Reform was released on November 25, 2008. This guidance sets out how a group health plan that does not meet the Massachusetts minimum creditable coverage (MCC standards) may be 'deemed' to comply with these requirements through 'MCC certification.' The guidance also explains the application process for collectively bargained plans that wish to apply for an extension of time to comply with the MCC rules." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
Mental Health Parity Law Amendment to Clarify Effective Date for Collectively Bargained Plans
Excerpt: "On December 23, 2008, President Bush signed into law a technical correction to the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) clarifying that the law's effective date for collectively bargained health plans is January 1, 2010 or the first plan year beginning after the expiration of the longest-running collective bargaining agreement (CBA) ratified by October 3, 2008, whichever is later. The correction ensures that the effective date for compliance with the MHPAEA is no earlier for collectively bargained plans than other group health plans." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
The New FMLA Regulations: Steps Employers Need to Take by January 16, 2009
Excerpt: "The new FMLA regulations become effective on January 16, 2009. So what exactly does this mean for employers? The U.S. Department of Labor has made numerous changes to the regulations, and many employers are just beginning to analyze the impact of the new regulations on their organizations. In the meantime, however, there are several tangible steps that employers covered by the FMLA (i.e. employers with 50 or more employees) should take before January 16, 2009 in order to comply with the new regulations . . . ." (Gray Plant Mooty)
HIPAA Privacy Rule and Health IT Update
Excerpt: "The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) recently published new guidance on how the HIPAA Privacy Rule can facilitate the exchange of electronic health information. While not creating additional regulations, the guidance discusses several key aspects of the Privacy Rule and common questions for HIPAA covered entities. The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Electronic Health Information Exchange in a Networked Environment guidance explains the role of Health Information Organizations (HIOs) relating to six separate aspects of the Privacy Rule: (1) correction of protected health information (PHI); (2) openness and transparency; (3) individual choice; (4) limitations on the collection, use, and disclosure of information; (5) safeguards; and (6) accountability." (McGuireWoods LLP)
Payers Integrate Medical and Pharmacy Data to Get a Complete Picture of Care
Excerpt: "Specialty drugs have long posed a problem when it comes to adjudicating claims. While some of them fall under the pharmacy benefit, many more fall under the medical benefit. Health plans have struggled to determine how best to structure their benefits in order to manage these products and get a complete picture of their members and those members' utilization." (AISHealth.com)
Health Insurers See Value of Covering Members in Rx Clinical Trials
Excerpt: "With a flood of specialty pharma.ceutical drugs moving through the research pipeline, more and more health plans are covering medical expenses of members participating in clinical trials, as well as the experimental drugs. Some insurers urge all plans to develop clear policies around clinical trials as a way to benefit both members and themselves." (AISHealth.com)
DOL Recovers $750,000 for Georgia Plumbers Health Plan
Excerpt: "The U.S. Department of Labor (DoL) has obtained consent judgments restoring an additional $250,000 to the Georgia Plumbers Trade Association Health Plan in Griffin, Georgia, and requiring the payment of a $50,000 civil penalty to the federal government." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Obama Jobless Benefit Expansion Funded by Employer Payments
Excerpt: "President-elect Barack Obama's economic stimulus plan includes several items with direct employer impact, including an expansion of health care for departing workers and unemployment insurance changes. A Wall Street Journal news report said Obama's two-year plan includes providing jobless benefits for part-time workers and others currently not eligible for the coverage in many states with that added coverage to be financed by employer contributions, and not borne by taxpayers." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
VEBA Benefits Paid During Year Don't Reduce Unrelated Business Income, Court Rules
Excerpt: "A voluntary employees' beneficiary association (VEBA) can't avoid unrelated business income tax by treating its annual costs as paid first from the VEBA's investment income and second from contributions, according to a recent US Court of Federal Claims decision. The ruling raises issues for employers that have relied on an earlier Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals decision, which reached the opposite conclusion. Employers with VEBAs should consider the tax implications of this new ruling." (Mercer LLC)
CMS Finalizes Medicare Rule That Aims To Stop Pharmacy Benefit Manager Practice That Inflates Drug Costs for Some Beneficiaries
Excerpt: "PBMs negotiate prescription drug prices with pharmacies and reimburse them for medication purchased by patients, after which health insurers pay PBMs for administration of claims. Under the so-called lock-in approach, health insurers pay PBMs a set amount for claims regardless of the amount that they reimburse pharmacies for prescription drugs. The amount that health insurers pay PBMs for claims often exceeds the amount that they reimburse pharmacies for prescription drugs. PBMs in most cases do not disclose the amount of the difference, which the companies retain. The approach can cause Medicare beneficiaries to reach the so-called 'doughnut hole' coverage gap earlier." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
[Opinion]
Behind the Health Spending Data
Excerpt: "Spending on health care in the United States grew in 2007 at the lowest rate in nine years, according to government analysts -- a sliver of good news for those worried about the relentless rise in health care costs. But buried within the overall statistics was sobering evidence that health costs continue to be a pressing concern that can only be remedied through deep-seated reform in the delivery of health services." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion]
The Window of Opportunity for Passage of Major Health Reform Legislation
Excerpt: "Right now, we're mostly in the 'happy talk' phase of the health reform debate. All of the major interest groups are in favor of reform of some sort, and the public is supportive of major action. But there are many elements of the plans that have been proposed that could spark opposition - for example, requirements on employers and individuals, a new institute or federal agency with a mandate to conduct research on the comparative effectiveness of treatments, new regulations affecting the health insurance industry, and of course how to finance coverage expansions over the long term. In fact, the notion of creating a public plan like Medicare to compete with private insurance plans has become an early target of the insurance industry. CBO scoring will add to the challenge because in general the measures that will be credited with producing the largest short term savings which political leaders will need to pay for their plans will be the most politically controversial." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
WorldatWork (Sponsor)
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| WorldatWork publications in the BenefitsLink Bookstore |
| WorldatWork, a not-for-profit professional association, is a leading publisher of compensation, benefits and total rewards information. With a portfolio of books, reports, survey briefs, booklets and online learning programs, WorldatWork creates, markets and distributes publications that are critical to improved organizational performance. WorldatWork has contributed to the education and development of business professionals worldwide since 1955. |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Official Guidance]
Text of Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits for Use in 2009 (PDF)
32 pages. Excerpt: "This publication supplements Publication 15 (Circular E), Employer's Tax Guide, and Publication 15-A, Employer's Supplemental Tax Guide. It contains information for employers on the employment tax treatment of fringe benefits." (Internal Revenue Service)
[Guidance Overview]
Employment and ERISA Law Considerations When Reducing Workforce or Laying Off Employees
Excerpt: "Some of the laws that should be taken into consideration include the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA), the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) laws and the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA)." (Aiken & Aiken)
Forces Align Against Big Executive Pay
Excerpt: "After rising unchecked for years, CEO pay may be headed for a fall. Compensation experts say the severe downturn, a shift in the political winds and shareholder outrage could finally combine to pressure companies to limit raises or, in some cases, even cut executive salaries." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
FAS 123(R) Option Assumptions: Analysis of the 2007 Results
Excerpt: "Watson Wyatt recently completed its second annual analysis of stock option valuation assumptions and results under Statement of Financial Account Standards (SFAS) 123(R).1 From 2006 to 2007, the percentage of companies disclosing option fair values decreased from 74 percent to 73 percent, and the number disclosing stock compensation expense increased from 93 percent to 94 percent. Median stock compensation expense increased by 9 percent in 2007." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Google Cuts Temporary Workers; Also Curbs Fringe Benefits
Excerpt: "Google Inc. has jettisoned a substantial number of temporary workers in a recent austerity drive spurred by the recession . . . . To help shore up profits, Google's management has curbed some of the generous employee perquisites that have been a company hallmark for the past decade. It has closed some company cafeterias that serve free meals and last month withheld a $1,000 holiday gift that's traditionally distributed to all employees. Instead, the company handed out free cell phones that run on Google software -- a gift that management valued at about $400." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
Obama Promises Bid to Overhaul Retiree Entitlement Spending
Excerpt: "President-elect Barack Obama said Wednesday that overhauling Social Security and Medicare would be 'a central part' of his administration's efforts to contain federal spending, signaling for the first time that he would wade into the thorny politics of entitlement programs." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
Executive Compensation Challenges in Not For Profits - Webcast
Nationwide on January 14, 2009
presented by Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
January 2009 Monthly Luncheon - Fee Audits for Defined Contribution Plans
in Colorado on January 13, 2009
presented by Western Pension and Benefits Conference-Denver Chapter
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Department Of Labor Recovers More Than $750,000 For Georgia Plumbers Trade Association Health Planu
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Labor Department Sues To Protect 401(k) Assets Of Defunct Piping Company In St. Amant, Louisiana
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Millennium Trust Named Custodian on Neuberger Berman 403(b)'s
Millennium Trust Company, LLC
Summit Retirement Plan Services, Inc. Hires of Industry Veteran to Strengthen Management Team
Summit Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
Asparity Makes Consumer Behavior Data Available to Health Plans
Asparity Decision Solutions
401(k) Recordkeeper to Increase Workforce, Sees Positive Outlook for 2009
EPIC Advisors, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Retirement Counselor-Pension
for 1199SEIU Benefit and Pension Funds
in NY
DC/401(k) Plan Administrator
for Benefit Planning, Inc.
in CA
Deputy Regional Director
for U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration
in KY
Retirement Sales Wholesaler - Inside Sales
for ExpertPlan, Inc.
in NJ
Voluntary Sales Rep-CTA
for The Standard
in CA
Internal Sales Consultant -- Northeast Region
for Transamerica Life Insurance Co.
in MA, NJ, NY, PA
Operations Director
for Prudential Financial
in IA
401k Sales Person
for Katz Zlotnick Associates, 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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