BenefitsLink |
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| January 14, 2009 |
| 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 Ken Bradshaw, CEBS 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. |
[Guidance Overview]
Connecticut Licenses Same-Gender Marriages (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Connecticut began to license same-gender marriages on November 12, 2008 . . . . This Bulletin summarizes these developments and discusses the implications for plan sponsors. Because there is no residency requirement to marry in Connecticut, even plan sponsors outside the state should be prepared to answer questions about coverage for same-gender spouses." (Sibson Consulting)
[Guidance Overview]
Two More Federal Circuits Consider Impact of Glenn Decision on Standard of Review
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The Second Circuit seems to have accepted the Supreme Court's invitation in Glenn to consider an insurer's 'history of biased claims administration' as an important factor in weighing a conflict of interest. It will be interesting to see if other courts also emphasize this factor in future benefits litigation. In the meantime, plan decisionmakers would be well advised to reconsider active steps to reduce potential bias and to promote accuracy in claims administration." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Health Insurer Accused of Overcharging Millions
Excerpt: "The New York attorney general's office launched an investigation after receiving hundreds of complaints about Oxford Insurance and its parent company, UnitedHealth Group, which claims to rely on 'independent research from across the health care industry' to determine reimbursement rates. In actuality though, it relies on Ingenix, a research firm owned by UnitedHealth Group." (msnbc.com via Physicians for a National Health Program)
RAND Creates 'COMPARE' Web Site Assessing Healthcare Reform Options
Excerpt: "COMPARE is a transparent, evidence-based approach to providing information and tools to help policymakers, the media, and other interested parties understand, design, and evaluate health policies." (RAND)
Controversy Over Provider Reimbursement Rates Points To Additional Investigations
Excerpt: "What remains to be seen is whether there will be a ripple effect since many benefit administrators of self funded ERISA plans rely upon Ingenix data." (Attorney Roy Harmon on the Health Plan Law blog)
New Law Requires Health Insurers to Provide Interpreters in California
Excerpt: "Though it's expected to increase costs for health plans, the new law was welcomed by the California Association of Health Plans, a group that lobbies for insurers." (AP via New York Times; free registration required)
What 'The Biggest Loser' Can Teach Employers: Hit TV Show Can Be Viewed As a Kind of Wellness Program
Excerpt: "[Bill Germanakos, a 'Biggest Loser' winner], is back at work at Quest, this time as the face of the company's wellness program. He's using his turn as a minor celebrity to teach employers how to better conduct their wellness programs by following the lessons he learned on The Biggest Loser. Germanakos tells his story to employers and benefits managers at conferences and meetings focused on how to better deploy wellness programs. Though the show could be described as a company wellness program on steroids, Germanakos and the doctor who manages the health of contestants say its success can offer employers insight into their own efforts to slim down their workforces." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
USA Today Editorial, Opinion Piece Discuss Proposal To Establish Public Health Plan To Compete With Private Plans
Excerpt: "USA Today on Tuesday published an editorial and opinion piece that addressed proposals by President-elect Barack Obama and HHS Secretary-designate Tom Daschle to establish a public health plan to compete with private plans. Summaries appear [on the target page]." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Violence Overseas Keeps Some Medical Tourists at Home
Excerpt: "Despite cost savings in elective surgeries such as hip replacements, employers remain concerned about liabilities -- medical and otherwise -- related to receiving health care abroad." (Workforce Management)
[Opinion]
A Primer on Healthcare Payment Reform
Excerpt: "This primer by Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI) provides an easy-to-understand explanation of the problems with current health care payment systems and describes alternative payment systems that will address these problems. The primer not only demonstrates how the way we pay for health care today drives up costs and penalizes higher quality care, but also explains alternatives that can solve the problems without placing the kinds of restrictions on doctors and patients that doomed many managed care initiatives a decade ago." (Network for Regional Healthcare Improvement (NRHI))
[Opinion]
To Follow the Healthcare Reform Debate, Follow the Insurance Lobby's Money
Excerpt: "In the race to influence health care reform, the insurance industry and major corporations just made a big score in the toy department. RAND Corp. today announced a new online 'analytic tool' of health reform proposals for 'policymakers and interested parties.' It leans hard toward having individuals pay for their own private insurance. It and completely omits a true public insurance choice like opening Medicare to all, much less any kind of single-payer plan. It's all free-market, all the time." (Judy Dugan on ConsumerWatchdog.org)
[Opinion]
Apportioning the True Cost of Health Care (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "People need to be responsible for funding their own health expenditures to the extent that they can. Nothing else can stop the continuing upward spiral in health care costs." (Contingencies)
Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE) (Sponsor)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Nat'l Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE), Feb. 3-4, Tampa, FL |
| Sessions by: Intel, Corning, Toyota, TECO Energy, Broward County Schools, Burger King, SAS, Gulf Power/Southern Company, Pepco Holdings, Inc. (PHI), Univ. of Pittsburgh Medical Center, U.S. Xpress, PSEG, Mayo Clinic, University of Rochester, Pinellas County, CEO Roundtable on Cancer, City of Clearwater, C-Change, Manatee County...and more. Satisfaction guaranteed...or your registration refunded. Best Value in Health Benefits Continuing Education (HBCE) - highest quality and registration only $295 - $345. SHRM credits. www.HBCE.com |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]
Milliman's Monthly Benefits News and Developments. Jan. 2009 Edition (PDF)
2 page list of principal employee benefits news and developments in December, 2008. (Milliman)
[Guidance Overview]
Related Employers May Rely on Single Filing for Top-Hat Deferred Compensation Plan
Excerpt: "Related employers sponsoring a top-hat deferred compensation plan need only file one registration statement, according to a new Department of Labor (DOL) advisory opinion. Top-hat plans are exempt from most ERISA reporting and disclosure rules if a one-time registration statement is filed with DOL. The guidance explains how to identify the 'employer' for a top-hat plan maintained by members of the same controlled group." (Mercer)
Civil Service Benefits Under Fire in New York As Costs Rise
Excerpt: "Pensions and health insurance -- once considered the sacred cows of Civil Service -- are under fire for their growing cost to the city and the state." (NYDailyNews.com)
The Case for a Complete Picture of Benefits Being Communicated to Participants (PDF)
Pages 1-3 of 9 pages. Excerpt: "Given that benefits play a significant role in employees' choices of where to work as well as their motivation and productivity once on board, how can an organization assemble a more complete picture of benefits for its employees? If 70% of organizations participating in a recent survey are any indication, the answer involves increased communication and education surrounding rewards programs." (Deloitte LLP)
ERISA Suits Led Workplace Class Actions in 2008
Excerpt: "The fifth Annual Workplace Class Action Litigation Report by Seyfarth Shaw LLP found that more than any other area of workplace litigation, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) class actions took center stage in 2008 as case filings surged and settlements led all other types of class actions." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
2009 RMD Relief and Updated Reporting Requirements
Nationwide on January 15, 2009
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Paper! Paper! How to Implement a Paperless, Digital Workplace
in District of Columbia on January 28, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network) Washington Chapter
Rochester Workplace Breakfast Briefing Series: Avoiding Common Employee Benefit Mistakes
in New York on February 26, 2009
presented by Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Employers Face More Than $108 Billion Pension Funding Tab in 2009, Watson Wyatt Analysis Finds
Watson Wyatt
ExpertPlan Continues Growth by Acquisition
ExpertPlan
Federal Court Prevents Fiduciary From Using Bankruptcy To Avoid Repaying Funds Owed To South Carolina Company’s SIMPLE IRA
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Department Of Labor Sues Former Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Entertainment Company On Behalf Of Profit-sharing Plan Participants
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
U.S. Labor Department Sues To Appoint Independent Fiduciary For Retirement Plan Abandoned By Minneapolis-area Employer
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Reminder for Funding Opportunity: Sandell Grant Program
Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
RAND Launches Unique Tool to Evaluate Health Care Proposals
RAND Corporation
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Client Relations Representative
for Decimal, Inc. (www.theonline401k.com)
in CA
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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