BenefitsLink |
 |
 |
| February 6, 2009 |
| 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.)
| Weighing the Value of Your Health Care Plan |
| As health care costs continue to increase faster than inflation and the faltering economy exacts its toll on businesses, employers are struggling to balance the costs of their health care programs with the value these benefits provide to employees. The Orlando Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers Conference, March 1–4, 2009, gives you access to expert speakers and valuable information that will help you find the right solutions for your plan and equalize your costs and benefits. |
[Guidance Overview]
Implementation of COBRA Provisions in Economic Stimulus Bill (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "Employers and plan administrators should closely monitor the COBRA subsidy and COBRA extension proposals as the stimulus package progresses through the legislative process, and should begin thinking about how they will implement the provision. If enacted, employers will need to act quickly to ensure compliance and to take all steps necessary to receive the full benefit from the payroll tax credit." (Miller & Chevalier Chartered)
[Guidance Overview]
Stimulus Bill Could Make Major COBRA Changes (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The stimulus legislation currently being considered by Congress includes a subsidy for COBRA premiums for individuals who have been involuntarily terminated. If enacted, the COBRA premium subsidy will have a significant and immediate impact on the administration and cost of group health plans." (Buck Consultants)
[Guidance Overview]
Employers Need to Assess Potential Impact of COBRA Subsidy and Expansion Proposals in Congressional Economic Stimulus Plans
Excerpt: "The House-passed bill (HR 1) would subsidize 65 percent of COBRA premiums for covered employees involuntarily losing their jobs between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009. Applicable to both employee and dependent premiums, the subsidy would last for the earlier of 12 months or until the individual is eligible for new group health plan coverage or Medicare. Employers would also have to provide new notices and election periods. A Senate measure (S 1) has the same provision but limits the subsidy to just nine months." (Mercer LLC)
[Guidance Overview]
Your Medicare Part D Disclosure to CMS May Be Due Soon
Excerpt: "This filing requirement applies to health plans that cover any individuals who are eligible for the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, whether as active employees, spouses, dependents, or retirees. There are a few limited exemptions for plans that contract with a Medicare Part D plan or that contract directly with Medicare to become a Part D plan, and for retiree plans where an employer has successfully applied for the retiree drug subsidy. No disclosures are required for health flexible spending accounts (FSAs) or health savings accounts (HSAs); but disclosures are required for Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) either on a stand-alone basis or, more likely, in connection with a high deductible health plan, if the HRA reimburses prescription drug expenses." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
CMS Requests Comments on Proposed Changes to RDS Subsidy Calculation
Excerpt: "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is concerned that certain new requirements it has established for Medicare Part D plans (i.e., reporting the pass-through prices instead of lock-in prices, and treating amounts retained by the pharmacy benefit manager or other intermediary contracting organization as administrative costs) will, if applied to the retiree drug subsidy program, induce employers to terminate their programs or place their retirees in a Part D plan because of the reduced subsidy. As a result, CMS has postponed applying these changes to the retiree drug subsidy program and is requesting further comments. 74 Federal Register 1494 & 1550 (January 26, 2009)." (Deloitte LLP via BenefitsLink.com)
[Guidance Overview]
Court Says Employer Failure to Research FMLA Shows Lack of Good Faith
Excerpt: "Doubling the jury's verdict in a Family and Medical Leave Act ('FMLA') case, a federal court in Pennsylvania has found that an employer's failure to 'take affirmative steps to ascertain the requirements of the law' evidenced a lack of good faith and, therefore, the plaintiff was entitled to liquidated damages. Brown v. Nutrition Management Services Co., No. 06-2034 (E.D. Pa. Jan. 21, 2009)." (Jackson Lewis LLP)
[Opinion]
'Stimulus' Bill May Change Health Care Forever
Excerpt: "The 'stimulus' bill in Congress would fundamentally change the way health care is delivered to all Americans. It would hand over decisions about your care to a group of bureaucrats you won't have the chance to elect. The 'stimulus' establishes a new government body to assess Americans' health care and to make sure drugs and treatments 'that are found to be less effective and in some cases, more expensive, will no longer be prescribed.' That's how House Appropriations Chairman David Obey (D-Wis.) described it. The words have changed, but the effect stays the same. Where is the outrage?" (Galen Institute via The Washington Times)
Finding Health Insurance When You Lose Your Job (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "[The publication] is designed to help consumers who've lost their health coverage sort through possible options for new coverage, including COBRA, Medicaid, CHIP, other federal and state programs, and the individual market." (Families USA)
Patient-Provider Communication About the Health Effects of Obesity
Excerpt: "A study of overweight and obese patients in community health centers found significant disparities in how patients of different racial and ethnic backgrounds perceive the health effects of their weight. Health care providers can play an important role in helping patients understand the often serious implications." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Health Care Leaders Favor Universal Coverage and Payment Reforms
Excerpt: "A recent Commonwealth Fund survey indicate that President Barack Obama has a 'strong mandate' for certain major health insurance reform elements proposed during the presidential campaign. Among these health care reform elements are expanding income eligibility for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), implementing new federal health insurance market regulations, and a 'play-or-pay' mandate for employers. These are among the conclusions of the 17th Commonwealth Fund/Modern Healthcare Health Care Opinion Leaders Survey of experts in health care policy, finance, and delivery." (Wolters Kluwer)
Study Points to Cancer's Financial Malignancy - The Costs
Excerpt: "A report released Thursday by the American Cancer Society and the Kaiser Family Foundation found that even those cancer patients fortunate enough to have private health insurance face severe challenges paying for life-saving treatments. Hefty out-of-pocket expenses, high cost-sharing requirements, caps on benefits and lifetime maximums on some policies are among the factors that can contribute to financial problems and lead many people to resort to bankrup.tcy, the study found." (San Francisco Chronicle)
Insurance Settlements May Benefit Patients Using Out-of-Network Providers
Excerpt: "A string of recent legal settlements with big health insurers may allow some participants in managed-care plans to begin recovering some of the money they may have overpaid for using out-of-network doctors and hospitals. So far, insurers UnitedHealth Group Inc., Aetna Inc. and Health Net Inc. have agreed to make millions of dollars in funds available to patients and, in some cases, physicians for possibly having shortchanged them in the past. A number of other legal actions are pending that seek redress for patients and health-care providers who claim they were underpaid by insurers for out-of-network services." (The Wall Street Journal)
Google to Partner with IBM to Allow Consumers to Add Data from Portable Monitoring Devices to PHRs
Excerpt: "Google has announced plans to partner with IBM to allow consumers who have accounts with Google Health, an online personal health records service launched in 2007, to add data from portable monitoring devices, such as glucose and blood pressure meters, the Wall Street Journal reports. For the program, IBM will design software that consumers can use to transfer the data to their PHRs. The software will comply with standards established by the Continua Health Alliance, a large partnership of technology and medical device companies." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Requiring Employers To Provide Health Coverage to Workers Would Hurt Small Businesses in Current Economic Climate, Witnesses Say at House Panel Hearing
Excerpt: "Witnesses at a House Committee on Small Business hearing on Wednesday said that requiring small-business owners to provide health coverage to their employees would hinder their ability to withstand the economic recession, CQ HealthBeat reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
An Analysis of Health Care Spending by Medicare Households (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "In this paper, we analyze health care spending as a share of total household expenditures, rather than as a share of income, to assess how health-related expenditures compare with other spending priorities among Medicare households, including both the elderly and younger adults with disabilities. Using data from the 2006 Consumer Expenditure Survey, we examine spending on health care relative to other goods and services, such as housing, transportation, and food. We also assess the extent to which health care spending as a share of total expenditures varies by household characteristics, such as poverty level and geographic area, and examine the subcomponents of health care spending, including premiums, prescription drugs, and medical services." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
WorldatWork (Sponsor)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| 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
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Clarification of Rules for Tax Deadline Postponement Due to Military Service or Federally Declared Disaster
Excerpt: "The IRS has issued final regulations, amending existing regulations under Code Sec. 7508A , to clarify rules relating to the postponement of certain tax-related acts by reason of service in a combat zone or a federally declared disaster. The regulations are effective on January 15, 2009." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Guidance Overview]
Announcement of New Restrictions on Executive Compensation for Financial Institutions Receiving Government Assistance (PDF)
Excerpt: "On February 4, the White House and the U.S. Department of Treasury (the Treasury Department) issued a press release announcing new guidelines on executive pay for financial institutions receiving government assistance under the Troubled Assets Relief Program. The press release is available online at http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/tg15.htm. We expect that in the coming weeks additional guidance regarding the application and scope of the guidelines will be issued, and that guidance will have a material effect on how the guidelines are interpreted and administered." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
President Obama's Proposed New Restrictions on Executive Compensation
Excerpt: "On February 4, 2009 President Obama and the Treasury Department proposed new restrictions on executive compensation. This isn't even in the form of draft legislation yet. It is just a lengthy press release, so it is a bit difficult to determine some of the precise boundaries. However, it is important to note that the proposal creates, in effect, three different categories of financial institutions, with different rules and limits applicable to each." (Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
New Restrictions on Executive Compensation from Treasury Department
Excerpt: "Responding to widespread public outcry over perceived mismanagement of the TARP program, the Treasury Department has issued new guidelines on executive compensation for financial institutions that receive government assistance. Most of the proposed guidelines do not apply retroactively to Treasury investments through existing programs, such as the Capital Purchase Program and the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility. In the words of the Treasury, the new measures are 'designed to ensure that public funds are directed only toward the public interest in strengthening our economy by stabilizing our financial system and not toward inappropriate private gain.' Treasury also expects the new guidelines to more closely align the interests of executives with the interests of both shareholders and taxpayers." (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
K&L Gates Practical Guidebook to the Executive Compensation Disclosure Rules
Excerpt: "This guidebook includes the entire rules (organized according to subject matter), useful reference materials such as SEC adopting releases and interpretative materials and 'practice pointers' highlighting issues companies should keep in mind as they prepare the executive compensation disclosures required in their annual proxy statement. [The PDF files are large and could take time to download, depending on connection speed.]" (K&L Gates LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
New IRC Section 457A: Unanswered Questions Abound
Excerpt: "New IRC section 457A imposes more restrictive income timing rules on nonqualified deferred compensation from 'tax indifferent' entities, effective for amounts deferred that are attributable to services rendered after December 31, 2008. This article discusses some of the issues that employers face as they try to understand how IRC section 457A will apply to their own particular compensation arrangements." (Deloitte LLP via BenefitsLink.com)
What's Wrong With the President's New Executive Compensation Plan
Excerpt: "I recently asked Jesse Brill, the chairman of CompensationStandards.com, and one of the most cogent -- and persistent -- voices for returning sanity to executive compensation, for his 'take' on President Obama's plan to cap compensation at $500,000 for executives whose companies accept money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. Not surprisingly, Mr. Brill found a few holes in the plan, which he lays out for us here at Executive Suite." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Wall Street Finds Ways Around Executive Pay Caps
Excerpt: "President Obama moved Wednesday to rein in the pay of executives whose companies get taxpayer bailout money -- putting a $500,000 cap on annual compensation, limiting 'golden parachutes' to departing bigwigs and requiring corporate boards to adopt policies on luxury expenditures such as lavish entertainment and parties. Corporate watchdogs applauded the intent of the new measures, but compensation experts cautioned that abundant loopholes -- and crafty lawyers -- could undermine any lasting effect." (Los Angeles Times)
Softening the Blow of Bad Benefits News for Employees
Excerpt: "EBN: What are the common communication mistakes employers make when announcing to their workforce a cutback or reduction in benefits? {Dennis] Ackley: A common mistake is communicating too soon with too little information ... or waiting too long and telling employees what they've already heard. The key goal is not to get the bad news out as soon as possible; it's to implement the changes with as little disruption as possible." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Federal Judge Rules Denial of Health Coverage to Same-Sex Spouse Unconstitutional
Excerpt: "A federal judge has deemed unconstitutional the government's denial of healthcare coverage and other benefits to the same-sex spouse of a Los Angeles public defender, calling into question the validity of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act. 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Stephen Reinhardt said the federal government's refusal to grant spousal benefits to Tony Sears, the husband of deputy federal public defender Brad Levenson, amounted to unlawful discrimination on the basis of sex and se.xual orientation." (Los Angeles Times)
Google Offers to Exchange Employee Options
Excerpt: "Google employees will have a chance to exchange underwater stock options for new, at-the-money options under a program intended to increase retention. Several features of Google's offer are far more generous than typical option exchanges -- for example, a one-for-one exchange ratio and no minimum out-of-the-money amount for determining option eligibility. While Google's program is receiving much attention, it may not serve as a model for other companies with underwater options -- at least if their shareholders must approve the option exchange." (Mercer LLC)
Newly Posted Events
ERPA Test Review Web Seminar - Part 1: Compliance and Operational Issues - Archived Web Seminar
Nationwide on February 6, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
ERPA Test Review Web Seminar - Part 2: Plan Document, Reporting, and Distribution Issues - Archived Web Seminar
Nationwide on February 6, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
Five Reasons Why You Haven't Been Able to Cut Your Health Care Spending Webcast
Nationwide on February 19, 2009
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Retirement Plans in a Troubled Economy Seminar - NEW in March 2009 - 9 cities
Nationwide on March 19, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Provides Guidance On Fiduciary Duties In Response To Abuses Involving The Madoff Investment Firm
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Little-known Provision in Federal Pension Program May Prevent Some From Getting Benefits
Pension Rights Center
Flexible New Combinations of Products Enable Small Businesses to Offer
MetLife
Employee Weight Loss Programs Offered By Half of Employers Who Provide Wellness Programs
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Social(k)'s SRI Retirement Plans Increase in 2008
Social(k)
The SPARK Institute Answers More Technical Questions Regarding 403(b) Plans Information Sharing
The SPARK Institute
Invesco Aim Launches New Benchmarking and 401k Plan Review Tool
Invesco Aim
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs |
RSS Feed )
Defined Contribution Relationship Consultant
for The Douglas Group
in FL
Senior Manager Global Benefits
for Discover Financial Services
in IL
Retirement Plan Administration Specialist
for Third Party Administrative Firm
in KS, MO
Defined Contribution Plan Administrator
for Benefit Administration
in GA
Fund Operations Analyst
for Administaff
in TX
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, Too!
Sign-up form is at https://benefitslink.com/newsletter (free).
This newsletter is sent to you each workday except federal holidays.
This email has been published by:
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park FL 32789
(407) 644-4146
Fax: (407) 644-2151
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor
Copyright 2009 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (including this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (including this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission.
Anyone can receive these emails; just have them sign up at this web page: https://benefitslink.com/newsletter/
Other useful links: