BenefitsLink |
 |
 |
| February 11, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is BeneCom Associates, LLC
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Your company promotes its products to customers. Why not your benefits to employees? |
| Ad campaigns can be expensive, but benefit statements from BeneCom are one of the least expensive promotional products available and show employees the great value benefits provide – value that’s often forgotten in today’s uncertain environment.
So, start promoting your benefits. Let your "customers" see the value they bring. |
[Guidance Overview]
New Federal SCHIP Law Requires Cafeteria and Health Plan Amendments
Excerpt: "Before April 1, 2009, you will need to amend your health plan and your cafeteria plan to accommodate the new special enrollment rights. You should also look at your health plan's coordination of benefit rules to see if they need to be updated to reflect that SCHIP supplemental coverage will pay secondary to your plan. You will not need to start using the new notice and disclosure forms until the first plan year that follows their availability. Although the Department of Health & Human Services has until February of 2010 to develop the forms, we expect that the Department will push to have these forms out in 2009." (Warner Norcross & Judd LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
District Court Holds That Procedural Conflict Results in Expanded Discovery Rights
Excerpt: "In this dispute over long term disability benefits, the district court addressed the scope permissible discovery and the proper standard of review. Given the procedural irregularities found in the record, the court permitted rather extensive discovery beyond the administrative record. In addition, the recent Supreme Court decision in MetLife v. Glenn forced the district court to consider that decision's effect of Third Circuit's use of a 'sliding scale' of heightened scrutiny where the plan fiduciary operated under a conflict of interest." (Health Plan Law)
[Guidance Overview]
Defining 'Serious Health Condition' under the FMLA
Excerpt: "The concept of serious health condition is key to several types of leave under the FMLA. An eligible employee is entitled to FMLA leave when the employee is unable to perform the functions of the job because of the employee's own serious health condition or when the employee is needed to care for a spouse, son, daughter or parent with a serious health condition. In short, a 'serious health condition' entitling an employee to FMLA leave means an illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition that involves either (1) inpatient care or (2) continuing treatment by a health care provider." (Faegre & Benson)
[Guidance Overview]
Proposed COBRA Premium Assistance Subsidy in the Pending Economic Stimulus Legislation
Excerpt: "This Capital Checkup discusses proposed legislation currently under consideration in Congress. When a compromise bill is passed and signed into law, The Segal Company will prepare a summary." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
Courts Halts Milwaukee Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
Excerpt: "A Milwaukee County Circuit Court has issued a temporary injunction, halting the implementation of Milwaukee's paid sick leave ordinance that was scheduled to go into effect on February 10. The ordinance will now remain on hold until May 11, when the court will decide whether to enjoin the law permanently. Both sides, however, expect the legal battle to continue past that date, with the losing party likely to appeal." (Ford & Harrison LLP)
Milwaukee County Judge Halts City's Sick Pay Ordinance
Excerpt: "A Milwaukee County circuit judge on Friday halted enforcement of Milwaukee's paid sick-day ordinance, just four days before the measure was scheduled to go into effect. Before a packed courtroom of ordinance supporters and opponents, with many spilling into the hall where a monitor was set up so they could follow the proceedings, Judge Thomas R. Cooper granted the temporary injunction sought by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. The business organization called the ordinance a job killer for the city and has challenged the legality of the measure, which was passed with 69% of the vote in the Nov. 4 election." (Journal Sentinel Inc.)
Book Review: 'Critical: What We Can Do About the Health-Care Crisis' by Tom Daschle
Excerpt: "The incoming Obama administration and the Democratic leadership in Congress have indicated strongly that health care reform is one of their top legislative priorities in the next year or so. The book sets out key analytical conclusions and proposals that might emerge during the upcoming health care reform debates. The book is divided into five parts: the crisis, the political history of health reform, political approaches to reform, a proposed Federal Health Board and current prospects for reform. While this review summarizes briefly all five parts of the book, it focuses on the Federal Health Board, arguably the main unique element of Daschle's proposal and the one likely to be most controversial. We conclude with some thoughts about additional approaches that could stimulate more competitive pressures in the health care sector and thereby reduce costs." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Medical Tourism Closer to Home
Excerpt: "With the current economic downturn, more employers are considering the cost benefits of medical tourism, experts say. And it's not just international travel anymore. Some patients are traveling to under-used medical facilities in the United States for lower-cost procedures." (Human Resource Executive Online)
Expanding Health Insurance Coverage and Controlling Costs for Health Care (PDF)
33 pages. February 10, 2009, Testimony before the Committee on the Budget, United States Senate (Congressional Research Service)
An Electronic Prescription for Health Care Efficiency
Pages 12-15 of 32 pages. Excerpt: "Making appropriate determinations of the best drug fit for an individual patient is clearly more efficient right in the doctor's office when the physician is most focused on the patient. E-prescribing is uniquely poised to offer exactly that capability. . . . By most measures, e-prescribing is still in its infancy. But proponents see a bright future, arguing that e-prescribing offers a significantly effective strategy for both cost savings and improved health outcomes, particularly in combination with the use of an electronic health record (EHR)." (Society of Actuaries)
Employers Made Their Major 2009 Health Care Coverage Decisions before the Economic Crisis
Excerpt: "'Because of what is happening with the economy, and most of the planning that went into 2009 was done before we ran into this economic crisis, what we are seeing is a lot of employers saying, 'Too bad the economic crisis did not happen in May, so we could have planned for it,'' says Blaine Bos, a Minneapolis-based consultant at Mercer LLC. During the previous two recessions, in 1990-1992 and 2000-2003, he says, American employers saw a big spike in health-care utilization by participants." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Decision Aid Trend Empowers Patients to Make Wiser Health Choices
Excerpt: "There's no single right answer for everyone yet patients often are ill-equipped to weigh increasingly complex medical options. Now there's a small but growing movement to get unbiased reports of the pros and cons of different tests and treatments into patients' hands before they fall back on, 'Doc, just tell me what you'd choose.' 'No matter how hard I tried' to be objective, 'inevitably my personal biases got involved,' recalls breast surgeon Dr. Dale Collins of New Hampshire's Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, which helped pioneer the concept that it calls shared decision-making. Think of it as 'informed consent 2.0,' going a step beyond the brief patient education that doctors are required to provide." (AP via Contra Costa Times)
Aetna and CIGNA Sued Over Use of Ingenix Database to Determine Health Providers' Payments
Excerpt: "The American Medical Assn. and several state medical associations and individual physicians have sued Aetna Health Inc. and CIGNA Corp. in New Jersey federal court alleging the health insurers underpaid physicians for out-of-network medical services. In the latest battle to arise from the Ingenix Inc. database controversy, the medical associations and physicians on Monday accused the two health insurers of violating the Employee Retirement Insurance Security Act of 1974, the Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organizations Act and the Sherman Antitrust Act." (Business Insurance)
The Savvy Self-Funding Healthcare Conference & Expo (Sponsor)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
| Employer-Designed Healthcare Conference Offers Unique Perspective & Comfortable Atmosphere |
| June 1-3, 2009 - The Savvy Self-Funding Healthcare Conference and Expo. Started as a community effort in 2005, the goal is to help educate employers and plan sponsors about self-insured plans. Solutions to rising healthcare costs are not always reducing benefits or raising premiums. Conference is a relaxed, comfortable environment. Vendor expo includes both carriers AND brokers. Contact Karrie Andes, SPHR, Conference Chairperson and Human Resources Director for Deffenbaugh Industries, Inc. & Affiliates, at 800-226-5205, karrie@savvyemployerconference.com and visit www.savvyemployerconference.com. |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]
Saving on Employee Benefit Costs While Gauging the Pitfalls Involved
Excerpt: "If you are seriously questioning whether your company can afford to continue providing some or all of these types of benefits or must balance the scale, be mindful of the Do's and Don'ts of making benefits changes." (Chang, Ruthenberg & Long PC)
[Guidance Overview]
Restrictions on Executive Compensation Under Emergency Economic Stabilization Act
Excerpt: "With the release of this new set of rules, there are now three sets of rules on executive compensation restrictions, each applying to an entity depending on the type of assistance such entity is receiving from the government. The three categories are entities participating in already announced programs, such as the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) and Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF); entities participating in 'future generally available access programs'; and entities receiving 'exceptional assistance.'" (McDermott Will & Emery)
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Guidance on Application of IRC Section 457A to Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plans from Offshore Funds
Excerpt: "On January 8, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued interim guidance on the application of recently enacted Section 457A of the Internal Revenue Code. Section 457A imposes immediate taxation, and in certain circumstances a 20 percent penalty plus interest, on deferred compensation arrangements maintained by certain partnerships and corporations." (Faegre & Benson)
[Guidance Overview]
Monthly Regulatory Round-Up on Executive Compensation, January 2009 (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "The Monthly Regulatory Round-Up is a high-level summary of legal and regulatory developments that occurred during January 2009 that may be relevant to large employers. Developments are sorted according to federal legislative developments, federal regulatory guidance, other developments (e.g., significant litigation, studies, select state law developments)." (Towers Perrin)
Executive Compensation Reconsidered
Excerpt: "This Perspective, the second in a series, identifies guiding principles, key action steps and specific design elements to achieve fair, reasonable and effective executive compensation." (Mercer LLC)
IRS Undecided About 409A Plan Document Correction Program, Practitioners Told
Excerpt: "A program for correcting plan document violations is 'not necessarily the next step' the government will take as it develops a voluntary correction program for Code Sec. 409A violations, an IRS official told practitioners on January 27, 2009. The government is still trying to determine whether it is feasible to have a document correction program, Stephen Tackney, IRS senior counsel, Executive Compensation Branch, Associate Chief Counsel (Tax Exempt and Government Entities), indicated at a D.C. Bar Taxation Section program." (Wolters Kluwer)
Maximizing the Productivity of Older Workers (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "This InsightOut will: Explore the characteristics and implications of an aging workforce; Offer strategies for maximizing the contributions of older workers (and indirectly, workers of all ages); Pose situation-specific questions employers can use to assess the potential impact on their organizations and formulate a relevant response." (Buck Consultants)
Online Employee Benefits Podcasts: Mercer Select HRadio
Audio content from Mercer Select (www.mercerselect.com), including news headlines and features on key topics affecting employers' retirement, health, compensation and HR programs (Mercer LLC)
Newly Posted Events
2009 PenServ IRA Academy
in Texas on May 4, 2009
presented by PenServ, Inc.
A Fast Benefits Start to 2009 Webinar
Nationwide on March 4, 2009
presented by Ogletree Deakins
Executive Compensation Disclosure Update – 2009 Proxy Season, Part 1 Webcast
Nationwide on February 19, 2009
presented by BNA, Inc.
Newly Posted Press Releases
U.S. Labor Department Sues Upstate New York Auto Supply Company And Official For Alleged Violations Of Federal Employee Benefits Law
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Employee Benefits Security Administration Releases Field Assistance Bulletin on New Annual Funding Notice Requirements
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Lack of Pension Funding Relief in Stimulus Bill Will Harm Recovery and Jobs
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
RolloverSystems Introduces New 401k Tools
RolloverSystems
CUNA Mutual Group Again Receives Top Rankings in 401kExchange Survey
CUNA Mutual Group
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
(Post a Job | View All Jobs |
RSS Feed )
Defined Benefit Client Consultant
for Prudential Financial
in CT
Account Manager - Benefits
for Woodruff-Sawyer & Co.
in CA
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: