BenefitsLink |
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| February 13, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
Today's sponsor is The Savvy Self-Funding Healthcare Conference & Expo
(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. |
[Guidance Overview]
Fifth Circuit Holds That ERISA Fiduciary Insurance Coverage Does Not Encompass Alleged COBRA Violations
Excerpt: "The Court observed that 'one is a 'fiduciary' under ERISA only 'to the extent . . . he exercises any discretionary authority or discretionary control respecting management . . . or disposition of [plan] assets . . . .' 29 U.S.C. § 1002(21)(A). These duties did not extend to the claims MSC asserted against Mary Kay according to the opinion . . . ." (Health Plan Law)
[Guidance Overview]
Caterpillar Retirees Did Not Become Vested in Retiree Medical Benefits, According to Sixth Circuit
Excerpt: "The terms of a collective bargaining agreement did not vest a group of retirees in retiree medical benefits upon their attainment of eligibility for pension benefits. This was the ruling of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Winnett, et al. v. Caterpillar, Inc. (No. 07-6275). The plaintiffs in the case are retired workers of Caterpillar." (Wolters Kluwer)
COBRA Expansion Provision Dropped from Stimulus Package
Excerpt: "Employers can breathe a sigh of relief with word that a provision that would have expanded their COBRA obligations was dropped from the economic stimulus bill House and Senate conferees reached an agreement on Wednesday. The agreement eliminated the original House provision that would have expanded COBRA coverage until Medicare eligibility for COBRA-eligible individuals who are 55-years or older, or who have 10 or more years of service with their employer, the ERISA Industry Committee reported in a news release." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Stimulus Prompts Talk of Health Care Rationing
Excerpt: "A relatively small provision in the stimulus bill that would devote about $1 billion in government research funds to figure out which drugs and medical devices work better than others has some industry groups, conservative talk-show hosts and others crying the 'r' word: rationing. A portion of the House bill reportedly retained in the Senate's proposed $789 billion compromise version calls for the creation of a federal agency that would help coordinate research on 'comparative effectiveness,' a wonky term that means determining which treatments work better than others." (San Francisco Chronicle)
'Comparative Effectiveness Research' on Health Care included in Economic Stimulus Bill
Excerpt: "There's nothing particularly new about comparative effectiveness research -- the National Institutes of Health, along with the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, have been doing it for years . . . . But with the strong backing of the Obama administration, House Democrats are anxious to ramp up the effort, which nearly all experts agree is a necessary first step to reforming a broken health-care system. To some, however, the wording in last month's House report was anything but innocuous. To them, it was a warning shot across the bow, the camel's nose under the tent of a government-run health system, the dangerous first step on the slippery slope toward European-style health-care rationing." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
Highlights of House-Senate Economic Stimulus Plan
Excerpt: "$24.7 billion to provide a 65 percent subsidy of health care insurance premiums for the unemployed under the COBRA program; $86.6 billion to help states with Medicaid; $19 billion to modernize health information technology systems; $10 billion for health research and construction of National Institutes of Health facilities; $1 billion for prevention and wellness programs." (The New York Times; free registration required)
House and Senate Conferees Agree on 60 Percent COBRA Premium Subsidy
Excerpt: "Employees who are laid off between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, would be eligible for a 60 percent federal subsidy for up to nine months of COBRA health insurance premiums under economic stimulus legislation nearing final congressional approval." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
HHS Unveils Revamped Health Information Privacy Web Site
Excerpt: "HHS' Office for Civil Rights has overhauled its health information privacy Web site, Health Data Management reports. The site already included a variety of information about the HIPAA medical privacy rule. The updated site now also offers content on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the privacy provisions included in the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act." (California HealthCare Foundation)
Wal-Mart Now an Innovator in Employee Health Care Coverage
Excerpt: "Once vilified for its stingy health benefits, the world's largest company has become an unlikely leader in the effort to provide affordable care without bankrupting employers, their workers or taxpayers in the process. From its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., the retailer is doing in the real world what many in Washington are only beginning to talk about. At a time when other firms are scaling back or eliminating health coverage, Wal-Mart has made a serious dent in the problem of the uninsured. New figures being released today show that 5.5 percent of its employees now lack health insurance, compared with a nationwide rate of 18 percent." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
UAW Retiree Health Care Looms as Obstacle in Bailout Talks
Excerpt: "UAW Retiree Health Care Looms as Obstacle in Bailout Talks Health care for UAW retirees is looming as a major controversy in crucial bailout negotiations at General Motors. The United Auto Workers won't accept further concessions on retiree health care costs unless GM creditors make substantial sacrifices to reduce the automaker's crushing debt burden, said a source familiar with the union's position. Only six days remain until GM and Chrysler file viability plans with the federal government. Those plans are supposed to include major cost-cutting sacrifices by all stakeholders." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Synopsis: Clinical Information Technologies and Inpatient Outcomes: A Multiple Hospital Study
Excerpt: "This cross-sectional study of urban hospitals in Texas found that those with automated clinical information systems had fewer complications, lower mortality rates, and lower costs." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Success of $4 Generic Programs Highlights Potential Consumerism (PDF)
1 page. (Milliman)
Delphi Warning on Benefits Tells Retired Salaried Workers to Get Ready for the Worst
Excerpt: "How sure is Delphi Corp. that a judge will allow it to cancel health care and life insurance benefits for salaried retirees? The company that's been operating under Chapter 11 bankrup.tcy protection is telling those employees to get ready for the worst even before a Feb. 24 hearing on its request. . . . Delphi's request seeks to cut benefits to a total of 15,000 salaried retirees, saving the Troy-based company about $70 million annually and reducing its balance sheet liabilities by $1.1 billion, the company said." (The Flint Journal)
Money Motivates Smokers to Kick the Habit
Excerpt: "Want people to improve their health? Pay them to do it. There's more evidence suggesting financial incentives work. A study published in the current issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found smokers who were paid to quit succeeded far more often than those who got no cash reward. This comes on the heels of another study that found cash payments successfully encouraged people to lose weight. Both studies were led by Kevin Volpp of the University of Pennsylvania's business and medical schools." (The Wall Street Journal)
In 'Sobering' Finding, Care Coordination Doesn't Save Money
Excerpt: "When it comes to finding ways to cut costs from the health-care system, an idea that's becoming popular among health-quality gurus, medical organizations and insurers is 'coordination of care.' . . . A study out in JAMA has some disheartening results. Among 15 randomized trials of care-coordination programs involving Medicare patients, only two showed significant differences in hospitalizations between those whose care was coordinated and a control group. And one of those two saw more hospitalizations among the coordinated group. Meantime, not one program ended up saving money. Ouch." (The Wall Street Journal)
[Opinion]
Himmelstein and Others Respond to Gawande on Single Payer Health Systems
Excerpt: "[Atul Gawande's] article is very well written, and is quite convincing to those who have not been intensively involved in reform activities and have only a limited understanding of health policy. Since it is such a impressive article it now is being circulated widely as a statement that (superficially) seems to make sense as a guideline for reform. The problem is that Atul Gawande is flat out wrong. He implies that other nations merely made adjustments in their existing systems to expand coverage to everyone. In fact, these were not simple adjustments to systems that weren't working; they were revolutionary transformations of their health care financing systems." (Physicians for a National Health Program)
[Opinion]
Uwe Reinhardt: 'The U.S. is Not a Democracy; it's an Aristocracy' - Implications for Healthcare Reform
Excerpt: "In a private conversation with bloggers at the Families USA healthcare conference last week, Princeton healthcare economist Uwe Reinhardt recalled a conversation, when he asked health care economist Victor Fuchs, 'When will we ever have universal health insurance in the U.S.?' Fuchs' answer: 'Not until World War III, a Great Depression, or a major epidemic that threatens everyone.'" (The Century Foundation)
University Conference Services (Sponsor)
(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. |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]
IRS Guidance Regarding the Limitations of Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 on Offshore Deferrals (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "Section 457A will have a substantial impact on many offshore hedge funds organized in certain tax havens (e.g., Bermuda, Hong Kong, and the Cayman Islands). Management and incentive fees paid by such funds will need to be either (i) subject to a 'substantial risk of forfeiture' under Section 457A, or (ii) converted to a general partner carried interest in a 'master feeder' type of arrangement. In addition, management companies organized in tax havens may no longer be able to offer efficient deferred compensation to their employees who are U.S. taxpayers." (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
U.S. Treasury Department's New Restrictions on Executive Compensation for Financial Institutions (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "This letter discusses the February 4 news release and certain additional guidance that the Treasury Department issued on January 16, 2009. While a portion of that additional guidance is currently on hold as part of a general freeze by the Obama administration on finalizing unpublished regulations of the Bush administration, the tenor of the February 4 news release suggests that rules at least as stringent as those in the frozen regulations are likely to be enacted." (Frederic W. Cook & Co., Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
Regulations & Implications for Executive Compensation under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "Other than the elimination of cash bonus compensation and stricter vesting requirements, the restrictions proposed by Treasury are not significantly different than many of the programs already in place at many financial institutions. Many firms' executives not only were awarded high levels of restricted stock and options before the financial crisis, but also had specific ownership provisions that prohibited them from liquidating most of their equity holdings until retirement." (McLagan)
Nonproduction Bonuses in DOL's National Compensation Survey
Excerpt: "The National Compensation Survey is publishing corrected estimates of worker access to nonproduction bonuses for each of its 2003 through 2008 publications on employee benefits in the United States. The previously published estimates were calculated such that workers with more than one of a given type of nonproduction bonus were counted multiple times. For example, if a worker had two attendance bonuses, then the worker was included in the numerator twice while only included in the denominator once. The result was the overestimation of the percent of workers with access to specific types of nonproduction bonuses. Standard errors, available for 2008, were also affected. The method of calculation has now been corrected, no longer allowing for multiple counts of the same type of nonproduction bonus for one worker. Estimates of total nonproduction bonuses were not subject to the error of multiple counts, and therefore, no revision of these estimates was necessary." (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics)
International Update, February 2009
Excerpt: "This monthly publication covers recent developments in foreign private and public pensions, social security, and retirement." (U.S. Social Security Administration)
Fed Calls Gain in Family Wealth a Mirage
Excerpt: "The leap in wealth that Americans thought they were enjoying over the last several years has already turned out to be a mirage, according to new estimates by the Federal Reserve. In its triennial survey of consumer finances, released Thursday, the Fed found that the median net worth of American households increased by a seemingly healthy 17 percent between the end of 2004 and the end of 2007. But the gains were wiped out by the collapse in housing and stock prices last year." (The New York Times; free registration required)
How Long Is Too Long in an ERISA Case?
Excerpt: "Merits of a case aside, it must be timely. What is timely under ERISA? The question can be quite troublesome." (Health Plan Law)
Newly Posted Events
Annual Benefits Fair and Trade Show
in Massachusetts on May 14, 2009
presented by New England Employee Benefits Council
Cafeteria Plan Election Changes: What's Permitted and What Isn't?
Nationwide on February 12, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Generational Benefits
in Massachusetts on March 13, 2009
presented by New England Employee Benefits Council
How to Administer MA Health Care Reform
in Massachusetts on March 19, 2009
presented by New England Employee Benefits Council
Managing Your Health Care Renewals: What's an Employer to Do?
in Massachusetts on February 26, 2009
presented by New England Employee Benefits Council
New HIPAA Special Enrollment Rules: Update and Review
Nationwide on March 12, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
Newly Posted Press Releases
Pension Plan Funding Status Tumbled In 2008
Watson Wyatt
ERIC Applauds Conferees Dropping COBRA Expansion, but Disappointed Over Failure to Include Pension Funding Relief
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
Workscape and Milliman Work Together to Expand Outsourced Benefits Administration Offering
Workscape
Prudential Retirement Selected by New York MTA 401k
Prudential Retirement
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Employee Benefits Administrator
for The National Bank & Trust Company
in IL
Defined Contribution Pension Plan Administrator
for The Angell Pension Group, Inc.
in ANY STATE
Retirement Plan Administrator
for TPA firm in Maryland
in MD
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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