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March 9, 2009


Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy.


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[Guidance Overview]
Sixth Circuit Applies Met Life v. Glenn Factors to Overturn Disability Benefit Denial

Excerpt: "The Sixth Circuit continues to develop an impressive body of law favorable to disability claims as Delisle v. Sun Life aptly demonstrates. This case offered the Court an opportunity to refine two independent trends, both advantageous to ERISA claimants. First, the Court revisited its recently vindicated analysis of conflicts of interest. Second, it added to the growing body of post-Nord caselaw which weighs the 'quantity and quality' of medical opinions and finds the treating physician opinions more reliable." (Health Plan Law)


[Guidance Overview]
Timeline of HIPAA Privacy and Security Provisions (PDF)

1 page. HITECH Act (H.R. 1) Timeline: HIPAA Privacy & Security Provisions. (Groom Law Group via American Benefits Council)


[Guidance Overview]
CMS Delay of MSP Mandatory Reporting for HRAs and Provision of Other Guidance for Group Health Plans

Excerpt: "CMS has updated the User Guide for group health plans on its Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) mandatory reporting website. Like the earlier versions of the guide . . ., the updated version covers a wide range of topics relevant for the 'responsible reporting entities' (RREs) who must provide information to CMS in order to help CMS identify situations in which the plans are (or have been) primary to Medicare." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)


[Guidance Overview]
EEOC's Proposed Regulations on GINA's Employment Nondiscrimination Requirements

Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Employers will likely welcome some of the clarifications in these proposed regulations. For example, the preamble explains that the exception for inadvertent requests or requirements of family medical history was intended to address the 'water cooler problem,' in which an employer unwittingly receives otherwise prohibited genetic information in the form of family medical history through casual conversations with an employee or by overhearing conversations among co-workers." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)


[Guidance Overview]
New FAQs on Appropriate Disposal of Health Information

Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: Covered entities (including health plans) should review the new FAQs closely as they provide helpful, practical advice on the proper disposal of PHI and electronic PHI. Enforcement activities are being strengthened under both the privacy and security rules and there can be significant consequences for noncompliance." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)


Nearly 20 Percent of Employers Plan to Drop Health Benefits, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Nineteen percent of employers responding to a new survey are planning to stop offering health benefits over the next three to five years, nearly five times as many as the 4 percent that said they were planning an exit strategy last year." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Impact of Two Employer-Sponsored Population Health Management Programs on Medical Care Cost and Utilization (PDF)
8 pages. Excerpt: "Conclusions: Our results suggest that the programs did not reduce medical cost in their first year, despite a beneficial effect on hospital admissions. If we had been able to include program fees, it is likely that the overall cost would have increased significantly. Although this study had important limitations, the results suggest that a belief that these programs will save money may be too optimistic and better evaluation is needed." (The American Journal of Managed Care)


Charting the Course to High-Value Health Care (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "With more than 70 regional health care performance measurement and reporting efforts underway, there is a pressing need for accurate and consistent information about the performance of physicians. This issue brief, developed by the Quality Alliance Steering Committee (QASC), highlights the work of the High-Value Health Care Project, an initiative that is working with key stakeholders to make consistent and useful information about the quality and cost of health care widely available to patients, physicians, hospitals, health insurers and others. Led by QASC, the High-Value Health Care Project aims to develop a turnkey solution for generating physician performance data that local and regional efforts can use as a model." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)


Health Insurance Tontines: Framing the Health Insurance Purchase As a Smart Investment
Excerpt: "Creating universal health insurance or forcing businesses to insure their employees' grown children are costly solutions. Much better would be to design a product that these young invincibles would be willing to pay for. We suggest an old solution: the tontine, which is health insurance that pays a cash bonus to those who are ultimately right in their belief that they did not really need insurance." (The New York Times; free registration required)


In Divide Over Health Care Overhaul, 2 Major Unions Withdraw from a Coalition
Excerpt: "Two labor unions have pulled out of a broad coalition seeking agreement on major changes in the health care system. The action, by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees and the Service Employees International Union, shows the seeds of discord behind the optimistic talk at a White House conference on health care this week. It also illustrates the difficulty of reaching agreement on two of the knottiest issues in the health care debate: whether to offer a new government-sponsored insurance option, and whether to require employers to help pay for employee health benefits." (The New York Times; free registration required)


New Jersey Family Leave Law May Be Model for Nation
Excerpt: "New Jersey is the second state to create family leave insurance, which is similar to unemployment insurance. California was the first -- in 2004 -- and, while Washington State enacted its law before New Jersey, it has yet to implement it. In New Jersey, workers needing to care for a newborn or sick relative will be able to collect two-thirds of their weekly wage up to a maximum this year of $548. The benefit -- paid for, not by employers, but by employees through a payroll deduction -- lasts six weeks." (NJ.com)


[Opinion]
Debunking the Democratic Argument for Government-Run Health Care

Excerpt: "The Democrats' case to expand government health care is so full of holes that passing it quickly is their only hope. If Americans slow down and ask questions, they will be hard-put to come up with answers. In fact, if members of Congress slow down long enough to read the detailed reports of their own Congressional Budget Office (CBO) -- or even its director's recent Senate testimony -- they will understand that many of the slogans they use to justify government intervention are false." (Sally C. Pipes, Pacific Research Institute, via The Wall Street Journal)


[Opinion]
Obama's Start on Health Care Reform

Excerpt: "President Obama has shown both courage and sound judgment pressing for quick action on comprehensive health care reform, even in the midst of the country's deep economic crisis. He has rightly stressed the urgency of reining in skyrocketing health care costs that are straining the budgets of families, businesses, and federal and state governments. But his proposals, for all of their ambition, do not fully answer two central questions: how to cover tens of millions of uninsured Americans, and how to reform the health care system to reduce costs and improve the quality of care." (The New York Times; free registration required)



University Conference Services (Sponsor)

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Banner ad for University Conference Services

Taking a Closer Look at Your Health Care Dollars

With an uncertain economy, premium increases that continue to outpace inflation, and a new administration in the White House pushing for change, offering a strong health care plan isn’t easy—or cheap. But making the most of your health care dollars has never been more critical. The Boston Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers Conference, April 26–29, is your source for solutions to the formidable challenges you face.


Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Yahoo Wins Severance-Plan Approval That May Aid Buyout Offers
Excerpt: "The Detroit pension funds argued in the Delaware suits that Yang used Yahoo's severance plan to thwart Microsoft by giving employees incentives to quit rather than work for a buyer. The plan, approved by Yahoo's board in the wake of Microsoft's bid, served as a 'quasi-poison pill,' investor advisory firm Glass Lewis Inc. said. A poison pill is a type of corporate-takeover defense. The severance plan required that workers be paid if their jobs were eliminated or altered after a change in control of Yahoo. The company said the policy was aimed at retaining employees. Investors complained that it made Yahoo more expensive to acquire." (Bloomberg L.P.)




Newly Posted Events

(Post Yours!)

2nd Annual Congress on On-Site Employee Health Clinics
in Nevada on June 1, 2009
presented by Global Media Dynamics

Craig P. Hoffman, APM to Deliver "Government Update - What Can We Expect in 2009?"
in New York on April 2, 2009
presented by ASPPA Benefits Council of New York

Employee Benefit Plan Filing Update with DOL and IRS - Recorded Webcast
Nationwide on March 9, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Getting Ready for the 2009 Form 5500 and Electronic Filing - Recorded Webcast
Nationwide on March 9, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers
in Illinois on June 7, 2009
presented by University Conference Services

Health Benefits Law Compliance - ERISA: Title I, Part 7 - Recorded Webcast
Nationwide on March 9, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Health Benefits Law Compliance - Federal COBRA and Texas Continuation Coverage - Recorded Webcast
Nationwide on March 9, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Health Benefits Law Compliance - What It Means to be a Group Health Plan Fiduciary - Recorded Webcast
Nationwide on March 9, 2009
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

Hot Topic: "New COBRA Subsidy Requires Immediate Action"
in New York on March 23, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network ), New York Chapter

Important Employer Considerations in a Down Economy
in Colorado on March 18, 2009
presented by Denver Compensation & Benefits, LLC

Top Plan Operation Mistakes and How to Fix Them
in New York on March 19, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network ), New York Chapter



Newly Posted Press Releases

(Post Yours!)

Benefit Advisors Network Adapts Quickly To Provide Webinar On New COBRA Changes
Benefit Advisors Network

U.S. Labor Department Settlement With Memphis, Tenn., Pension Consultants Provides Restitution of Fees and Reforms for Arrangements with Plan Clients
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

U.S. Department of Labor Sues Owner of Defunct Hillsboro, Oregon, Company to Recover More Than $147,000 in 401(k) Retirement Contributions
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)

How Account Balance Size Affects Retirement Plan Rollovers
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

Over a Third of 401(k) Participants Able to Invest in Target-Date Funds Are Using Them; Growth Likely
Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI)

National Business Group on Health Unveils An Employer's Guide to Employee Assistance Programs
National Business Group on Health

Spectrum Pension Consultants, Inc. Opposes Washington State Senate Bill SB 5791
Spectrum Pension Consulting

CAPTRUST Financial Advisors Advances National Expansion Plans With The Acquisition Of Another Major Retirement Plan Advisor
CAPTRUST Financial Advisors



Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings

(Post a Job | View All Jobs | RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed )

Defined Benefit Consultant / Administrator
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ

Defined Contribution/401(k) Administrator
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ

Senior Consultant / Client Services Manager
for Boyce & Associates, Inc.
in AZ

HR/PR Outsourcing Service Delivery Manager
for Constantin-Control Associates
in MN, NC

Client Relationship Manager
for Benefit Systems, Inc.
in TX

DC Recordkeeper/Administrator
for Custom K, Inc
in PA

Defined Contribution/Pension Analyst
for The Standard
in OH

Retirement Plan Communication Associate
for John Hancock Life Insurance Company (U.S.A.)
in CA



EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)

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Where the best employers find the best candidates!

Where the best employers find the best candidates!


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