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March 11, 2009 |
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Adv.)
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com is where the best employers find the best candidates!
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[Guidance Overview]
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "The Act creates two new Special Enrollment rights for eligible but unenrolled employees and dependent children who either (1) lose coverage under a Medicaid Plan or State Plan; or (2) become eligible for group health plan premium assistance under a Medicaid Plan or State Plan. Unlike the current 30-day time frame for employees to request enrollment upon an existing HIPAA special enrollment event, the Act gives such employees 60 days to request enrollment in the group health plan. Under the Act, an employee may request enrollment in the group health plan within 60 days of the date coverage terminates under the Medicaid Plan or State Plan, or within 60 days after the employee or dependent is determined to be eligible for state premium assistance." (Alston & Bird LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Summary of HIPAA Amendments in New Stimulus Package
Excerpt: "The new Stimulus Bill makes certain sections of HIPAA's Security Rule applicable to business associates of covered entities in the same manner that those sections currently apply to covered entities. HIPAA defines a business associate as an individual or corporate 'person' that performs on behalf of the covered entity any function or activity involving the use or disclosure of protected health information and is not a member of the covered entity's workforce. These certain Security Rules provisions will also need to be incorporated into the business associate agreement between the business associate and the covered entity. Failure to comply with these provisions of the Security Rule will subject the business associate to civil and criminal penalties in the same manner as a covered entity." (Adams and Reese LLP)
Healthy San Francisco Wins Another Court Round
Excerpt: "San Francisco's groundbreaking universal health care program withstood a legal challenge from restaurant owners today, setting up the possibility for a showdown before the U.S. Supreme Court. In a split decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected an appeal from the Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which challenged the program's employer-spending requirement." (Hearst Communications Inc.)
Wal-Mart Plans to Market Digital Health Records System
Excerpt: "Wal-Mart Stores is striding into the market for electronic health records, seeking to bring the technology into the mainstream for physicians in small offices, where most of America's doctors practice medicine. . . . The company plans to team its Sam's Club division with Dell for computers and eClinicalWorks, a fast-growing private company, for software. Wal-Mart says its package deal of hardware, software, installation, maintenance and training will make the technology more accessible and affordable, undercutting rival health information technology suppliers by as much as half." (The New York Times; free registration required)
CBO Testimony: Options for Controlling the Cost and Increasing the Efficiency of Health Care (PDF)
18 pages. Testimony before the Subcommittee on Health, Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. House of Representatives, March 10, 2009. Excerpt: "Policymakers could seek to improve efficiency by changing the ways that public programs pay for health care services or by encouraging such changes in private health plans; in both sectors, those changes could in turn exert a strong influence on the delivery of care." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
AHIP's Resource for Well-Being Map: State and Congressional District Resource for Well-Being
Excerpt: "[AHIP, in a joint appearance with Gallup and Healthways, announces] publication of one of the most powerful tools ever created for measuring and evaluating America's relative health, wellbeing and prosperity. Based on comprehensive data derived from the landmark Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index (WBI), the AHIP State and Congressional District Reports will provide measurements, both composite and in-depth, of health and well-being in all 50 states and 435 congressional districts, as well as the District of Columbia." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Small Group Health Insurance in 2008: A Comprehensive Survey of Premiums, Product Choices, and Benefits (PDF)
26 pages. Excerpt: "In 2008, the average premium for small group health insurance was $346 per month ($4,155 per year) for single coverage and $913 per month ($10,956 annually) for family coverage. Within the small group market, premiums fell as firm size increased." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Publisher Collecting COBRA Survey Information; Results Available Without Charge to Survey Participants
Excerpt: "Spencer's Benefits Reports continues to collect information for its 2009 COBRA health care continuation of coverage survey. Survey forms are available online . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer)
Do Health Problems Reduce Consumption at Older Ages?
Excerpt: "The results show that medical conditions increase health spending, particularly for households ages 51 to 64, but that health conditions do not generally reduce nonhealth spending. Medical conditions do, however, reduce nonhealth spending for low-income households ages 51 to 64, suggesting that holes in the health safety net before the Medicare eligibility age force some low-income people to lower their living standards to cover medical expenses." (Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)
No Verdict on U.S. Pay-for-Performance Health Plans
Excerpt: "Dangling a financial carrot in front of doctors as a way to improve health quality has changed the way some doctors practice medicine, but has yet to significantly improve quality and may be interfering with doctor-patient relationships, researchers said on Tuesday. . . . Despite the rapid adoption of these programs, there is little research about how well they work or what types of strategies work best. Researchers at the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research group, studied a pay-for-performance program started in 2003 involving seven major California health plans and 225 physician groups who care for a total of 6.2 million people." (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion]
What We Can Learn from the Nineties About Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "Over at Centered Politics.com Jim Jaffe once again has written a provocative piece about health care reform. I don't agree with him on every point. But I am persuaded by his opening premise: the main lesson we need to learn from the 90's involves managed care, not the Clinton effort, which 'was a one-off effort with unique problems.'. . . Our experiment with 'managed care' is still pertinent because, as Jaffe points out in the excerpt from his post below, the health care reform that the administration proposes aims to lift the quality of care, and contain costs, by weeding out ineffective treatments. This is why the administration has set aside money to fund both comparative effectiveness research and electronic medical records that can provide a database of outcomes." (The Century Foundation)
[Opinion]
No Reason to Demonize U.S. Single-Payer Health Care
Excerpt: "It's time to stop kicking sand in the face of single-payer health care. It may be the strongest solution around to insure every American at a lower cost. After decades of industry campaigns against this model -- dubbed by its critics as 'socialized' medicine -- it's important to stop whining and evaluate the many economic benefits." (Bloomberg L.P.)
[Opinion]
Group Letter Urges Congressional Budget Committees to Consider Cost Savings in Developing Health Care Reform Legislation (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "We are writing to express our strong support for including in the budget resolution the resources needed to enact comprehensive health reform legislation. In our view, such legislation should include effective provisions to reduce costs by improving the quality and efficiency of health care and help ensure coverage for every American. Legislation of this kind will reduce the rate of growth of both federal and private health care expenditures, and will thus improve the fiscal health of the nation." (American Benefits Council)
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University Conference Services (Adv.)
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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
[Guidance Overview]Top 10 Things You Need to Know for Option Exchanges Involving International Employees (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt: "Underwater options are a common occurrence in today's stock market. As a result, many companies are considering offering an option exchange program, however, most companies focus on the U.S. considerations and neglect to consider how this may affect their non-U.S. employees. This article discusses the top 10 issues that should be carefully considered before making a global exchange offer." (Baker & McKenzie)
Washington State Senate OKs Domestic Partner Rights Expansion
Excerpt: "Same-sex domestic partners would have all of the rights and benefits that Washington offers married couples under a measure passed by the state Senate. Supporters of the bill said it offers same-sex couples fairness that has been denied them under the state's 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which restricts marriage to unions between a man and woman." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
The 2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream (PDF)
38 pages. Excerpt: "The 2009 MetLife Study of the American Dream finds the dream very much alive. Over the past twelve months, the American dream has been shifted and altered...but it hasn't been deleted. Roughly one-third of Americans believe they have already achieved the dream, down only slightly from one year ago. For those still in pursuit, however, the quest to reach their destination has become more difficult. And for those Americans who believe they have reached the dream, many are worried about backsliding. No longer the permanent destination it once was, being able to sustain the dream is becoming as important as achieving it in the first place." (MetLife, Inc.)
Americans' Low Insurance IQ Hurts Finances, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Americans are lacking in basic knowledge about insurance that might help their finances during the recession, according to a new survey. In fact, we know a lot less about insurance than we think we know, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which sponsored the poll. That disconnect can end up costing them money or gaps in their long-term insurance protection, says the NAIC, an organization of state insurance regulators representing consumer and industry needs." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
[Opinion]
ERIC Files Comment on Proposed 409A Income Inclusion Regulations and Related Notice
Excerpt: "The ERISA Industry Committee (ERIC) earlier today filed a comment letter with the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in response to proposed regulations published December 8, 2008, on the calculation of amounts includible in income and additional taxes due upon a failure to comply with the timing rules of Section 409A(a). The comment also discusses IRS Notice 2008-115 providing interim guidance on reporting, withholding, and income tax inclusion pending the issuance of final regulations." (The ERISA Industry Committee)
Newly Posted Events
(Post Yours!)"Earned Income: Computing Compensation for the Self-employed" Archived seminar
Nationwide on March 10, 2009
presented by SunGard
John "Jack" Bogle to Speak With FI360’s Blaine Aikin on the Urgency to Enforce a Fiduciary Standard to Bolster Investor Confidence in the Markets - Media Briefing
in District of Columbia on March 13, 2009
presented by Fiduciary360 (fi360)
Learn What You Need to Know About EGTRRA Restatements
Nationwide on April 13, 2009
presented by ftwilliam.com
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)PBGC Assumes East River Management Corp. Pension Plan
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
U.S. Department of Labor Sues Bridgeport, Pa., Benefit Firms and Lawyers to Protect Welfare Benefit Plan Participants Nationwide
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Ninth Circuit Ruling on San Francisco Health Ordinance Threatens Employer-Based Health System
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
Groups Launch Retirement USA Initiative, Establish Principles for a Visionary Retirement Income System
Pension Rights Center
Fidelity Launches Comprehensive Financial Guidance Program
Fidelity Investments
New Research Shows Companies Will Be Reducing Equity Compensation Values to Executives and All Employees
Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Assistant Administrative Manager - Union Welfare Plan
for UFCW Unions & Employers Health & Welfare Plan of Central Ohio
in OH
Sales, Internal - TPA, Retirement Plans
for DailyAccess Corporation
in MI
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Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
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