BenefitsLink |
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March 13, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Adv.)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.) 
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com is where the best employers find the best candidates!
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[Guidance Overview]
Proposed Regulations Under Federal Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act
Excerpt: "The proposed regulations attempt to clarify the definition of genetic information and provide guidance both on the limitations on acquisition of genetic information and ways to limit disclosure of genetic information acquired. As some of these regulations may change employers' practices, employers should make sure that human resources personnel and managers are familiar with the provisions of Title II of GINA before the effective date." (Littler Mendelson P.C.)
[Guidance Overview]
New Enrollment, Notice and Disclosure Obligations for Group Health Plans
Excerpt: "The Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 recently became law and expands the State Children's Health Insurance Program. Under the new law, states are allowed to subsidize premiums for employer-provided group health coverage for eligible children and families. The Act introduces new enrollment rights, along with new notice and disclosure obligations for employers that maintain group health plans. In this article, we review the legislation and new requirements for employers." (JPMorgan Chase & Co.)
[Guidance Overview]
Determining Employee Eligibility Under the FMLA
Excerpt: "To be eligible for FMLA leave an employee who works for a covered employer must satisfy the following criteria: 1. The employee must have been employed by the employer for at least a total of 12 months before the commencement of the leave; 2. The employee must have worked at least 1,250 hours in the 12 months immediately preceding the leave; and The employee must work at a site at which the employer has 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. These basic requirements from the act itself are expanded upon in the regulations." (Faegre & Benson)
N.Y. Governor Wants to Give Workers Second Chance for Mini-COBRA
Excerpt: "Federal law requires that COBRA be offered only by employers with 20 or more employees. Some states, such as New York, have so-called mini-COBRA laws that require health plans offered by employers with fewer than 20 employees to extend COBRA. . . . New York Gov. David Paterson has proposed giving workers at small companies another chance to apply for so-called mini-COBRA coverage despite declining it initially." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Public Sector Strategic Health Care Plan Design (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends that [public sector] plan sponsors consider developing and formally adopting a long-term, strategic plan that includes guiding principles and key objectives for managing health-care costs and improving participant wellness. The strategic plan design should consider both incremental changes and major initiatives to establish an efficient and effective structure that will enable the plan sponsor to provide the desired level of health-care coverage while maintaining those costs at sustainable levels." (Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Can.ada)
Communicating Health-Care Benefits to Employees and Retirees: Recommended Practice (PDF)
1 page. Approved by the GFOA's Executive Board, February 27, 2009. (Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Can.ada)
Federal Appeals Court Rulings Aid G.ay Partners
Excerpt: "Just seven weeks into office, President Obama is being forced to confront one of the most sensitive social and political issues of the day: whether the government must provide health insurance benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Bipartisan Senate Group Makes Health Care Reform Progress
Excerpt: "A bipartisan group of nine U.S. senators, after meeting for nine months behind closed doors, is nearing an agreement on the broad strokes of a health care reform bill. The so-called Gang of Nine -- though its number expands and contracts depending on the meeting -- is hammering out the finer points as they prepare to enter the drafting phase of the negotiations, sources from three Senate offices involved in the talks tell TIME." (Time Inc.)
Corporate Wellness Efforts Targeting Specific Medical Conditions
Excerpt: "Not only are corporate wellness programs more common than ever before, employers are becoming more sophisticated in how they work with employees with specific chronic diseases to develop healthier lifestyles. A Hewitt Associates news release about its latest corporate wellness poll of 343 large employers found that approximately 80% of responding companies were targeting specific health conditions in their employees, up from 51% a year ago." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
2009 Enrollment Season Ends Without Radical Changes
Excerpt: "The economy may seem like it is in turmoil sometimes, but tight budgets in many workplaces apparently did not bring radical changes to the outcome of the 2009 benefits enrollment season, according to a new survey. A news release from Wells Fargo Insurance Services said its poll of more than 400 U.S. companies found that employers absorbed most of the benefits cost hikes this year while adding options such as Health Savings Accounts and wellness programs." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Majority of Employers Committed to Providing Health Care, According to Survey
Excerpt: "Despite rising health care costs and other economic worries, a majority of large U.S. employers remain confident they will continue to offer health care benefits to workers 10 years from now, according to a new survey by Watson Wyatt and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH). According to the survey, 62% of employers are very confident they will continue to offer health care benefits 10 years from now, down from 73% last year." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Number of HMOs as of July 2008
Source: Healthleaders, Inc., Special Data Request, March 2009. (Kaiser Family Foundation)
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The Savvy Self-Funding Healthcare Conference & Expo (Adv.)
(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
Golden Parachute Gross-Ups May Be Unnecessary for Many ExecutivesExcerpt: "Compensation committees have been reexamining their non-core compensation elements under the brighter light shone by the recent changes to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proxy disclosure rules. Severance and change-in-control (CIC) benefits seem to be attracting the most criticism these days, so many companies are reevaluating the business purpose and effectiveness of those first." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
Employer Compensation Costs Average $29/Hour in December
Excerpt: "Employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers averaged $29.18 per hour worked in December 2008, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported. A BLS news release said wages and salaries, which averaged $20.37, accounted for 69.8% of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $8.81, accounted for the remaining 30.2%. Employer costs for legally required benefits -- Social Security, Medicare, federal and state unemployment insurance, and workers' compensation -- averaged $2.27, or 7.8% of total compensation per hour worked in December 2008." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Newly Posted Events
(Post Yours!)New HIPAA Special Enrollment Rules: Update and Review
Nationwide on March 12, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters
"Participant Troubles: Loans and Hardship Distributions" Web Seminar
Nationwide on April 7, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
"Plan Troubles: Reductions, Terminations, and Valuations" Web Seminar
Nationwide on April 9, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
401(k) Plan Litigation: Employer Stock Suits Continue but Has Hecker v. Deere Changed the Fee Case Landscape?
Nationwide on April 7, 2009
presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits
How to Integrate FMLA with ADA, Short and Long-Term Disability (60-Minute Power Series)
Nationwide on March 24, 2009
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Newly Posted Press Releases
(Post Yours!)Companies Remain Confident in Future of Health Benefits, National Business Group on Health/Watson Wyatt Survey Finds
Watson Wyatt
PBGC Protects Intermet Corp. Pension Plans
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
ERIC Urges Congress to Enact Pathway for FDA Approval of Biogeneric Drugs
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
Vanguard's Jack Bogle And Fiduciary360'S Blaine Aikin's Message To Congress: “Stop The Hemorrhaging ‘Trust’ Deficit In The Capital Markets; Enact A Fiduciary Standard Now”
Fiduciary360 (fi360)
yourSABBATICAL Identifies Time Away From Work as Innovative Solution to Flexibility and “Life-Work” Issues
yourSABBATICAL
First Rewards Paid to New Jersey Doctors through Participation in Bridges to Excellence
Bridges to Excellence (BTE)
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Adv.)
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Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
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