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April 29, 2009 |
| Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost aspects of plan operation, design and policy. |
www.ftwilliam.com (Advert.)
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[Guidance Overview]
FTC as Enforcer: Proposed Data Breach Notification Rule for Personal Health Records
Excerpt: "Notification of a breach must be made 'without unreasonable delay' but in no event later than within 60 calendar days of learning of the breach. PHR vendors and PHR-related entities must provide notice to each individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States whose unsecured PHR identifiable information was acquired by an unauthorized person as a result of such breach of security and to the FTC. Third-party service providers must provide notice of a breach of security to a senior official at the applicable PHR vendor or PHR-related entity." (Davis Wright Tremaine LLP)
Sebelius Clears Senate Hurdle to Get HHS Seat
Excerpt: "Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius has won Senate confirmation to serve as the nation's health and human services secretary. The 65-31 vote came after Democrats urged quick action so that Sebelius could get to work leading the federal response to the swine flu outbreak . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
TIAA-CREF Addresses Issue of Retiree Health Care Costs
Excerpt: "TIAA-CREF has developed an offering which seeks to provide employees of nonprofit institutions a way to save during their working years for health care expenses in retirement. The Retiree Health Care Savings Plan allows employers to set up defined-contribution style plans to which employees can contribute part of earnings, post-tax, to be used for health care costs in retirement. Employers have the option of contributing to the plan as well. Employer contributions and earnings are not taxable when used for medical expenses in retirement." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Baucus Refocusing Health Reform Discussions
Excerpt: "At a meeting with reporters on Friday, Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-Montana) said he will temporarily set aside talks on a new public insurance option to focus on maintaining employer self-insurance plans." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Poll Examines How Much U.S. Residents Are Willing to Pay for Health Coverage
Excerpt: "Nearly two out of three uninsured U.S. adults (64%) say they would be willing to pay no more than $100 per month for health insurance; however, the average monthly cost of an individual plan is about $400 and a family plan costs about $1,000 per month, according to a recent poll by NPR, the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health . . . ." (Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation)
Senate Finance Committee Offers a Peek at Health Care Overhaul
Excerpt: "Get your reading glasses ready, health-care followers. The parade of thick documents detailing the Senate's plans to overhaul the health-care system started trickling out Tuesday. This one's a 52-page report [click] that members of the Senate Finance Committee plan to debate behind closed doors Wednesday. Many of the proposals use Medicare as a testing ground for ideas that could eventually be expanded to the broader market." (The Wall Street Journal)
Swine Flu Response Resource Site
Excerpt: "In a matter of days, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the H1N1 swine flu to a phase 4 pandemic alert, designating the need for proactive 'response and mitigation efforts.' The potential business impact of a swine flu outbreak is real and must be addressed. This Swine Flu Response Resource Site is designed as an online resource to access information and insight on risks and human capital concerns emanating from a swine flu outbreak. This site is intended to help our clients make informed decisions about their employees' - and their business' - welfare." (Aon Consulting)
Innovations in Recognizing and Rewarding Health Care Quality
84 pages. Excerpt: "As our nation faces the crushing burden of health care costs, health insurance plans are delivering new payment models that are showing results in making the system more affordable and improving value and safety. Health insurance plans have been at the forefront of efforts to pay not just for services rendered, but for performance achieved -- a long-overdue approach called 'pay for performance,' or 'P4P.' . . . Our report highlights some of the most innovative approaches that regional and national health insurance plans have taken to advance quality of care and efficiency through the recognition and reward of physicians and hospitals for achieving national benchmarks, demonstrating outstanding performance, and making measurable improvements over time." (America's Health Insurance Plans)
Furloughs As an Option to Avoid Layoffs
Excerpt: "Times remain tough. And most employers would prefer not to fire people, if they can avoid it. One possible way to avoid layoffs is through furloughs -- making workers take an unpaid leave of absence for a set period of time. The following items can help you decide if furloughs are an option for your firm." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Diagnosis HSA - A Treatment Plan for Employers (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "As the economy continues to contract globally U.S. employers are seeking and finding benefit plan design and funding solutions to control and manage both short- and long-term costs. So what is the diagnosis for Health Savings Account (HSA) qualified plans and HSAs specifically? At the heart of the most innovative approaches is a combination of High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP) design features joined with a tax-advantaged HSA. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, HSA-qualified plans reduce the premiums to offer health insurance and the savings nearly offset all of the deductible." (Buck Consultants)
The Massachusetts Debate Over Age-Based Pricing for Health Insurance
Excerpt: "The Boston Globe on Sunday examined a push by patient advocates in Massachusetts to prohibit insurers from pricing their insurance plans based on age. State law requires that everyone obtain health insurance, unless purchasing coverage would exceed 12% of their income. According to the Globe, self-employed individuals and retirees ages 50 to 64 who do not qualify for an exemption are left to 'choose between expensive monthly premiums that rise with age, and cheaper plans with skimpier coverage and high out-of-pocket costs for doctors and prescriptions.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
[Opinion]
Why Continue Employer-Based Health Insurance?
Excerpt: "[I]t appears that the majority of employers favor keeping the employer-based provision of health insurance. The American Benefits Council['s] own proposal for health care reform is focused on maintaining and reinforcing the employer-based and private individual health insurance systems, including conserving ERISA. Build on what works, the group emphasized--strengthening the current voluntary employer-based health insurance coverage is the best foundation for health care reform [How does this stand to reason?]. Improve tax policy to make health care coverage more affordable and accessible and continue to allow employers to deduct health care benefits costs, continue to allow employees to obtain the benefits tax-free, and extend the favorable tax treatment to individuals who buy individual health insurance." (Wolters Kluwer)
The Savvy Self-Funding Healthcare Conference & Expo (Advert.)
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]Option Repricing and Exchanges
Excerpt: "Even many privately held-companies have seen the fair market value of their stock decline, causing their outstanding options to be underwater, as well. As a result, those now valueless options no longer serve their incentive purpose, and affected companies are looking for ways to restore those incentives to motivate and retain employees. There are three principal approaches to try to restore those incentives: issue new options (or other incentive awards, such as restricted stock); reprice underwater options (that is, make the exercise price no less than the current fair market value); or offer cash, new options or other incentive awards in exchange for outstanding underwater options (or offer to materially amend terms of the underwater options other than the exercise price -- a material amendment generally is treated the same as an exchange)." (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
[Guidance Overview]
Executive Compensation 2008: The Year in Review and the Road Ahead (PDF)
17 pages. Excerpt: "[T]he body of this year's letter is intended to provide a sense of what has happened over the last year and to help companies navigate the upcoming year and beyond. The letter comments on the issues companies are facing currently with regard to executive compensation in light of events in 2008 and raises questions intended to create discussion around what companies and directors should be thinking about in 2009 and beyond relating to executive compensation." (Frederic W. Cook, Inc.)
[Opinion]
Many Things Shape and Influence the Composition of Workplace Benefits
Excerpt: "Long established as a kind of 'partnership' of employers, the government, and individual workers, the types of benefits provided, the incentives for providing them, and the perceived benefit in receiving them has varied over time, and between employment sectors. . . . However, these are not normal times and, if rhetoric becomes reality, change could well be the order of the day, with the potential for seismic shifts in the responsibility, costs, and characteristics of benefits long associated with today's workplace. With that in mind, as we compiled this year's Buyer's Guide, I kept thinking about how much -- and what -- things could change." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Webcasts and Conferences
(Click to post your webcast or conference)32nd Annual Conference
in District of Columbia on May 6, 2009
presented by ESOP Association
Employee Benefits and Employment Law Issues in the "Great Recession"
in California on May 21, 2009
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter
ERISA Update Seminar
in Florida on June 2, 2009
presented by TRI Pension Services/GrayRobinson, P.A.
Form 5500 Update: Filing Issues for ERISA-Covered Pension and Welfare Plans
in New York on May 28, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefits Network ), New York Chapter
Press Releases
(Click to post your press release)79% of Multiemployer Defined Benefit Pension Plans No Longer in Safe Funded Status
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
Employers’ Reform Position Details Their Readiness to Tackle Tough Decisions to Solve Health Care Problem
HR Policy Association
Challenge in Curbing the Spread of Swine Flu: Half of Workforce Lacks Paid Sick Days
Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)
ABA Retirement Funds Names Scarlett Ungurean Executive Director
ABA Retirement Funds
Employee Benefits Jobs
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Pension Supervisor
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Senior Plan Administrator
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
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