Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| June 24, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
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[Guidance Overview]
Supreme Court Review of San Francisco Health Insurance Mandate Sought by Restaurateurs
Excerpt: "The case involves San Francisco's 'fair share' ordinance, which requires employers with at least 20 employees to provide health coverage for their San Francisco workers. If they do not comply, employers must pay a fee to support city health clinics." (Law.com)
[Guidance Overview]
The Stimulus Push for Electronic Health Records and Strengthened Privacy and Security
Excerpt: "A significant chunk of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), approximately $20 billion, is aimed at motivating health care providers to implement electronic health record (EHR) systems. The incentives will be paid in the form of increased Medicare and/or Medicaid payments. Medicare incentive payments will begin in 2011 and will be paid over four years for eligible hospitals and over five years for eligible health care professionals who can show 'meaningful use' of a 'certified EHR' system. The incentive program for hospitals is based on the 'Medicare share' of a base payment amount of $2 Million, adjusted based on the hospital's discharge data. The Medicare share takes into account the proportion of inpatient bed days that are paid by Medicare as well as an adjustment for charity care." (Poyner Spruill LLP)
Setting a National Minimum Standard for Health Benefits: How Do State Benefit Mandates Compare with Benefits in Large-Group Plans?
Excerpt: "This issue brief considers what a broad federal minimum standard might look like by comparing existing state benefit mandates with the services and providers covered under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) Blue Cross and Blue Shield standard benefit package, an example of minimum creditable coverage that reflects current standard practice among employer-sponsored health plans. With few exceptions, benefits in the FEHBP standard option either meet or exceed those that state mandates require -- indicating that a broad-based national benefit standard would include most existing state benefit mandates." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Obama Says Government Health Coverage Plan Would Not Hurt Private Insurers
Excerpt: "President Obama made a detailed case on Tuesday for a new government-administered health insurance plan, but he did not rule out signing a bill that lacks such an option if he cannot win enough support from Democrats in Congress. In a White House news conference, Mr. Obama dismissed as 'not logical' the suggestion that a public plan, which is intended to create more competition and therefore act as a brake on the rise of health insurance costs, would undermine the private insurance market. He argued that a government-run plan competing with private insurers would be an 'important tool to discipline insurance companies' and scoffed at complaints that it could drive some out of business." (The New York Times; free registration required)
The Tri-Committee Draft Proposal for Health Care Reform
June 23, 2009. Excerpt: "The House Education and Labor Committee [held] a hearing on Tuesday, June 23 on the forthcoming draft proposal for health care reform developed by the House Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor Committees. The draft proposal is designed to achieve President Obama's goals of controlling health care costs, preserving health care choices, and ensuring quality, affordable health care for all Americans." (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education & Labor)
'Purchasing High Performance:' A Newsletter Designed for Employers and Coalitions Seeking Value in Health Care
Excerpt: "[No matter what happens on Capitol Hill, there will still be a place, post-reform, for conscientious employers to use their savvy and sway to increase value in the health care system. Purchasing High Performance is designed with that goal in mind. Every issue will bring you innovative purchasing strategies, benefit design ideas, and news you can use to make the most of your health care dollars." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Health Reform in the 21st Century: Proposals to Reform the Health System
June 24, 2009. Excerpt: "The focus of the hearing will be on the forthcoming proposal developed by the Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce and Education and Labor and other proposals to reform the health system." (U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means)
Employers Add Financial Components to Wellness Programs
Excerpt: "Wellness programs and financial education aren't new to the workplace. But just over the past couple of years, a growing number of companies have been marrying these two concepts, experts say. 'There has been a push to focus on personal health and wealth as a way of managing your personal overall well-being,' says Steve Cyboran, vice president and consulting actuary at Sibson Consulting, a division of the Segal Co. 'Certainly I think this is exacerbated by the current economic situation.' Bringing the concept of financial health into a wellness campaign can help employers reduce health care costs -- which is often one of the primary goals of these initiatives, consultants say." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Interactive Comparison Tool of Major Health Care Reform Proposals Now Includes House Tri-Committee, Senate HELP Bills
Excerpt: "The Kaiser Family Foundation recently updated the side-by-side comparison tool on its new health reform gateway page to include detailed summaries of new comprehensive health reform legislation proposed by the three key House committees (known as the 'Tri-Committee' bill) and from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. With the additions, the interactive online tool . . . now allows comparisons of nine major congressional health reform proposals, including those from the Senate Finance Committee; Sens. Tom Coburn and Richard Burr and Reps. Paul Ryan and Devin Nunes; Rep. John Conyers; Rep. John Dingell; Sen. Bernie Sanders; Rep. Pete Stark; and Sens. Ron Wyden and Bob Bennett." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Head of LDS Church's Insurance Company Tells U.S. House to Protect Work-Based Health Plans
Excerpt: "The president of the LDS Church's insurance company urged a House committee Tuesday to protect the employer-based health care system and warned against taxing those benefits as part of a proposed reform plan. [Michael Stapley appeared before the committee as the representative of the ERISA Industry Committee.] He said the industry-backed group is committed to health care reform that curbs costs, creates a nationwide insurance marketplace and requires everyone to have coverage, while providing help for the poor." (Salt Lake Tribune)
[Opinion]
Alternative Paths to a High Performance U.S. Health System
Excerpt: "A controversial part of the health reform debate is whether a new public insurance plan choice should be offered to the under-65 population. This report analyzes alternative paths to reform and presents estimates of impacts on health spending. The approaches include: 1) a public health plan paying providers at Medicare rates, offered alongside private plans in a national health insurance exchange; 2) a public plan paying providers at rates set midway between Medicare and private plan rates, offered alongside private plans in an insurance exchange; and 3) no public plan, with only private plans offered to employers and individuals through an insurance exchange. All three approaches, if combined with Medicare payment and system reform, would produce substantial savings over time, but option 1 would yield the most -- $3.0 trillion in cumulative health system savings over 2010 to 2020, compared with $2.0 trillion (option 2) and $1.2 trillion (option 3)." (The Commonwealth Fund)
[Opinion]
Union Members Exempt from New Health Benefits Tax
Excerpt: "Union members and their families who receive healthcare benefits paid for by their employers would be exempted from a new tax on healthcare under one option being proposed by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mt), according to a report by the Fox Business Channel's Peter Barnes. Baucus's plan would tax health care benefits to raise from $161.9 billion to $418 billion over ten years to fund the nationalized 'government provider' of health care benefits President Obama and Democrats want. Peter Barnes told me, 'There would be preferential treatment for unions' under one version of the Baucus proposal." (HUMAN EVENTS)
BenefitsLink Newsletter (Advert.)
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]Supreme Court Makes It More Difficult for Employees to Prove Age Discrimination Claims (PDF)
Excerpt: "The U.S. Supreme Court held in a 5-4 decision that a plaintiff bringing a disparate treatment claim under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that age was the 'but-for' cause of the adverse employment action. Gross v. FBL Fin. Servs., Inc., No. 08-441 (June 18, 2009). The Court's adoption of a but-for causation standard is a departure from the burden of persuasion that courts had used when analyzing ADEA claims." (Sutherland)
Employee Benefits Update, June 2009 (PDF)
The nine-page newsletter presents select compliance deadlines and reminders; retirement plan developments; and, health and welfare plan developments, with comments from Reinhart. (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)
[Opinion]
ERISA in the Crisis Zone
Excerpt: "In the employee benefits sector, seemingly removed from the catastrophic bank and stock crisis, the crisis zone still has yielded proposals like: Additional restrictions on 401(k) plans. A universal thrift plan that would severely erode the traditional 401(k). A universal health care system which would impose greater health care costs on employers, crowding out retirement and other benefit expenditures. This could possibly include mandated benefits. It could ultimately involve universal Medicare coverage or a government entity for the uninsured, obviously to be accomplished by increased payroll and income taxes. A major employee benefits debate would result in another nasty clash between traditional antagonists. We still have those who would support the old paradigm of equilibrium - the same people who have tried but failed to prevent continued innovation in employee benefits, as opposed those who have developed and promoted more flexible approaches." (Employee Benefit News via Passion for Subro)
Webcasts and Conferences
401(k) Safe Harbor and SIMPLE PlansNationwide on September 3, 2009
presented by McKay Hochman Co.
403(b) Plan Language In-Depth
Nationwide on August 5, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
A First Look at Approved 403(b) Prototype -- Archived
Nationwide on June 23, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
Ethics for ERPAs
Nationwide on September 16, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
Introduction to DBK Plans
Nationwide on October 7, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
Participant Loans Overview
Nationwide on August 6, 2009
presented by McKay Hochman Co.
Professional Conduct for ERPAs
Nationwide on September 2, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
Qualified Plan Beneficiary Issues
Nationwide on July 16, 2009
presented by McKay Hochman Co.
Qualified Transportation Fringe Benefits
Nationwide on October 21, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
Reducing or Eliminating Safe Harbor Contributions
Nationwide on July 8, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
VCP Applications, Determination Letters and EGTRRA Restatements
Nationwide on August 19, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
Vesting and Partial Terminations
Nationwide on July 22, 2009
presented by Qualified Pension Consulting, Inc.
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
Benefit Software Inc. Announces Green e-Benefits Statements: Electronic Distribution and Storage Cuts Costs and WasteBenefit Software Inc.
ERIC Urges Congress to First "Do No Harm" in Seeking to Reform Health Care
ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee)
Council to House Committee: Health Care Reform Legislation Should Build on Employer-based System
American Benefits Council
Fortune 500 Employers Turn to HighRoads as The President’s Budget Boosts DOL Enforcement
HighRoads, Inc.
RothRetirement.com: A New Website to Help Consumers Understand the 2010 Roth IRA Conversion Opportunity
Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
Bridges to Excellence Announces Five New Physician Recognition Programs with Potential to Save Billions of Health Care Dollars
Bridges to Excellence (BTE)
Davidson Marketing Group, LLC Releases Sales RockStar
Davidson Marketing Group -- FutureOffice Network
(Click to post your press release)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
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