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June 29, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy

International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (Advert.)

Need to train your staff annually on HIPAA Privacy? (clickable image)

Need to train your staff annually on HIPAA Privacy?

The HIPAA Privacy e-learning course has been completely updated with all of the new ARRA information. E-learning courses from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans are a perfect way to get compliance education without leaving the office. Courses cover the entire benefits spectrum and include fun, interactive features that will help you fully understand concepts and practical applications and not just memorize terms. Learn more at www.ifebp.org/elearning.


[Guidance Overview]
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules That Unused Vacation Is Earned Wages, Despite Company Policy Otherwise

Excerpt: "The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts recently held that employers must pay a discharged employee the full amount of any unused vacation time even when the employer has a written policy that states otherwise. In Electronic Data Systems Corp. v. Attorney General, No. SJC-10260, 2009 WL 1608857 (Mass., June 11, 2009), the Court adopted the state attorney general's interpretation that under the Massachusetts wage law, 'earned' vacation time payments are wages that must be paid to an employee upon termination of employment." (Pepper Hamilton LLP)


[Guidance Overview]
Under HITECH Act, Business Associates Now Directly Covered by HIPAA (PDF)

Excerpt: "[Business associates (BAs)] should act now to review: (1) the information security measures it employs to protect PHI, (2) its policies and procedures relating to PHI it handles for Covered Entity clients, (3) its BA agreements, (4) the ways in which it uses and discloses PHI and the amount of PHI disclosed and (5) its communications to patients, if any, to implement measures to meet these new requirements. Also, BAs should prepare for the compliance audits that will be coming by implementing appropriate written policies and maintaining documentation to demonstrate their compliance with the new privacy and security requirements for PHI as they become effective. And BAs should assign responsibility for monitoring the development and issuance of the many implementing regulations that will be forthcoming." (Alston & Bird LLP)


[Guidance Overview]
Court Reduces Award of Unreimbursed Medical Expenses and Sustains Attorneys' Fee Award Following Second Appeal

Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: It's unclear when this employee's employment formally terminated or why his coverage continued for so long, but employers can take a lesson from this case. To reduce the risk of COBRA litigation, employers should adopt and consistently administer policies regarding the status of employees who are unable to return to work after injury or illness -- addressing issues such as when active health coverage terminates, whether the employee will receive some period of employer-paid coverage, and how that coverage will interact with COBRA." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)


Charleston, West Virginia, Still Allows Employees to Trade Sick Days for Health Insurance
Excerpt: "Eight years after state government stopped the practice for new hires, the city of Charleston continues to let employees trade unused sick days for health insurance premiums in retirement. And despite the fact that the city, like the state, has a hefty unfunded liability for health insurance promised to its retirees, City Manager David Molgaard says the city comes out ahead by using the incentive." (Charleston Daily Mail)


Putting Benefit Plans Out to Bid May Reap Savings
Excerpt: "Scouting for a way to rein in health benefit costs, Florida Power & Light, the state's largest electric utility, decided to start using a more open, competitive bidding process for its health and benefit plans. FPL kicked off its new bidding system in late 2004 and promptly struck gold. By forcing providers of plans for vision, dental and other benefit components to openly compete for its business through an auction-style process where players can see one another's offers, FPL figures it has saved $1.1 million annually in benefit costs." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Changes to Tax Exclusion of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums: Potential Source of Financing for Health Reform
Excerpt: "Many have suggested that reducing or eliminating the tax exclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance (ESI) could generate significant additional tax revenue to fund expansions in health insurance coverage. In this paper, we focus on two specific policy design elements: (1) a cap, or dollar limit, on the amount of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums excluded from taxable income; and (2) an index that determines how this cap might grow over time. Our analysis shows that limiting the tax exclusion would provide substantial funding for health reform and mitigate the huge inequities built into the current treatment of employer premiums." (Urban Institute)


Background Guide to Health Reform in 2009
Excerpt: "This Guide will give you background on the health care reform efforts winding through the 111th Congress -- the players, the timeline, and the issues. [Segal] will update this page as details . . . change." (The Segal Group, Inc.)


Unions' Health Benefits May Avoid Tax Under Senate Proposal
Excerpt: "Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, the chief congressional advocate of taxing some employer-provided benefits to help pay for an overhaul of the U.S. health system, says any change should exempt perks secured in existing collective- bargaining agreements, which can be in place for as long as five years. The exception, which could make the proposal more politically palatable to Democrats from heavily unionized states such as Michigan, is adding controversy to an already contentious debate. It would shield the 12.4 percent of American workers who belong to unions from being taxed while exposing some other middle-income workers to the levy." (Bloomberg L.P.)


The Convergence of Quality and Efficiency and the Role of Information Technology in Healthcare Reform (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt: "[R]educing waste in healthcare is a unique example of how doing the right thing (improving outcomes) can also save money. How much waste is present that could eventually be removed? Milliman's actuaries have concluded that the amount of waste in the healthcare system is in excess of 25% of total healthcare spending, or more than $600 billion in 2008. In pursuing the elimination of waste, can the dual objectives of quality care and cost effectiveness be achieved simultaneously? Milliman's clinicians believe that best medical practices lead to this result -- that quality and cost effectiveness converge. However, realizing even a significant portion of this potential will not be quick, simple, or easy, nor will it be unilateral and one-dimensional. A cohesive framework must be established and implemented -- one that is sound clinically, financially, and operationally and is based on demonstrated approaches." (Milliman)


Health Care Reform Update
Excerpt: "This is another in a series of regular health care reform updates from Spencer's Benefits Reports. Included are links to items already covered, brief summaries of actions taken by the federal government, recent reports and studies on health care reform, policy statements by major stakeholders, and other recent health care reform activity. Also covered today are comments made by President Barack Obama on June 24 at an ABC News health care forum." (Wolters Kluwer)


Audits of Health Care Benefit Usage Require Time, Money and Follow-Through
Excerpt: "Employers' involvement in auditing processes typically occurs upfront. Dan Priga, principal and national business leader for Mercer Health & Benefits L.L.C.'s performance audit group in Pittsburgh, said medical claim audits require employers to collect and make certain documents and financial information available to auditors for review. For dependent eligibility audits, Mr. Rucci said employers must set parameters and goals for a project, as well as provide dependent data that is the baseline for audits. Keith Bird, vp of sales for Impact Interactive, an audit company in Suwanee, Ga., said an employer, along with the auditor, should analyze the explanation of its medical plan's provisions and how it operates so everyone is in agreement." (Business Insurance)



EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Advert.)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Official Guidance]
IRS Information Letter on Benefits Provided to Volunteer Firefighters and Emergency Medical Responders (PDF)

2 pages. Excerpt: "[The IRS was asked] for an explanation of the types of benefits that section 139B of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) excludes from gross income, and the meaning of the term 'qualified reimbursement payment.'" (Internal Revenue Service)


[Guidance Overview]
Employee Discounts on Products Made by Employer's Former Parent Company Are Subject to Income and FICA Tax

Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The perpetuation of a parent company's employee discount program when a subsidiary is sold or otherwise ceases to be part of the discount provider's controlled group raises a variety of legal and practical issues, several of which are nicely illustrated by this CCA. Discounts that might have been excludable as qualified employee discounts when entities were part of the same controlled group cease to be excludable after the transaction. And if the discount provider ceases to supply information sufficient to accurately determine the fair market value of its discount, the employer must either find some other way to obtain that information or consider ending the discount program. The employer will not be relieved of its reporting and withholding obligations just because the information necessary to meet those obligations is difficult to obtain." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)


[Guidance Overview]
Court Rejects ERISA Section 510 Interference Claim Because Employee Was Not Entitled to Plan Benefits

Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: The three-stage 'burden shifting' framework that courts often use in analyzing ERISA Section 510 claims requires an employee to first establish a right to benefits. . . . If, as in this case, the plan documents clearly demonstrate that the employee simply wasn't entitled to plan benefits, then the claim will fail at the very first stage. Whether the employee was entitled to benefits under the plan being litigated is, therefore, one of the first things an employer should consider in defending an ERISA Section 510 claim." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)


IRS Suggests Workers/Retirees Check Withholding Levels in Light of the Making Work Pay Credit
Excerpt: "With 2009 nearly half over, the IRS reminds individual taxpayers there is no better time to check their 2009 federal income tax withholding levels to make sure they do not face any surprises when returns are due next spring. The Making Work Pay Credit lowered tax withholding rates this year for 120 million American households. However, particular taxpayers who fall into any of the following groups should review their tax withholding rates to ensure enough tax is withheld: multiple job holders, families in which both spouses work, and workers who can be claimed as dependents by other taxpayers and pensioners. Failure to adjust the withholding could result in potentially smaller refunds or may cause a worker to owe tax rather than receive a refund next year." (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)


New Mercer Survey Reveals Ongoing Impact on HR of Global Economic Downturn
Excerpt: "The survey findings paint a vivid picture of the HR, human capital and benefits challenges that organizations continue to face as a result of the global economic downturn. [To learn about the survey findings - download a complimentary executive summary from the target page.] Highlights include: Eighty-two percent of respondents globally anticipate reduced business and financial performance levels in 2009 compared to 2008. While most organizations have refrained from taking steps such as cutting salaries or eliminating benefit programs altogether, they have implemented a range of cost-cutting actions, such as freezing pay at 2008 levels, making workforce reductions, reducing annual bonuses and increasing employee contributions for health benefits." (Mercer LLC)


Towers Perrin + Watson Wyatt = Towers Watson & Co.
Excerpt: "Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc. have combined to form a new entity, Towers Watson. The firms announced today that their respective Boards of Directors unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt will combine in a merger of equals to form the new, publicly listed company called Towers Watson & Co. Based on the closing price of Watson Wyatt common stock on June 26, 2009, the implied equity value of the transaction is approximately $3.5 billion . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)



Webcasts and Conferences

"403(b) Plans for 401(k) Practitioners" - A Three Part Web Seminar
Nationwide on July 22, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius

The Changing Pharmacy Benefit Landscape: Seizing Cost-Saving Opportunities
Nationwide on July 15, 2009
presented by Buck Consultants, an ACS Company

(Click to post your webcast or conference)

Press Releases

The Political Incentives of Reforming Teacher Pension Plans
American Enterprise Institute

Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt to Combine to Form Towers Watson
Watson Wyatt

Society of Actuaries Announces Call for Models and Invites Entries for New Tier Retirement Systems
Society of Actuaries

Great-West Retirement Services® Launches East Start 401(k)sm
Great-West Retirement Services

Ohio Congressional Members Urge U.S. to Provide GM Retirees Medical Benefits
United Steelworkers

Employees Concerned About Changes in Insurance Coverage and Their Ability to Pay
Colonial Life

(Click to post your press release)

Employee Benefits Jobs

Plan Administrator
for The Allocation Company, Inc.
in TX

Financial Specialist
for BPAS
in PA

Defined Benefit Administration Specialist
for Consulting Actuaries Incorporated
in NJ

Plan Administrator
for Blue Ridge ESOP Associates
in VA

Benefits Analyst
for Catholic Healthcare Partners
in OH

Compliance Manager
for EPIC Advisors, Inc.
in NY

(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs | RSS feed for jobs RSS feed of all jobs )


EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)

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