Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| July 2, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
University Conference Services (Advert.)
What’s Your Next Move? Managing your organization’s health and welfare plans can seem like a game of chess. You always want to be one move ahead of your "opponent"—cost increases that outpace inflation, employees who ignore the principles of good nutrition and healthy living, or regulators who impose ever more complicated rules. The Las Vegas Health and Welfare Plan Management for Mid-Sized Employers conference, September 13–16, is an unmatched educational opportunity to evaluate your health care programs and create a winning strategy for keeping costs under control. |
[Guidance Overview]
Claiming Damages and Evaluating New Prescription Drug Pricing Methodologies in the Wake of Two Final Settlements of a Class Action AWP Lawsuit: Action Needed by July 9, 2009 (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "Effective September 26, 2009, the Average Wholesale Price (AWP) of more than 400 brand-name drugs will decrease as the result of final settlements in a class action lawsuit involving two major publishers of AWP information. Plan sponsors are eligible for damages under the settlement for one of those publishers (the McKesson Corporation) provided they meet certain requirements and file a claim by July 9, 2009." (The Segal Group, Inc.)
[Guidance Overview]
District Court Holds That Potential Claim for Benefits Forecloses Other ERISA Relief
Excerpt: "This unpublished district court opinion addresses two frequent issues in claim denial cases - whether 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(3) remedies available when (a)(2) claims may have been brought and whether equitable estoppel may apply in an ERISA case. One of the several unfortunate aspects of 29 U.S.C. 1132(a)(3) often complained about from a policy perspective is the notion that it is unavailable if a claim for benefit case could have been brought instead under (a)(2). That, coupled with ERISA's broad preemption of state law and limited equitable remedies even when (a)(3) does apply, limits claimants to a narrow channel of relief." (Roy Harmon III via Health Plan Law)
Wal-Mart Supports Employer-Mandated Health Coverage
Excerpt: "Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, said on Tuesday that it supports President Barack Obama's push to require large employers to offer health insurance to workers. 'We are for an employer mandate which is fair and broad in its coverage,' stated a letter addressed to Obama and signed by Mike Duke, the chief executive of Wal-Mart; Andy Stern, the president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and John Podesta, the CEO of the Center for American Progress." (Reuters)
Tennessee Bank Makes It Easy for Its Employees Who Want to Adopt or Foster Children
Excerpt: "The bank and its parent company, First Horizon, are intentional about accommodating any of their 6,000 employees who want to adopt or foster. So much so that last month the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption placed First Tennessee among its 'America's 100 Best Adoption-Friendly Workplaces.' The foundation noted that the bank reimburses expenses up to $5,000 for each adoption. It also offers paid time off." (Memphis Commercial Appeal)
Who Gets Employer-Based Health Insurance?
Excerpt: "One important issue of the health care debate is what to do with the employer-based health insurance system. As Uwe Reinhardt has written, nowhere else in the industrialized world does losing your job also mean losing your health care. But which Americans are actually in the system? It's easy enough to say those who are employed (and some who are dependents of the employed), but that doesn't tell the whole story." (The New York Times; free registration required)
HELP Committee Democrats Draft New Bill with Public Plan and Employer Mandate They Say Is Cheaper
Excerpt: "Democrats on a key Senate committee are readying a plan that has a government-run insurance option and a $750-per-worker annual fee on larger companies that do not offer coverage to its employees, The Associated Press reports. 'In a letter outlining the details, Sens. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., and Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said their revised plan would cost dramatically less than an earlier, incomplete proposal, and help show the way toward coverage for 97 percent of all Americans." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
[Opinion]
There's a Very Good Reason Wal-Mart Supports an Employer Mandate
Excerpt: "Recent press reports, including a front-page story in the Wall Street Journal, have the news that Wal-Mart has signed a letter to President Obama endorsing the idea of an 'employer mandate' - a requirement that employers offer health insurance to their employees. Why would Wal-Mart - the nation's largest employer - endorse such an idea? Simple: It would cripple many of their competitors." (The Heritage Foundation)
BenefitsLink Newsletter (Advert.)
We Have Your Target Audience Have you considered advertising your company's products or services right here in the BenefitsLink newsletter? Our subscribers care about employee benefit plan compliance, administration, costs and design. Roles include in-house benefits directors and administrators, TPAs, consultants, attorneys, trust officers, auditors and investment managers. Your ad will show both your banner and a paragraph of text -- more exposure than you'll find anywhere else. And, of course, a clickable link to any page on your web site. Contact Mary Hall for details. |
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
SEC May Tighten Executive Pay RulesExcerpt: "U.S. securities regulators are considering changing how companies are required to disclose stock options awarded to executives, people familiar with the Securities and Exchange Commission's thinking told Reuters on Tuesday. At an SEC meeting on Wednesday, the commissioners also will propose giving investors a greater voice in setting executive pay at companies that were given taxpayer funds under the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Among the possible changes is a revision to how companies value equity awards in the 'summary compensation table' for top executives that they file with the commission each year. The SEC is considering requiring companies to include the estimated value for stock options granted during the year, the people said. The sources requested anonymity because the proposal is still being crafted and may change." (Reuters)
Stock Options Opened for 'Call Writing'
Excerpt: "Briefly, the SEC approved a rule on June 17, 2009, which would permit public companies to allow their employees to use vested stock options as collateral for writing exchange-listed calls. Permitting this activity would require some affirmative actions by the Company, such as revise plan documents and putting in place guidelines. A company also should consider whether this activity is consistent with its stock ownership guidelines." (Michael Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
SEC Votes on New Executive Compensation Disclosure Proposals
Excerpt: "The Securities and Exchange Commission voted on Wednesday to propose sweeping new disclosure rules about a company's leadership and compensation practices. According to the Wall Street Journal, the proposed rules, approved for consideration in a 5-0 vote, would require public companies to include information in proxy and information statements about an array of things, such as the relationship of a company's overall compensation policies to risk and the background and qualifications of directors, executive officers and nominees . . . ." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Employee Ownership Update for July 1, 2009
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen, in his first column on the newly revised NCEO Web site, reports on what's new in the employee ownership world: SAIC changed its stock structure to eliminate the 10-to-1 voting rights that preferred shares held by employees were given when the company went public, the SEC issued a rule allowing employees with vested stock options to use them as collateral to purchase call options, and the NCEO is soliciting material for a book on what not to do with an ESOP. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Webcasts and Conferences
Executive Compensation: Planning Your Next Steps in the Lively and Complex Regulatory EnvironmentNationwide on July 23, 2009
presented by Buck Consultants, an ACS Company
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
PBGC Assumes Pension Plans of Interlake Material Handling Inc.Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
New Online Resource from The Principal Estimates Time it Might Take to Rebuild 401(k) Account Balance
Principal Financial Group
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Pension Administratorfor Primark Benefits
in CA
Benefits Manager
for SIRIUS XM Radio
in DC
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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
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Handy Links:
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