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July 28, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy

Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) (Advert.)

EBIA's Recorded Web Seminars - Quality and Convenience! (clickable image)

EBIA's Recorded Web Seminars - Quality and Convenience!

We know that employee benefits professionals have many demands on their time. To help ease the time-crunch, EBIA's recorded web seminars are available 24/7--any time and any place you have an internet connection. What's more, when you purchase a recorded web seminar from EBIA, you and your co-workers can view it as many times as you wish for 60 days after purchase! Visit our website and you can search for seminars by topic, experience level, or key word.


[Guidance Overview]
Key Legal Changes to Keep in Mind While Designing Your 2010 Health Plans (PDF)

2 pages. Excerpt: "[This time of year] most employers are taking steps to finalize the design of their 2010 group health plans and preparing for this fall's open enrollment season. In doing so, we recommend keeping in mind the following legal developments . . . ." (Venable LLP)


[Guidance Overview]
Tackling Top 10 HIPAA Duties to Meet New HITECH Act Obligations

Excerpt: "To comply with the HIPAA changes made by the HITECH provisions of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, employers sponsoring group health plans must revisit their privacy and security practices and review plan documents. This Update identifies 10 key tasks, ranked by the timelines for taking action, to help employers tackle the new HIPAA requirements by their effective dates. Because HITECH requires annual or more frequent updates of regulatory guidance on suitable methods of securing protected health information, employers can expect to undertake ongoing compliance reviews." (Mercer LLC)


[Guidance Overview]
Letters Denying Claim for Disability Benefits Without Refuting Contrary Evidence Were Not Sufficient to Support Summary Judgment

Excerpt: "In Love v. National City Corporation, No. 08-1722 (7th Cir. 2009), the plaintiff, Nancy Love, had worked for National City Corporation for twenty years before leaving due to health problems. After her physician diagnosed her with multiple sclerosis, Love applied for and received short term disability benefits--and subsequently long-term disability benefits--through National City's Welfare Benefits Plan ('the Plan'). However, three years after Love began receiving disability benefits, the Plan administrator terminated her benefits, by a letter stating that she no longer fit the Plan's definition of 'disabled.' To be 'disabled' under this definition, an employee can no longer perform any job. Love appealed the benefits-termination decision and the Plan denied her appeal, again by letter. Love then sued the Plan under ERISA, alleging that her disability benefits were terminated without sufficient explanation or medical support." (Stanley D. Baum of Eaton & Van Winkle)


[Guidance Overview]
FMLA Eligibility Notice and Designation Forms

Excerpt: "Revised FMLA regulations, which took effect January 16, include a new two-step process for employer-provided FMLA notices to employees. Upon receiving a request for FMLA leave, an employer must first issue a notice of eligibility informing the employee of his or her general eligibility for leave. Second, the employer must determine whether an eligible employee's request for leave will be designated as FMLA leave. These two steps and their requirements are discussed in more detail [in the target document]." (Faegre & Benson)


Reducing Obesity: Policy Strategies from the Tobacco Wars
Excerpt: "To combat the epidemic of obesity, lawmakers can adapt policy approaches that have substantially cut tobacco use. A 10 percent tax on fattening food, identified based on a model used by the British government to determine the foods that may not be advertised to children, would reduce consumption while raising more than $500 billion over 10 years. Adding simple, 'traffic light' nutrition labels to the front of each food package would change consumers' buying habits, as would listing calories on menus at chain restaurants. Consumption of fattening food would be further reduced by banning its advertisement in the mass media." (Urban Institute)


Healthy Workers Could Get Bigger Insurance Costs Breaks
Excerpt: "A health care reform proposal that would allow employers and insurers to give large discounts to employees who lose weight or lower their cholesterol is facing push back from several groups worried about premium disparities, Kaiser Health News reports. 'The discounts are being pushed by Steve Burd, the chief executive officer of Safeway Inc., who has met with several lawmakers on Capitol Hill and says that rewarding healthy behavior has helped keep his firm's health care costs flat while other companies' have skyrocketed. 'But the proposal, which involves the sensitive issue of how aggressive employers can be in trying to induce workers to change their behavior to reduce their risks of disease, is greeted by skepticism by many patient advocates who think it could be coercive and unfair.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)


Finance Committee Senators May Drop Employer Health Insurance Mandate and Public Plan
Excerpt: "Senate Finance Committee members negotiating a sweeping health care reform package are close to dropping a requirement that employers provide health insurance for employees as well as a government-run public insurance plan to forge a compromise, The Associated Press reports. 'After weeks of secretive talks, three Democrats and three Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee were edging closer to a compromise that excludes a requirement many congressional Democrats seek for large businesses to offer coverage to their workers. Nor would there be a provision for a government insurance option, despite Obama's support for such a plan, officials said.'" (Kaiser Family Foundation)


The Economic Effects of Health Care Reform on Small Businesses and Their Employees
Excerpt: "In this report, the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) examines the likely impact of health care reform on small businesses and their employees. We begin by documenting the key role that small businesses play in job creation and the difficulties they face in the current health insurance system. We conclude that small firms are seriously disadvantaged relative to their larger competitors because of the higher premiums that they must pay to provide health insurance for their workers. Workers in small firms are more likely to be uninsured or, if their employers do provide insurance, to have less generous policies." (Executive Office of the President, Council of Economic Advisers)


Health Reform Would Tie Employers' Hands, Lobbyists Say
Excerpt: "Corporate executives will have far less leeway in designing their company's benefits because the federal government would be dictating more about how plans should be structured, according to Ernst & Young lobbyists." (CFO.com)


Annual Medical Spending Attributable to Obesity: Payer- and Service-Specific Estimates
Excerpt: "In 1998 the medical costs of obesity were estimated to be as high as $78.5 billion, with roughly half financed by Medicare and Medicaid. This analysis presents updated estimates of the costs of obesity for the United States across payers (Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurers), in separate categories for inpatient, non-inpatient, and prescription drug spending. We found that the increased prevalence of obesity is responsible for almost $40 billion of increased medical spending through 2006, including $7 billion in Medicare prescription drug costs. We estimate that the medical costs of obesity could have risen to $147 billion per year by 2008." (Health Affairs)


Obesity Costs U.S. Health System $147B, According to Study
Excerpt: "Obesity-related diseases account for nearly 10% of all U.S. medical spending or an estimated $147 billion a year, researchers said Monday. They said U.S. obesity rates rose 37% between 1998 and 2006, driving an 89% increase in spending on treatments for obesity-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and other conditions. Obese people spent an extra $1,429 per year or 42% more for medical care in 2006 than did normal weight people, with most of that spent on prescription drugs, the researchers said." (Reuters via Business Insurance)


Health Insurance Coverage of Individuals Ages 55-64, 1994-2007 (PDF)
Pages 2-10 of 16 pages. Excerpt: "The fact that adults ages 55−64 are the least likely age group of adults to be uninsured is usually overlooked when considering that employers have substantially cut back on employment-based health benefits for early retirees. It is also important to understand the health insurance status of individuals ages 55-64 because of access and affordability issues with the nongroup market." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)


[Opinion]
States and Cities Make Excuses for Inaction on Funding Retiree Medical Benefits

Excerpt: "As I travel around the country working with public officials to redesign their retiree medical benefits (OPEB) plans to achieve sustainability, I've heard a variety of excuses for inaction, indecision and procrastination. Even though many public officials would never think of leaving their pension plan unfunded, or skip a sinking-fund payment on their bonds, they are willing to do so for retiree medical benefits. Some of their reasons are understandable and rational; some reflect naivete and others are just flimsy." (Governing.com)



ALM (Advert.)

Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press (clickable image)

Complete Benefits Law Guidance from Law Journal Press

The nation's workforce and health care system are constantly evolving and so are the legal issues. Law Journal Press helps you handle any benefits law question with up-to-date, authoritative books on all aspects of the field. Get legal and practical advice from leading experts on everything from COBRA to ERISA, "contingent" employees to family and medical leave, and more. Browse our product listings for detailed information and special offers.

Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
Opinion from a District Court on QDROs: Their Statutory Basis, Their Purpose, and How They Should Be Structured

Excerpt: "Notably, the court weighs in a very sensible manner on the never ending question of whether, under ERISA, the divorce decree at issue must comply exactly with the requirements imposed by ERISA to qualify as a QDRO or whether instead, as in horse shoes, close enough counts. In this circuit, close enough is usually good enough, and courts tend to enforce the divorce decree so long as the court is convinced it can accurately ascertain the intent and purpose of the agreement from the decree, regardless of whether the exact detailed requirements that ERISA imposes to qualify as a QDRO have been met." (Stephen Rosenberg of The McCormack Firm, LLC)


[Guidance Overview]
EEOC's Guidance on Waivers of Discrimination Claims

Excerpt: "The technical assistance document is directed primarily toward employees and includes a checklist of steps employees should take when they are offered severance benefits in exchange for a waiver of claims. It states that in order for a waiver of discrimination claims to be valid, it must: Be knowingly and voluntarily signed by the employee; Provide consideration, such as additional compensation, in exchange for the waiver; Not require the employee to waive rights that may arise after the date the waiver is signed; Not require the employee to waive other claims that may not be waived as a matter of law, such as claims for unemployment compensation, workers' compensation benefits, claims for health insurance benefits under COBRA, or claims with regard to vested benefits under a retirement plan governed by ERISA; Otherwise comply with applicable state and federal laws[.]" (Faegre & Benson)


[Guidance Overview]
IRC Section 409: Newly Effective Rules Governing Foreign Deferred Compensation Arrangements Present Operational Challenges (PDF)

7 pages. Excerpt: "After a brief refresher on deferred compensation in the post-409A landscape, this article will lay out the general applicability of IRC Section 409A to US taxpayers participating in a foreign deferred compensation plan, as well as the numerous exemptions available under applicable IRS regulations (the Final Regulations). Finally, we will offer a few ideas to assist multinational companies in determining which, if any, of their plans might be considered 'nonqualified deferred compensation' within the meaning of IRC Section 409A, and how to coordinate efforts between local benefits delivery staff and service providers to avoid running afoul of IRC Section 409A." (Aspen Publishers via K&L Gates LLP)


Senators Propose Curbing Deductions for Stock Options
Excerpt: "A bill (S 1491) from Sens. Carl Levin, D-MI, and John McCain, R-AZ, would require companies to deduct stock options in the same year and in the same amount as the options are expensed on the company's books. It would also eliminate the tax-favored treatment of options under Code Section 162(m). Levin said deductions for options far exceed the expense reported to shareholders and are costing the government billions in lost revenue." (Mercer LLC)


Starbucks to Match 401k but Health Benefits Costlier for Employees
Excerpt: "Starbucks Corp . . . will make discretionary matching contributions to 401(k) retirement plans for its 2009 plan year but employees will face higher health-care costs, Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in a memo to employees on Monday. Starbucks, known for its generous health-care benefits, said those costs have risen sharply over the past several years on skyrocketing U.S. health care expenses. In the memo, Schultz said the company now spends 'almost as much on health care for our partners as we do on the green coffee we buy.'" (Reuters via The New York Times; free registration required)



Webcasts and Conferences

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: 72(t) Payments
Nationwide on September 24, 2009
presented by Ascensus

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Conversions and Recharacterizations
Nationwide on September 17, 2009
presented by Ascensus

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Direct Rollover and Other Portability Issues
Nationwide on September 10, 2009
presented by Ascensus

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Handling IRA Legal Issues
Nationwide on September 15, 2009
presented by Ascensus

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Introduction to QRPs
Nationwide on September 3, 2009
presented by Ascensus

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Contributions
Nationwide on September 29, 2009
presented by Ascensus

2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: SIMPLE Plans
Nationwide on September 22, 2009
presented by Ascensus

Beyond COBRA: Offering More Comprehensive Post-Employment Benefits
Nationwide on August 20, 2009
presented by TRI-AD

Comparative Effectiveness: Implications for Plans, Providers and Other Stakeholders
Nationwide on August 25, 2009
presented by MCOL

HIPAA Privacy and Security: Train Your Entire Team in 60 Minutes Webcast
Nationwide on July 30, 2009
presented by International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans

(Click to post your webcast or conference)

Press Releases

Towers Perrin Launches Health Care Reform Website
Towers Perrin

Morningstar Launches National Retirement Plan Service Directory
Morningstar, Inc.

Economy Affecting Employee Benefits
Colonial Life

(Click to post your press release)


EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)

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