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September 22, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy

International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans (Advert.)

What Rick Wellner, CEBS, says about International Foundation membership: (clickable image)

What Rick Wellner, CEBS, says about International Foundation membership:

"We became members of the Foundation because of our commitment to the Foundation’s educational content. We leverage our membership in many ways: We use the library for research, the Certificate Series for training, CEBS classes to credential our folks and E-learning courses to get our associates up and running quickly. If there is any kind of article or research in the employee benefits field, we know where to go to get it. You really need to be part of the Foundation if you’re in the employee benefit market."


[Guidance Overview]
Seventh Circuit Finds Conflict Factor Insignificant in Judicial Review

Excerpt: "The Seventh Circuit post-Glenn opinions are a mosaic with no discernable theme. Rather than examination all factors in 'combination', several courts have emphasized the 'tie breaker' reference in Glenn, and only view a conflict of interest as significant in close cases. Fischer v. Liberty Life Assur. Co., 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 17226 (7th Cir.) (August 4, 2009) is an example of that approach. Jenkins v. Price Waterhouse Long Term Disability Plan, 564 F.3d 856 (7th Cir. Ill. 2009) is another." (Roy Harmon III via Health Plan Law)


[Guidance Overview]
More Case Law Regarding Documentation Required to Revise or Terminate Negotiated Retiree Healthcare Benefits

Excerpt: "These decisions provide a reminder to employers that agreeing to less than precise language about retiree health benefits in a collective bargaining agreement may result in obligations long into the future. In addition, these cases raise interesting questions about the extent to which carefully designed plan documents and summary plan descriptions may establish the right to amend and terminate retiree health benefits, notwithstanding ambiguous collective bargaining agreement provisions." (Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)


Senate Finance Members Offer Changes to the Baucus Health Care Reform Bill
Excerpt: "Members of the pivotal Senate Finance Committee have offered 564 amendments to a broad health care reform blueprint inked by Sen. Max Baucus and released Wednesday, September 16. The sheer number and scope of the amendments, though not unexpected, threaten to strain the demeanor and test the mettle of a committee that has always prided itself on its ability to be as cordial as it is efficient. Baucus said he expects the committee to begin considering the amendments as early as Tuesday, September 22, though it's unclear how long the process -- known as a 'mark-up' -- will take." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


The Baucus Health Care Proposal and Larger Employers
Excerpt: "Under the 200-page proposal (no bill text yet!) issued last week by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and scheduled for mark-up on Tuesday, an employer would not be required to offer health insurance coverage. However, employers with more than 50 employees that do not offer coverage would have to pay a fee for each full-time employee who receives a tax credit for health insurance through a state exchange. The new fee would kick in beginning January 1, 2013. How is the fee determined? It's a bit complicated . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer)


How Five Public Sector Employers are Managing Cost and Improving Health Using Value-Based Design (PDF)
27 pages. Excerpt: "This monograph highlights the unique challenges that five public sector employers encountered and describes their innovative approaches not only to solving their immediate problems but building competencies and strategies that will serve them in the years to come. We selected a state (Maine), two cities (Battle Creek, Michigan and Springfield, Oregon), and two counties (Chippewa County Wisconsin and Polk County Florida). We included them because they represent a range of different catalysts for their Value-Based Design efforts and because their unique VBD designs shed light on the variety of approaches available." (The Center for Health Value Innovation)


Community-Based Health Prevention Programs Promote Long-Term Savings
Excerpt: "A new compendium of community based prevention programs released Monday by the Trust for America's Health and The New York Academy of Medicine is designed to help show how certain types of preventive services can yield substantial net savings -- 'largely because the initial costs are low and the long-term benefits are large,' said Jeff Levi, PhD, the Trust's executive director in New York." (HealthLeaders Media)


Sources of Health Insurance and Characteristics of the Uninsured (PDF)
36 pages. Excerpt: "This Issue Brief provides historic data through 2008 on the number and percentage of nonelderly individuals with and without health insurance. Based on EBRI estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau's March 2009 Current Population Survey (CPS), it reflects 2008 data. It also discusses trends in coverage for the 1994-2008 period and highlights characteristics that typically indicate whether an individual is insured." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)


Florida County Targets Smokers and Unhealthy Workers in Health Plan
Excerpt: "Broward County, Florida, projected that its spending on health insurance would increase 7% next year, but the cost will now remain flat after county commissioners last month approved premium surcharges for certain workers. The South Florida Sun Sentinel reports that county workers who smoke will pay higher health-insurance premiums if they do not quit by the end of the year, and employees also will pay more if they refuse to participate in an annual health assessment and a blood test that screens for conditions from high cholesterol to diabetes. Each surcharge will add $520 a year to the premiums deducted from an employee's paycheck, according to the news report." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Health Care Reform Legislation Continues to Move Forward (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "While the future of national health reform legislation is still very uncertain, there are key elements that are common to all the proposals. Employers should review these proposals to determine the impact on their employees and programs. Employers are now also able to review the impact of assessments under the play or pay mandates, as well as the impact of provisions such as the excise tax on health plans in the Chairman's Mark, and offer their comments to the national reform debate." (Buck Consultants)



EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Advert.)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
Bank Regulators Moving Forward on Executive Compensation Restrictions

Excerpt: "The industry's effort to fight a crackdown on compensation could be blunted by a speedy implementation time line from the Federal Reserve Board. A source at the central bank said Monday the public would have 30 days to comment on guidance that could be released in a matter of weeks. The Fed's goal is to finalize the guidance by year-end. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, meanwhile, is also developing a proposal that would target pay at national banks. Few details are available on that plan but a knowledgeable source said the agency has begun to sketch out a proposal on paper." (American Banker via On Wall Street)


Federal Reserve Proposes Executive Compensation Policies for Financial Institutions
Excerpt: "The Federal Reserve would have to approve executive compensation policies set by financial institutions as part of its proposal designed to curb excessive risk-taking. The Wall Street Journal reports that under the proposal, the Fed could reject any compensation policies it believes encourage bank employees -- not just chief executives, but also traders and loan officers -- to take too much risk. The bank would set the pay of individuals, but the Fed would review and, if necessary, amend each bank's salary and bonus policies to make sure they do not create harmful incentives, the Journal said." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Bill Introduced to Repeal the Federal Defense of Marriage Act
Excerpt: "Employers should take note, because, if enacted, the bill would significantly change the federally mandated benefits available to employees and their same-s.ex spouses. For example, employers with pension or 401(k) plans would be required to recognize same-s.ex spouses for purposes of determining the surviving spouse annuities or other death benefits under these retirement plans. The federal income tax treatment of health coverage for an employee's same-s.ex spouse would change such that employees would no longer have to be taxed on the income imputed for the employer's contribution to the same-s.ex spouse's coverage. Employers also would be required to permit employees to take family and medical leave to care for the illness of a same-s.ex spouse." (McDermott Will & Emery)



Webcasts and Conferences

The Five Things That Every 401(k) Committee Must Address in the Coming Months
in California on October 22, 2009
presented by Western Pension & Benefits Conference - Orange County Chapter

(Click to post your webcast or conference)

Press Releases

John Hancock Partners With Millennium Trust Company for Terminating Plan Services
Millennium Trust Company, LLC

Prescription Solutions Ranks Highest in Customer Service and Cost Competitiveness Factors Among Mail Order Pharmacies in J.D. Power and Associates Study
Prescription Solutions

Integrated Benefits Institute Launches Productivity Modeling Tools to Help
Integrated Benefits Institute

Center for Health Value Innovation Releases White Paper: Value-Based Design Manages Costs, Improves Health for Public Sector Employers
Center for Health Value Innovation

Fight Against Obesity Takes Off! 16 Mayors and More Than 80 Cities Take Steps Toward Wellness
State Farm

(Click to post your press release)

Employee Benefits Jobs

Associate Director (Benefits Enrollment & Eligibility)
for 1199SEIU Benefit & Pension Funds
in NY

Manager, Benefits Administration Call Center
for Summit Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
in OH

ERISA Professional
for Pension Standard
in ANY STATE

Benefits Specialist
for Benefit Plans Plus, LLC
in IL, MO

Analyst – Benefits/Retirement
for US AIRWAYS
in AZ

Director, Retirement Services
for Sentinel Benefits & Financial Group
in MA

401(k) Plan Administrator
for Capital Retirement Plan Services, Inc.
in PA

(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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Where the best employers find the best candidates!


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