Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter |
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| September 25, 2009 \ Compliance \ Costs \ Administration \ Design \ Policy | ||
Opal Events (Advert.)
The Future of Medicare Advantage under the New Administration Opal Events brings together the best and brightest of the Medicare Advantage community to discuss the problems and solutions facing the managed care industry today. Topics to be covered include: logistics of transitioning members from PFFS to a network; MIPPA interpretations; risk-adjusted reimbursement issues; compliance specific to Part D; and HR6331. |
[Guidance Overview]
Proposed Legislation Would Require New York City Employers to Provide Paid Sick Leave
Excerpt: "The proposed law requires employers to provide the following amounts of paid sick leave to their employees: Employers with ten or more employees must provide a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, not to exceed 72 hours of sick time in one calendar year. Employers with fewer than ten employees must provide a minimum of one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, not to exceed 40 hours of sick time in one calendar year." (Littler Mendelson)
[Guidance Overview]
Health Plan Exclusions for DUI: An Overview
Excerpt: "Most health plans contain an exclusion for accidents in which alcohol or drugs are a contributing factor. Analyzing these clauses and the relevant caselaw, one finds that the salient issues are typically: #1 The proscribed conduct; #2 The causality nexus; #3 The level of proof required; #4 The burden of proof; and #5 Social policy issues." (Roy Harmon III via Health Plan Law)
[Guidance Overview]
FMLA Retaliation Claims Still Viable without Commenced Leave
Excerpt: "An employee does not have to actually begin taking time off under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to claim illegal employer retaliation under the law. That was the holding of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a case involving Brenda L. Erdman's lawsuit against Nationwide charging the employer fired her after requesting FMLA leave but before she was able to take the time." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Reform Plans Not Expected to Halt Soaring Premiums
Excerpt: "In the drive to bring health coverage to almost every American, lawmakers have largely rejected restrictions on how much insurers can charge, sparking fears that consumers will continue to face the skyrocketing premium increases of recent years. The legislators' reluctance to control premium costs comes despite the fact that they intend to require virtually all Americans to get health insurance, an unprecedented mandate -- long sought by insurance companies -- that would mark the first time the federal government has compelled consumers to buy a single industry's product, effectively creating a captive market." (Los Angeles Times via Consumer Watchdog)
Workplaces Are Sick, Need Reform, According to Survey
Excerpt: "The study suggested that six criteria could help judge the health of a workplace including climate of respect; supervisor task support; job challenge and learning; autonomy; economic security; and work-life fit. According to the study, employees are more likely to be engaged and satisfied in their jobs when they work in effective workplaces, as defined by the six criteria." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
[Opinion]
A Health-Insurance Difference Without a Distinction
Excerpt: "There is . . . one feature of all the Democratic health proposals -- including Baucus's -- that's been bothering me for a while, and it has drawn little attention. That's the two-tiered structure of the health-insurance market that the proposals envision. One part of the market -- the one that has received all the attention -- would be organized around the new government-sponsored health-insurance exchanges, in which insurance companies would offer standardized policies to small businesses, self-employed individuals and employees of any firm that does not offer insurance." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Advert.)
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com is where the best employers find the best candidates!
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]Step-by-Step Action Plan for Conducting Executive Compensation Risk Assessments (PDF)
2 pages. Excerpt: "The most important year-end 2009 task for Companies, Boards of Directors, and Compensation Committees may be to begin to establish a process for assessing the risk of the Company's executive and employee compensation programs. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ('SEC') is expected to publish final rules later this Fall (the proposed rules were issued in July), which will apply to proxy statements for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2009, and require that every company: Evaluate whether any of its compensation plans or practices, including non-executive officer compensation plans and practices, include risk-taking incentives that may have a material effect on the company, and Disclose the results of that evaluation and any steps the company has taken to manage or mitigate those risk-taking incentives." (Winston & Strawn LLP)
Boeing to Stop Paying for Many Employees' Education
Excerpt: "Boeing employees are about to lose a fabulous perk, and the cost-cutting move could mean a significant financial hit for some local colleges and universities as well. Until now, when a Boeing employee enrolled for any class at any accredited college, the company picked up the tuition -- with no restrictions. Boeing currently pays for the classes of about 6,000 employees in the Puget Sound region and 21,000 companywide. But many of those enjoying free classes will lose that benefit at year-end, when Boeing starts limiting its subsidy to cover only courses that further an employee's career at the company." (The Seattle Times)
Webcasts and Conferences
Medicare Advantage Strategic Business Symposiumin Virginia on October 19, 2009
presented by Opal Events
Webcast: Time-Sensitive IRS Guidance on 2009 RMD Waiver
Nationwide on October 1, 2009
presented by Convergent Retirement Plan Solutions, LLC
(Click to post your webcast or conference)
Press Releases
PBGC Negotiates Deal to Strengthen Pension Funding at Hanesbrands Inc.Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC)
Prudential Report Shows Employers, Benefits Budgets Hit Hard by Economy
Prudential Financial, Inc.
Millennium Trust Company Joins with The Keane Organization to Offer a Wide-range of Plan Termination and Missing Participant Solutions
Millennium Trust Company, LLC
Millennium Trust Company Integrates Consumer Health Technologies, BenefitSpan™, Platform for their HSA Solution
Millennium Trust Company, LLC
IRS Issues 2010 Contribution Limits for Health Savings Accounts
Millennium Trust Company, LLC
RolloverSystems to Provide NRP Financial with Expanded Participant Rollover Network Services
RolloverSystems
PenChecks's Launches New Premium IRA Fiduciary Service
PenChecks, Inc.
Mercer Adds Staff to Investment Consulting Business
Mercer
EPIC Advisors, Inc. Employee Receives National Designation
EPIC Advisors, Inc.
(Click to post your press release)
Employee Benefits Jobs
Analyst in Income Security (Social Security)for Library of Congress
in DC
(Click to post your job opening | View all jobs |
RSS feed of all jobs )
EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)
(Click on banner to learn more.)
| Where the best employers find the best candidates! |
Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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