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July 1, 2010

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World Congress is proud to present the World Congress 5th Annual Executive Forum on Pharmacy Benefit Management Strategies, July 12-13, 2010 in Philadelphia, PA. This year's forum identifies pertinent issues facing employers and plans, including developing Medication Therapy Management, overcoming barriers to diverse population drug challenges, Medicare Part D, changes to pharmacy in light of health reform and measuring the impact and effectiveness of existing pharmacy management programs.
Sponsored by World Congress

[Guidance Overview]
Ohio Supreme Court Rules Neutral Leave Policy Not Direct Evidence of Sex Discrimination
Excerpt: "The court's decision rejects the Ohio Civil Rights Commission's long-held position that Ohio's civil rights laws mandate employers provide maternity leave even where leave would not be available to employees who are not pregnant."
(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

[Guidance Overview]
Ohio Supreme Court Decision Allows Employers to Refuse Maternity Leave and Terminate Employees who Have Not Met Length of Service Requirements
Excerpt: "The Court held that pregnant employees must only be treated the same as all other employees under an employer's leave policy and can be terminated while on a pregnancy-related leave pursuant to a neutral policy."
(Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
HMO Found Liable for Coverage Information Gap
Excerpt: "A benefit plan fiduciary violated its responsibilities under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by not warning members contacting its call center that they could not rely on coverage determinations by customer service representatives."
(PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview]
New Requirements and Prohibitions Affect Individual and Group Health Insurance Contracts and Employer-Sponsored Group Health Plans
Excerpt: "Practitioner's observation: This prohibition [on Preexisting Condition Limitations] applies to "enrollees" under age 19. Thus, the provision picks up not only children and dependents of plan participants, but also young workers who may themselves be participants."
(Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo P.C.)

Impact of Health Care Reform Law on Self-Insured ERISA Health and Welfare Benefit Plans: A Guide for Employers (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "[Health reform] imposes a significant number of requirements regarding both the eligibility for plan membership and the scope of the benefits that self-insured plans must provide. Nonetheless, self-insured plans are not nearly as comprehensively regulated [under health reform] as insured plans are."
(Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.)

Meaningful Use for Health Plans: Five Things to Consider (PDF)
6 pages. Excerpt: "The need to use health information technology (HIT) to improve patient care, health care quality and clinical outcomes emerged as a matter of national policy with the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009."
(Computer Sciences Corporation)

Flexible Spending Arrangement Participation Grows from 16.7% in 2007 to 20.4% in 2009
Excerpt: "In 2009, among individuals younger than age 65 with private health insurance, 20.4% had a flexible spending arrangement . . . for medical expenses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . . . ."
(Wolters Kluwer)




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.
Sponsored by ALM

Executive Compensation; Benefits in General

[Guidance Overview]
Federal Banking Agencies' Final Guidance on 'Sound Incentive Compensation Policies'
Excerpt: "The guidance was originally proposed in October 2009 by the Federal Reserve, and as adopted, will apply to all banking organizations under the supervision of the Agencies. The guidance is effective immediately."
(McGuireWoods LLP)

[Guidance Overview]
New Deduction Limit on Compensation Paid by Certain Health Insurers under Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "All health insurers will want to take action now to determine the effect of the new rules and to review the compensation structure for their highly paid employees and individual service providers in order to maximize potential deductions."
(McDermott Will & Emery)

Employee Benefits Developments, June 2010
Excerpt: "A brief look at developments in Employee Benefits law from May and June 2010, including cases, rulings, and opinions."
(Hodgson Russ LLP)

Six Ways to Make the Most of Your Benefits Investment
Excerpt: "How do the leaders of the best workplaces do it? They focus on not just what benefits to offer, but also on how they are offered and connect with their employees. Here are six key lessons that bring this principle to life . . . ."
(TheStreet.com, Inc.)

Employee Ownership Update for June 30, 2010
The new British government plans to privatize part or all of its mail service. Academic interest in employee ownership is finally coming of age, as shown at a recent gathering of researchers. A useful article explores the five top trends in equity compensation over the last decade. A new survey finds that information technology workers value shared capitalism highly. The IRS published new regulations on required diversification of employer stock in 401(k) plans and combined ESOP/401(k) plans.
(National Center for Employee Ownership)


Press Releases

Founder and Treasurer of Labor Union Charged With Mail Fraud
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)


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RFP Specialist
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for Alliance Benefit Group WI
in WI




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