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BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
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[Official Guidance]
CHIP Model Notice for Employers Regarding Premium Assistance Opportunities (PDF)
"If you live in one of the following States [see chart for Free Or Low-Cost Health Coverage To Children And Families], you may be eligible for assistance paying your employer health plan premiums. The following list of States is current as of July 31, 2011."
(U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
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[Guidance Overview]
Health Care Reform September 2011 Newsletter (PDF)
"Read the most current info on the next wave of requirements including nondiscrimination rules, W-2 reporting, and cap on annual FSA contributions; the new summary of benefits and coverage; the courts split on the constitutionality of health care reform; proposed regulations on how the eligibility for federal cost-sharing assistance will be administered; whether to continue to offer a health plan once the state-based exchanges become available; and the new guidelines for women's preventative care services."
(Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey C.L.P.)
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[Guidance Overview]
Will the Affordable Care Act Ultimately Prohibit Stand-Alone HRAs?
"[U]nless further relief is provided, stand-alone HRAs (that are not retiree-only or excepted-benefit HRAs) that became effective on or after September 23, 2010 are currently subject to the annual limit requirements, and those which became effective earlier but are covered by the class exemption will be subject to the annual limit requirement when the exemption expires beginning with the first plan year beginning on or after January 1, 2014."
(Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)
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Technology Growth and Expenditure Growth in Health Care
"New health care technologies offer the promise of improved health and longevity, but also are widely viewed as the biggest contributor to rising health care costs in the U.S. This duality raises the question of whether new technologies are worth the cost and how the rate of health care innovation can be slowed if the costs of new technology exceed the benefits."
(National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
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Is Health Care Pricing Transparency at Hand?
"Pricing for such services as colonoscopies, endoscopies, radiological imaging, cardiac catheterizations, and many others can, in one plan and geography, be several times greater for the highest-cost provider than the lowest-cost one. Jeffrey Rice, CEO of Health Care Blue Book, cites an example of colonoscopies for a real client in a single plan year. There were 18 such procedures, the most expensive being more than $3,500; the least being under $1,000."
(CFO Acquisitions LLC)
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Health Insurance in the Small Business Market: Availability, Coverage, and the Effect of Tax Incentives (PDF)
"Historically, there have been distinct advantages to obtaining health insurance coverage through an employer. Individuals who receive health insurance coverage through an employer often have the advantages of group rates, risk pooling, and cost sharing that are not available to individuals who purchase health insurance on their own. One distinct advantage to employer-provided health insurance is the Federal, and sometimes state, tax advantages that accrue to employees."
(U.S. Small Business Administration)
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Employers Tell Workers to Get Healthy or Pay Up
"Instead of waiting to pick up the tab when someone gets sick, more employers now expect their workers to be engaged in staying healthy. They want workers to get annual physicals, know whether they have diabetes, hypertension or high cholesterol and then take actions to control the conditions."
(www.tennessean.com)
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Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
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Shareholder Say on Pay is Still Critical for the 2012 Proxy Season
"First the good news: As of September 12, only 38 companies—maybe 41, depending on how you count—had failed to receive a majority vote in favor of their SSOP resolutions. Out of approximately 2,500 shareholder votes, that figure represents a strong endorsement by most shareholders of their companies' compensation packages."
(Michael S. Melbinger via Winston & Strawn LLP)
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Employers Penalize Workers for Using Work-Life Programs
"According to [WorldatWork]'s survey, . . . although 80% of employers around the globe say they support for family-friendly workplaces, employees respondents report that when they took advantage of work-life programs, they've: Been overtly or subtly discouraged from using the programs. Received unfavorable job assignments. Received negative performance reviews. Received negative comments from a supervisor. Been denied a promotion."
(Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
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Atlantic City Casino Union Fights Pay Cut, Benefits Proposal
"In addition, [a union president] said, the casinos want union members to start contributing for the first time toward the cost of their health and pension benefits. Over the past seven years, workers' base pay has risen by only 55 cents an hour because the union has been adamant about protecting health benefits . . . ."
(The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC)
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2011 Aflac WorkForces Report: Main Study Findings
"The . . . Report provides compelling details about how corporate America and its workers perceive the issues of health and workplace benefits. The study confirms a direct correlation between the caliber of employee benefits and workers' overall health, the profitability of our nation's businesses and the productivity of its workforce."
(Aflac Incorporated)
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Ban on Patenting Tax Strategies Has Implications for Benefit Plans
"Strategies to reduce, avoid or defer taxes generally won't be patentable under the patent system overhaul passed by the Senate Sept. 8 and headed to the president for his expected signature. The provision covers inventions 'suitable for use with tax-favored structures that must meet certain requirements, such as employee benefit plans,' a committee report notes, adding that the law should 'help ensure that patents do not infringe on the ability of others to interpret the tax law.'"
(Mercer LLC)
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Press Releases
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Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
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Holly Horton, Business Manager
Copyright © 2011 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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