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January 23, 2012 Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Unsubscribe  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Pension Administrator
for Suffolk County in NY

Flex Sales Consultant
for Benefits Plans Administrative Services in PA

Communications Manager
for Financial Engines, Inc. in MA

Actuarial Services, Consultant II
for Summit Retirement Plan Services/Tegrit Group in ANY STATE

Actuarial Associate, Annuity Pricing
for Prudential in CT

Account Manager
for Lincoln Financial Group in IL, IN

Enrolled Actuary
for DailyAccess Corporation in TX

Account Executive-Client Services
for DailyAccess Corporation in AL, KS

Corporate Benefits Manager, Retirement Plans
for PVH Corp. in NJ

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Webcasts and Conferences

Cafeteria Plan Election Changes: A Seminar Based on Your Scenarios
Nationwide on February 16, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA

Full Day Seminar with Sal Tripodi
in Minnesota on June 5, 2012 presented by ASPPA ABC Greater Twin Cities

Funding-Based Benefit Restrictions Phone Forum
Nationwide on February 23, 2012 presented by Internal Revenue Service (IRS)

Ready to Handle MLR Rebates in 2012? Understanding the New Rules for Employer Health Plans
Nationwide on January 19, 2012 presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA


We also publish the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (free): Subscribe

[Guidance Overview]
IRS Acquiesces to U.S. Tax Court Holding that Gender Reassignment Surgery is Tax Deductible Medical Expense (PDF)
See pages 5-6. "On November 2, 2011, the IRS announced its intent via a 'notice of acquiescence' that it would abide by the U.S. Tax Court's decision in O'Donnabhain." (Trucker Huss, APC.)


Nat'l Health Benefits Conf & Expo (HBCE) Jan.31-Feb.1, Clearwater Bch, FL   [Advert.]

Sponsored by Health Benefits Conference & Expo (HBCE)

Dr. Oz praises books from speakers - hear from IBM, Sprint, Intel, Yahoo!, L.L. Bean, First Energy Corp., governmental employers, universities, more. Low cost, high quality!
More info and complete program: www.HBCE.com Ph: 941-484-1430 info@HBCE.com


[Guidance Overview]
New California State and Local Health Plan Requirements May Have ERISA Preemption Implications (PDF)
See page 4. "Starting in 2012, employers in California, and particularly in San Francisco, will be required to comply with a number of new health plan requirements which may have ERISA preemption implications. Two of the most important are California SB 299 and the recent amendment to the San Francisco's health care mandate." (Trucker Huss, APC.)

[Guidance Overview]
2011 Form M-1 Now Available; New Question Addresses Compliance with Health Care Reform Mandates
"Administrators accustomed to the detailed information in the self-compliance tool may find the references to the health care reform web page considerably less helpful, but presumably they will have worked with their advisors to confirm compliance with the health care reform mandates before preparing the filing." (Thomson Reuters/EBIA)

Administration Rules Insurers Must Cover Contraceptives
"The rule includes an exemption for certain 'religious employers,' including houses of worship. But church groups said the exemption was so narrow that it was almost meaningless. A religious employer cannot qualify for the exemption if it employs or serves large numbers of people of a different faith, as many Catholic hospitals, universities and social service agencies do." (New York Times; free registration required)

Statement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on Mandatory Contraception Coverage for Non-Profits Acting on 'Religious Beliefs'
"Nonprofit employers who, based on religious beliefs, do not currently provide contraceptive coverage in their insurance plan, will be provided an additional year, until August 1, 2013, to comply with the new law. Employers wishing to take advantage of the additional year must certify that they qualify for the delayed implementation. This additional year will allow these organizations more time and flexibility to adapt to this new rule." (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)

Bishops Will Sue Federal Government Over Mandatory Contraception Coverage
"The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is promising a legal challenge to federal rules the Obama administration reaffirmed Friday requiring health insurers to provide women with a range of preventive health services, including birth control, without charging a co-payment, co-insurance or deductible." (Kaiser Health News)

Washington Post's Editorial Board Says HHS Is Wrong to Disrespect Religious Views in Its Interpretation of Health Care Law
"The best approach would have been for HHS to stick to its original conclusion that contraception coverage should generally be required but to expand the scope of its proposed exemption for religiously affiliated employers who claim covering contraception would violate their religious views. The administration's feint at a compromise — giving such employers another year to figure out how to comply with the requirement — is unproductive can-kicking that fails to address the fundamental problem of requiring religiously affiliated entities to spend their own money in a way that contradicts the tenets of their faith." (Washington Post)

New Cancer Drugs Affordable by the 1 Percent?
"[A]n economic drama . . . is playing itself out in cancer wards and oncologists' offices across the country. Unaffordable new drugs, even when they're covered by insurance, are being rationed by price as patients, doctors and hospital officials struggle with what is likely to be the most pressing problem for the nation's health care system over the next decade: how to pay for the spectacular rise in the cost of cancer care, especially drugs and diagnostic tests." (The Fiscal Times)

Health Plans Launch Own Exchanges Ahead of Public Versions
"The prospect of public insurance exchanges are driving some of the maneuvering. As laid out in the health care law, they will allow consumers and small businesses to comparison shop for health plans. Now, a spate of new privately-run online insurance shopping sites are cropping up to cater to small businesses struggling with rising premiums, including 'My Plan by Medica' in Minnesota." (Minnesota Public Radio)

Am I Legally Required to Give Bereavement Leave?
"There is no federal law on point. But, many companies still incorporate bereavement time off into their employee policies." (FindLaw)

What to Make of The 'That's What PBMs Do' PR Campaign
"On the whole the campaign is accurate. On the whole the campaign is accurate. . . . But there are certain omissions and misleading statements. . . . Rebates — which represent revenue from the pharma.ceutical industry to PBMs — are not discussed." (Health Care Solutions And Benefits Management)

Should You Buy Long-Term Care Insurance? Maybe Not
"Medicaid is no bargain. Still, why buy insurance for something you can get for 'free' from the government? And that helps explain why the report from the Society of Actuaries suggests that those with savings of less than $250,000 may not want to buy private insurance, while those with assets exceeding $2 mil.lion may not need to." (Forbes)

U.S. Health Care Hits $3 Tril.lion
"[H]ave we tamed the cost beast with real legislation -- or is it just legislation around the edges? . . . Obamacare took the payers out to the woodshed. Medical Loss Ratios (or basically what the insurance companies pay out for actual healthcare services) will be mandated -- but is this really going to dent our [national health expenditures]?" (Forbes)

Economist Uwe E. Reinhardt Asks, Is U.S. Health Spending Finally Under Control?
"[A]s the fraction of G.D.P. devoted to health care increases, the added satisfaction, or utility, that people derive from added health care is likely to diminish relative to the added satisfaction derived from consuming more of other things. It could explain a gradual decline in the excess growth of health care spending." (New York Times; free registration required)

The Supreme Court Should Reexamine Decisions That Have Made It Hard for People to Sue Their Own States
"[The case in question is concerned] with sick leave. [The plaintiff's] lawyers asked the court to consider the Family and Medical Leave Act as a whole and conclude that the law is 'an integrated response to gender discrimination.' If that's the case, men as well as women can argue that the law is constitutional." (Los Angeles Times)

An Alabama County Commission Considers Employee Health Care Clinic to Reduce Costs
"Companies that run workplace clinics often tout returns on investment as high as 7 to 1, according to a 2010 study published by the center. However, returns of 2 to 1 are more common, according to one consultant quoted in the study." (Alabama Live LLC)

'Tiered' Insurance Confounds Consumers and Doctors in Massachusetts
"Massachusetts health insurers assign doctors and hospitals to tiers using a complicated formula of quality and cost measures. In short, the tiers are different because insurers don't use all the same quality measures, because they give the measures different weight and because insurers pay physicians and hospitals different rates." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Washington State Bill Would Require Abortion Coverage
"Democratic members of the state legislature introduced a bill earlier this month that would maintain or expand abortion coverage. The 'Reproductive Parity Act,' set for its first hearings on Thursday, would require private and public insurers that provide maternity coverage to cover abortion services as well. If passed, the law would be the first of its kind in the nation." (The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Employers not Offering Wellness Benefits Desired, According to Survey
"The top four benefits employees would most like to see their employer offer are fitness center discounts (25%), on-site preventive screenings (22%) and access to wellness experts such as nutritionists (21%) and onsite fitness facilities (19%)." (PLANSPONSOR.COM)

[Opinion]
Should Everyone Be Required to Have Health Insurance?
"Uninsured individuals who need care, particularly catastrophically expensive care, generally receive these services anyway. A decision not to pay for insurance — to become a free rider — leads hospitals and other providers to charge other patients more to make up the difference. People shouldn't have the freedom to shift the burden to everybody else." (The Wall Street Journal)

[Opinion]
What We Give Up for Health Care
"[We] hold the questionable distinction of having the world's most expensive health care system — what about cost control? For many liberals, that just sounds like a cover for heartless conservatives who care only about cutting benefits and not about helping people in need. But liberals are wrong to ignore costs." (New York Times; free registration required)

Benefits in General; Executive Compensation

[Guidance Overview]
Puerto Rico Treasury Department Issues New Income Tax Withholding Tables on Wages Paid in 2012 (PDF)
"The PR Treasury confirms in the Guide that every employee whose gross annual wages does not exceed $20,000 will not be subject to Puerto Rico income tax withholding in 2012." (McConnell Valdes LLC.)

Federal Pay and Benefits Remain at Risk As Congress Returns
"House and Senate conferees are scheduled to begin discussions soon over how to finance a 12-month payroll tax cut extension past February, and those talks likely will include proposals to prolong the federal pay freeze and reduce the retirement benefits of government employees and lawmakers." (GovExec.com)

Number of Retirees Underlies Kodak Bankrup.tcy Filing
"Here's one way of understanding Eastman Kodak Co.'s problems: The company has twice as many retirees drawing benefits in the U.S. as it has active employees world-wide." (Wall Street Journal)

Nearly a Third of Employers Willing to Cover Relocation Now
"While employers continue to struggle finding qualified workers for skilled positions, 32 percent say they're willing to pay for relocation expenses in 2012, according to a nationwide CareerBuilder study." (BenefitsPro)

[Opinion]
Be Honest, Tell California Taxpayers How Much We Owe
"By one estimate, the statewide taxpayer burden for unfunded pension system liabilities alone is $180 bil.lion to $620 bil.lion. The latter number works out to $45,000 for each household in the state." (ContraCostaTimes.com)

Press Releases



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