|
BenefitsLink Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
|
|
|
|
|
Employee Benefits Jobs
|
|
Webcasts and Conferences
2012 Chicago Mid-Sized Retirement & Healthcare Plan Management Conference
Nationwide
on June 5, 2012
presented by University Conference Services
Health FSA and DCAP Nondiscrimination Rules: Design and Testing Fundamentals (Session II)
Nationwide
on May 24, 2012
presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA
Cafeteria Plan Nondiscrimination Rules: Design and Testing Fundamentals (Session I)
Nationwide
on May 17, 2012
presented by Thomson Reuters / EBIA
African-Americans and Retirement: What You Should Know Before It’s Too Late Forum
in Georgia
on April 28, 2012
presented by U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Strategies to Access, Interpret and Get Results From Your Company's Health Care Data
Nationwide
on May 10, 2012
presented by Lorman Education Services
Voluntary Benefits Option: Adding Benefits Without Increasing Costs
Nationwide
on May 15, 2012
presented by Lorman Education Services
Same-Gender Marriage Rulings: Impacts on Employee Benefit Plans Across the Nation
Nationwide
on June 6, 2012
presented by Lorman Education Services
Form 5500 Reporting Update
Nationwide
on June 12, 2012
presented by Lorman Education Services
Webinar - Advanced HSAs
Nationwide
on September 13, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - Rollovers Between Retirement Plans and IRAs
Nationwide
on September 13, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - Conducting Your Own Compliance Audit
Nationwide
on September 18, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - IRA Contributions
Nationwide
on September 20, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - IRA Investments and Investment Issues
Nationwide
on September 25, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - IRA Excess Contributions
Nationwide
on September 27, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - IRA Frontline Fundamentals - Part 1
Nationwide
on October 2, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - IRA Beneficiary Distributions
Nationwide
on October 4, 2012
presented by Ascensus
Webinar - Coverdell Education Savings Account
Nationwide
on October 9, 2012
presented by Ascensus
|
|
We also
publish the BenefitsLink
Retirement Plans Newsletter (free):
Subscribe
|
|
[Guidance Overview]
Fifth Circuit Rejects Health Plan's Claim for Reimbursement from Plan Participant's 'Special Needs' Trust
[The Fifth Circuit in its opinion in ACS Recovery Servs. v. Griffin (Apr. 2, 2012) stated] "Even if we were to find that [the group health plan participant who had successfully settled a suit against a tortfeasor in an automobile accident that injured the participant] had fleeting possession of the funds, we are still bound by our prior precedent, which requires the ... beneficiary to have either possession or control of the funds at the time that the [group health plan] is seeking equitable relief."
(Health Plan Law Blog)
|
|
[Guidance Overview]
Seventh Circuit Sides with Fiduciaries on Question of Out-of-Network Disclosures
"The dispute in this ... case arose out of the group health plan's refusal to [pay] out-of-network charges of $80,000. The Plaintiff claimed that there was no adequate proof in the record that the providers were out-of-network, and furthermore that, even if they were, the Defendants breached their fiduciary duty to inform him of that material fact."
(Health Plan Law)
|
[Guidance Overview]
Health Plan Sponsors Assessing Effect of 2013 Medicare Part D Indexed Amounts
"[This publication provides] charts comparing the 2013 [Medicare Part D standard defined benefit and Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) amounts] to the 2012 numbers. It also reviews changes to the Part D benefit, which were made by the Affordable Care Act, and illustrates the impact of those changes on the 2013 benefit.... Plan sponsors should note the new benefit amounts for planning purposes for 2013—both with respect to expected RDS income and to the design of any Medicare Part D prescription drug plan that is offered to retirees."
(Segal)
|
DOL Questioning Certain Welfare Plans' Form 5500 Participant Information
"[T]he Requests require plan administrators to provide a response as to why the number of persons covered, as reported in Schedule A 'Insur.ance Information,' varies from the participant count reported on line 6 of Form 5500, although this is often due to the existence of various plan options. The Requests also solicit information regarding stop loss insur.ance. Stop-loss insur.ance is coverage for employers that self-fund their employee health benefit plans."
(HighRoads)
|
Traveling4Health Unveils Interactive Map of Medical Travel and Retirement Health Destinations
"America's leading travel resource for discovering vacationing, destination locations, international health, and medical travel news, Traveling4Health & Retirement unveils first-ever online travel and tourism map for travelers, baby boomers, and everyone seeking affordable alternatives to the rising costs of healthcare while learning about the many advantages of international travel."
(Traveling4Health)
|
Health Care Remains a Key Concern for Americans; Wellness Near Top of List
"Nearly half (42 percent) of people prefer to receive preventive care appointment reminders via email; however, preference for text messages providing reminders doubled in the past year, from eight to 16 percent. While the use of technology is growing, the research also indicates that more traditional forms of communication such as direct mail and print newsletters are still a valued resource for consumers."
(Krames StayWell)
|
Enhance Incentives for Employees Through 'Individualizing'
"What incentives and rewards most motivate workers to do their best? ... The latest answer is 'individualization,' according to [a study] by St. Louis-based Incentive Research Foundation, which analyzed existing research, scanned incentive industry and business publications, and sought input from industry leaders."
(Human Resource Executive Online)
|
Enrollment in Health Savings Accounts Increasing Dramatically
"Enrollment in these specialized tax-deductible, tax-free accounts has exploded: In March 2005 there were slightly more than 1 mil.lion accounts; a year ago there were 11.4 mil.lion, according to America's Health Insur.ance Plans, a trade group. Since then, the growth has been exponential, with Fidelity Investments saying its HSA business grew 61 percent in a year."
(Reuters)
|
San Diego to Save More than Expected on Retiree Health
"Agreements were reached last year with the city's unions on the new retiree health care package, which offered three options for workers. City officials expected about 3,000 of the eligible employees—those hired before 2005—to opt for the plan that is similar to a 401(k) and is cheaper for the city in the long run. Instead, about 5,000 did[.]"
(KUSI News)
|
Health Insur.ance Declining in Low-Income Working Families and Small Businesses
"Employer-sponsored insur.ance (ESI) rates are lower and declines in ESI in the past decade are higher for low-income individuals and small businesses relative to high-income individuals and larger businesses. In this brief, [the authors] show that even high-income people in small firms and low-income people in large firms both have experienced relatively large declines in ESI, while higher income people in larger firms have experienced relatively small declines in ESI."
(Urban Institute)
|
[Opinion]
Health Care Reform in Peril: Elected Officials, Not Supreme Court, Should Be Deciders of Who Pays
"Rights are nice, but someone has to pay the bills. Looking around the world reveals a wide range of health-care payment systems. On a spectrum ranging from 100% payment by the state to 100% payment by private parties, many advanced countries cluster near the 100%-government pole. None is near the 100%-private pole. The United States probably comes closest, with about half the bills paid privately."
(The Wall Street Journal)
|
[Opinion]
The Power of Universal Health Care
"T.R. Reid, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of the best-selling book, The Healing of America, makes three powerful observations: First, all other leading countries provide universal health care at half the cost and higher quality than the United States does. Second, he points to the remarkable variety of health care systems in those successful countries. Third, and most important, what those successful systems have in common is universal health care."
(nj.com)
|
|
Benefits in General; Executive Compensation
|
|
|
|
Press Releases
|
|
BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151
Jeanette Hull, News Editor
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Lois Baker, J.D., President
Holly Horton, Business Manager
Copyright © 2012 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
All materials contained in this newsletter are
protected by United States copyright law and may not be
reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed,
published or broadcast without the prior written
permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of
third party materials, the owner of that content. You
may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or
other notice from copies of the content.
Links to Web sites other than those owned by
BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to
readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
was not involved in their production and is not
responsible for their content.
More useful links:
|
|
