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=========================================================== BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter (Plain Text Format) August 17, 2004 =========================================================== We thank and invite your attention to today's sponsor: BeneCom Associates, LLC =========================================================== BeneCom Associates, LLC, for one-stop benefit communications (Advert.) <URL:http://benefitslink.com/cgi/a_d.cgi?a_d=2004_08_17_welfare> http://benefitslink.com/cgi/a_d.cgi?a_d=2004_08_17_welfare (Click on above address, or copy and paste it into your web browser, to learn more.) Since 1992, BeneCom has produced benefit communications, including enrollment materials, SPDs, benefit statements, newsletters and more, for companies large and small, nationwide. So if you've been looking for an independent benefit communications specialist, look no further. Click above for more information, or give us a call at (860) 674-2626, Ext. 11, or (770) 461-5559. We're here to help. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) ---------------------------------------------------------- Text: HHS's Efforts to Promote Health Information Technology and Legal Barriers to Its Adoption <URL:http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-991R> http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-991R 64 pages. Excerpt: "Various laws present barriers to adoption of health IT, and at the time of our review HHS's efforts to address these barriers had been limited in scope. Experts we interviewed indicated that beyond legal issues related to the privacy and security of health information, there are various laws-- some specifically health related and some not-- that present barriers to the adoption of health IT." (U.S. General Accounting Office) ---------------------------------------------------------- Legal Issues Might Block Digital Health Records, GAO Report Says <URL:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040816/hl_nm/health_electronic_dc_1> http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040816/hl_nm/health_electronic_dc_1 Excerpt: "Uncertainty surrounding a host of legal issues may stall adoption of electronic medical records and U.S. officials have done little to address the problem, a congressional watchdog agency said Monday." (Reuters via Yahoo! News) ---------------------------------------------------------- Fitness on the Job <URL:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6558-2004Aug16.html> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6558-2004Aug16.html Excerpt: "More and More Companies Offer Wellness Programs Meant to Trim Employee Waistlines And Pare Health Costs. Why Is It So Hard to Prove the Incentives Work?" (Washington Post; one-time registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- Illinois Governor Launching Program to Reimport Drugs <URL:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6376-2004Aug16.html> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6376-2004Aug16.html Excerpt: "Despite opposition from a federal agency, Illinois will soon become the nation's first government to help residents buy cheaper drugs not only from Canada but from the United Kingdom and Ireland as well." (Washington Post; one-time registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- Evaluating Patient Compliance With Nurse Advice Line Recommendations; the Impact on Healthcare Costs <URL:http://www.ajmc.com/Article.cfm?Menu=1&ID=2654> http://www.ajmc.com/Article.cfm?Menu=1&ID=2654 Excerpt: "The simple act of calling a nurse triage and advice line corresponds with a change in the reported actions of uninsured and managed care patients and a potential reduction in costs to the safety net system providing their healthcare." (American Journal of Managed Care) ---------------------------------------------------------- 98 Out of 108 Lumber Yard Employees Choose Health Savings Account (PDF) <URL:http://www.hsainsider.com/hsainsider_v1_n17.pdf> http://www.hsainsider.com/hsainsider_v1_n17.pdf 11 pages. Excerpt: "At some point the employer was asking why don't we just do this with an HRA? The difference is, with a HRA, the employees really have no incentive to spend the money wisely." (HSA Insider) ---------------------------------------------------------- Caterpillar and its Employees at Loggerheads Over Health Costs <URL:http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/23/81/44.html> http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/23/81/44.html Excerpt: "Employees at Caterpillar and company negotiators are butting heads over the manufacturer's proposal to shift some health costs to employees. Employees say they're 'being asked to concede too much considering Caterpillar's record profits the last two quarters,' according to the Associated Press." (Workforce Management) ---------------------------------------------------------- Opinion: Pharmacy Benefit Managers-- Cost Containment or Consumer Rip-Off? <URL:http://www.pnhp.org/news/2004/august/health_care_cost_con.php> http://www.pnhp.org/news/2004/august/health_care_cost_con.php Excerpt: "PBMs do not manufacture, distribute, prescribe, or ultimately even pay for pres.cription drugs, yet they often determine what drug a patient will receive and at what price." (USAction via Physicians for a National Health Plan) ---------------------------------------------------------- Opinion: What Managed Care CEOs Get When They Leave Is Real Eye-Opener <URL:http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/08/23/bisa0823.htm> http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2004/08/23/bisa0823.htm Excerpt: "The high salaries of managed care executives have stirred controversy and caused consternation among doctors. But what's getting some regulators and physicians even more upset these days are the enormous sums insurance chieftains are being paid not to work." (American Medical News) ========================================================== Links To Items on Executive Comp, Benefits In General ---------------------------------------------------------- Transcript of Washington Post Online Discussion of Executive Compensation <URL:http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/sp_business_compensation081604.htm> http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/sp_business_compensation081604.htm Excerpt: "The Washington Post on Monday published its annual look at compensation levels of the region's top executives. It shows that pay for the Washington area's top executives rose significantly last year, reversing the downward trend that set in with the recession in 2001. Washington Post staff writer David Hilzenrath and editor Mike Flagg, who compiled the compensation data, [went online] to discuss the package." (Washington Post; one-time registration required) ========================================================== Newly Posted Events A Day with Sal Tripodi in California on August 31, 2004 presented by San Diego County Chapter of NIPA <URL:http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=38642> http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=38642 HSAs: The Latest Tricks Nationwide on August 24, 2004 presented by ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits <URL:http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=38643> http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=38643 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/events/eventmaint.php ========================================================== Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings 401(k)/Defined Contribution or Defined Benefit Compliance Analyst for National Retirement Services, Inc. in http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H34255 401(k) Enroller/Contractor for Transamerica-The Winning Organization in FL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H39512 401(k)/Defined Contribution or Defined Benefit Account Manager for National Retirement Services, Inc. (NRS) in CA, NC http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H39515 401(k) Enroller/Contractor - Bilingual for Transamerica in FL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H39516 Director, PNC Advisors Sales and Client Service Support for PNC Advisors in PA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40270 401(k) Plan Administrator for Employee Administration and Consulting Company in MN http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40271 Pre-retirement Benefits Counselor for Kansas City Missouri Public School Retirement System in MO http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40273 Paralegal for American International Group, Inc. in NY http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40275 Qualified Plan Administrator for High End Small Plan TPA in FL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H34204 Pension Sales for The Pension Service, LLC in MA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40277 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/jobs/post_help_wanted.html =========================================================== Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, Too Sign-up form is at: <URL:http://benefitslink.com/newsletter/> http://benefitslink.com/newsletter =========================================================== Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (if you also include this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (if you include this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission. 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