An online, clickable version of this newsletter is available at: http://benefitslink.com/2004/2004_09_21_welfare.html
=========================================================== BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter (Plain Text Format) September 21, 2004 =========================================================== We thank and invite your attention to today's sponsor: IQPC =========================================================== Conference on Healthcare Cost Containment Strategies for Employers (Advert.) <URL:http://benefitslink.com/cgi/a_d.cgi?a_d=2004_09_21_welfare> http://benefitslink.com/cgi/a_d.cgi?a_d=2004_09_21_welfare (Click on above address, or copy and paste it into your web browser, to learn more.) Proven Strategies for Reducing your Healthcare Costs, Maintaining Healthy Employees and Sustaining a Competitive Benefits Package October 25 - 27th, 2004 * Chateau Sonesta Hotel * New Orleans, LA This must-attend event will provide you with real-time strategies and solutions in lowering your healthcare costs. Hear first-hand case studies on how to implement innovative techniques to ensure healthy employees while maintaining a competitive benefits package, and walk away with practical knowledge enabling your company to become a market leader in healthcare cost containment. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) ---------------------------------------------------------- Choosing a New Health Plan Design? Differences Among HRAs, HSAs and FSAs: Beyond the Basics (PDF) <URL:http://www.haynesboone.com/FILES/tbl_s12PublicationsHotTopics/PublicationPDF60/1166/hrahsafsachart9-04-%20Greta%20Cowart.pdf> http://www.haynesboone.com/FILES/tbl_s12PublicationsHotTopics/PublicationPDF60/1166/hrahsafsachart9-04-%20Greta%20Cowart.pdf 37 pages. Excerpt: "This...chart looks at how a number of laws apply to the three types of arrangements for reimbursing health expenses and how the differences impact the choice of the arrangement and plan design." (Haynes and Boone and T. David Cowart) ---------------------------------------------------------- Overview: Health Information Technology Opportunities in an Evolving Compliance Environment <URL:http://www.faegre.com/articles/article_1416.aspx> http://www.faegre.com/articles/article_1416.aspx Excerpt: "Recent events have enhanced interest in the opportunities and challenges related to implementing electronic health information systems. .... The ... discussion surveys some of the principal areas of regulatory concern confronting health IT initiatives and suggests preliminary steps to move forward in a legally compliant manner." (Faegre & Benson) ---------------------------------------------------------- DOL Denies Fast-Track OK for Whirlpool Benefits Captive for Retiree Health Care Funding <URL:http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=4419> http://www.businessinsurance.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=4419 Excerpt: "An unusual retiree health care benefits funding arrangement proposed by major appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. that would use its captive insurance company, a tax-free trust and commercial life insurance does not qualify for fast-track approval, the U.S. Department of Labor has ruled." (Jerry Geisel in Business Insurance) ---------------------------------------------------------- Absence Management Strategies in the Public Sector (PDF) <URL:http://www.segalco.com/publications/publicsectorletters/oct2004.pdf> http://www.segalco.com/publications/publicsectorletters/oct2004.pdf 4 pages. Excerpt: "[P]ublic sector employers may want to consider closely coordinating unscheduled absences and sick leave as well as the potential for combining all leave programs into 'universal leave' and adding a rewards program for attendance." (The Segal Company) ---------------------------------------------------------- Loophole Lets Pharmacies Bill Government Health Programs Twice for Same Medicine <URL:http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-Reselling-Medication.html> http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/health/AP-Reselling-Medication.html Excerpt: "A regulatory loophole is allowing some pharmacy companies to bill government health programs twice for the same drugs, according to whistleblower lawsuits challenging the payments." (AP via The New York Times; one-time registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- America's Obesity Epidemic: a Plan Sponsor's Primer <URL: http://infolinx.aon.com/InfoLinx/RTS/e-forum.nsf/e-ForumCurrent/95DE13E625B4EA2F85256F0F00649F44?OpenDocument> http://infolinx.aon.com/InfoLinx/RTS/e-forum.nsf/e-ForumCurrent/95DE13E625B4EA2F85256F0F00649F44?OpenDocument Excerpt: "Many health plan sponsors are now examining the significant cost challenges posed by the prevalence of overweight and obese participants in their plans. In this article, we will outline obesity's impact on health plan costs, the emergence of expensive surgical interventions, and some plan design options." (Aon Consulting) ---------------------------------------------------------- Health Plan Audits: a Critical Component of an Effective Vendor Management Strategy (PDF) <URL:http://www.segalco.com/publications/executiveletters/sept2004.pdf> http://www.segalco.com/publications/executiveletters/sept2004.pdf 4 pages. Excerpt: "Employers need to make sure their health plan vendors are up to the task of efficiently and accurately paying claims and meeting financial commitments.... Health plan audits ... help employers ... [i]dentify overpayments, and [i]dentify opportunities to improve plan design and health management." (The Segal Company) ---------------------------------------------------------- Medicare Secondary Payer: Improvements Needed to Enhance Debt, GAO Says <URL:http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-783> http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-04-783 32 pages. Excerpt: "Last year, employer-sponsored group health plans ... were responsible for most of the nearly $183 million in outstanding Medicare secondary payer (MSP) debt. MSP debts arise when Medicare inadvertently pays for services that are subsequently determined to be the financial responsibility of another. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ... administers Medicare with the assistance of about 50 contractors that, as part of their duties, are required to recover MSP debt." (U.S. Government Accountability Office) ---------------------------------------------------------- Overview for Employers with Taft-Hartley Plans: the Medicare Pres.cription Drug Benefit (PDF) <URL:http://www.milliman.com/eb/publications/multiemployer_review/mereview_9_2004.pdf> http://www.milliman.com/eb/publications/multiemployer_review/mereview_9_2004.pdf 4 pages. Excerpt: "Milliman estimates that 15% of Medicare beneficiaries will have $250 or less in pres.cription drug coverage, 40% will have expenses that fall within the first tier of 75% coverage, 31% of will have pres.cription drug expenses that fall within the hole in coverage, and 14% will have expenses that qualify for catastrophic coverage." (Milliman) ---------------------------------------------------------- GAO Urges Review of Medicare Outpatient Rate Setting <URL:http://www.modernhealthcare.com/news.cms?newsId=2918&potId=MN> http://www.modernhealthcare.com/news.cms?newsId=2918&potId=MN Excerpt: "The CMS should examine how it sets Medicare rates for outpatient care to determine if hospitals are adequately reimbursed for drugs, devices and other outpatient services, the Government Accountability Office said." (modernhealthcare.com) ---------------------------------------------------------- Weighing the Risks in a Health Savings Account <URL:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/business/businessspecial/21BROC.html> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/21/business/businessspecial/21BROC.html Excerpt: "A Little-Noticed provision in the Medicare pres.cription drug law passed by Congress late last year is starting to shake up the group insurance market for small businesses. The provision created health savings accounts that allow people to set aside pretax income to pay medical bills. When linked to high-deductible insurance policies, the accounts, known as H.S.A.'s, can drastically lower an employer's costs of providing employee health benefits." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- States Loathe to Lose Say Over Health Insurance Plans If Bush's Small Business Plan Implemented <URL:http://www.stateline.org/stateline/?pa=story&sa=showStoryInfo&id=399640> http://www.stateline.org/stateline/?pa=story&sa=showStoryInfo&id=399640 Excerpt: "Strong objections are being voiced in the states to part of President Bush's pres.cription to make health insurance more affordable for small businesses. The principal worry is that states will lose the ability to regulate certain insurance plans and protect consumers." (Stateline.org) ---------------------------------------------------------- Issue Brief: Bush Health Plan-- Consumer-Driven Health Care <URL:http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba486/> http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba486/ Excerpt: "In the history of the U.S. presidential elections, there has never been a clearer contrast between the candidates with respect to health care policy. President Bush and Sen. Kerry have endorsed sharply different visions of how to reform the American health care system and both have put forth specific proposals to implement those visions." (John C. Goodman for National Center for Policy Analysis) ---------------------------------------------------------- Working Paper: Supply or Demand: Why is the Market for Long-Term Care Insurance So Small? <URL:http://papers.nber.org/papers/W10782> http://papers.nber.org/papers/W10782 Excerpt: "Long-term care represents one of the largest uninsured financial risks facing the elderly in the United States. Whether the small size of this market is driven primarily by supply side market imperfections or by limitations to demand, however, is unresolved, largely due to the paucity of data about the structure of the private market." (National Bureau of Economic Research) ========================================================== Links To Items on Executive Comp, Benefits In General ---------------------------------------------------------- Delta, Pilots Agree on Deal: If Union Members Give OK, Airline Will Get Right to Rehire Retirees <URL:http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/delta/0904/21delta.html> http://www.ajc.com/news/content/business/delta/0904/21delta.html Excerpt: "Delta Air Lines and its pilots reached a deal Monday to prevent staffing problems stemming from a wave of early retirements, an issue the airline has said could force it into bankrup.tcy court at the end of this month. The tentative agreement --subject to ratification by rank-and-file pilots -- allows Delta to temporarily rehire pilots who retire after month's end to keep certain aircraft flying." (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; one-time registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- Court Rules That Indiana Has Jurisdiction in Suit Against Florida Employer for Wrongful Termination (PDF) <URL:http://207.41.16.152/opinions/AN6190O1.PDF> http://207.41.16.152/opinions/AN6190O1.PDF 9 pages. Excerpt: "Plaintiff Justin Tracy filed his action against Defendant Financial Insurance Management Corporation ('FIMC') alleging, among other things, violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act ('ADA') and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act ('ERISA')." (United States District Court, Southern District Of Indiana) ---------------------------------------------------------- Washington Legislative Wrap Up for the 108th Congress (2003-2004) as of September 20, 2004 (PDF) <URL:http://www.nctr.org/pdf/washingtonwrapup.pdf> http://www.nctr.org/pdf/washingtonwrapup.pdf 6 pages. Excerpt: "Federal Legislative and Regulatory Proposals of Interest to National Council on Teacher Retirement Members are current as of September 20, 2004; Federal Updates referenced in chart are available at http://www.nctr.org/federal/index.html."; (National Council on Teacher Retirement) ========================================================== Newly Posted Events Earned Income -- A Practical Approach Nationwide on October 28, 2004 presented by SunGard Corbel <URL:http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=38760> http://benefitslink.com/events/detail.php?id=38760 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/events/eventmaint.php ========================================================== Newly Posted Press Releases Standard Insurance Company Launches New Partnership Platform (Standard Insurance Company) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38314 ICC Plan Solutions Hits Milestone With 100th Enrollment Kit Customer (Metrics Partners) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38312 ADP Introduces Solo Retirement Plan for Owner-Only Businesses; Cost-Effective, Hassle-Free Solution for Small Business Owners Looking to Maximize Their Retirement Contributions (ADP Retirement Services) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38311 American Century Joins CPI Gold Partner Retirement Plan Platform (CPI Qualified Plan Consultants, Inc.) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38315 New 401(k) Cost Benchmarking Book Released (HR Investment Consultants) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38316 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/pr/maint.php ========================================================== Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel Matthew McPhail (Sentinel Benefits) http://benefitslink.com/cgi/show_moversandshakers.cgi?database_id=40573 Bert Entwistle (Sentinel Benefits) http://benefitslink.com/cgi/show_moversandshakers.cgi?database_id=40574 Post Yours! http://benefitslink.com/moversandshakers.html ========================================================== Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Senior DB or DC Tiered Plan Administrator for The Pension Group, Inc. in CA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40042 Compliance Analyst for Transamerica in CA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40175 Daily Valuation Team Leader for Associates in Excellence in CA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40562 Merger & Acquisition Benefit/Compliance Analyst for Swiss Re is a leading reinsurer company in NY http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40564 Implementation and Processing Services Manager for Ceridian in FL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40565 Client Account Manager for New York Life Investment Management LLC in NJ http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40566 Plan Administrator for New York Life Investment Management LLC in NJ http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40568 Defined Contribution Operations Manager for New York Life Investment Management LLC in NJ http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H40569 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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