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December 27, 2001 - 6,470 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Glasser LegalWorks
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
What Is Your Opinion on the Criticism of Marsh & McLennan's Handling of Survivors' Health Benefits?
Excerpt: "A New York Times article reports that some families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks are criticizing Marsh & McLennan for the way it proposes to fund its decision to provide 3 years of free health benefits for the families. What is your opinion? Are these individuals justified in feeling cheated? Or does the source of funding obscure the point that the employer was under no obligation to provide any health benefits for the victims' families to begin with?" (BenefitsLink Message Boards)
eHealthInsurance Booms During Nation's Bust
Excerpt: "The firm is a go-between, not an insurance company. With links to 100 insurers offering 8,000 plans in all 50 states, eHealthInsurance is a 'super mall' for comparing, tailoring and buying a health plan." (Medscape; free registration required)
Disability Plan's Calculation of Benefits Found to Be Arbitrary and Capricious
Hess v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co. (7th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "During the course of employment, the employee's compensation had been based almost entirely on commissions. The plan document, however, called for benefits to be calculated as a percentage of 'regular monthly pay' ... The employee challenged the calculation, based on an employment contract under which the employer had agreed to use an average of total commissions over the prior two years in calculating benefits." (EBIA Weekly)
Total Benefits: a Job Well Done
Excerpt: "Cost-conscious companies are looking to employee-recognition programs as inexpensive ways to increase retention." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Curing Sick Leave Ills: Paid Time Off
Excerpt: "You may be able to avoid this dance of fibbing and tracking by setting up a Paid Time Off or PTO bank. Many companies have used some variation of it successfully for years. Here's how it works: instead of allotting a separate number of days off for vacation, sickness and personal time, all three are rolled into one figure." (SmartPros.com)
Rethinking Retiree Health
Excerpt: "Sponsors are examining lifetime caps, managed care, and higher copays." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Audio Report: Health Care Costs Likely to Rise in Coming Year
December 26, 2001. Requires Real Player to listen. (National Public Radio)
(Following items are in both editions of the BenefitsLink Newsletter)
Fiduciary Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege Gives Plan Participant Some, but Not All, Documents
Coffman v. Metropolitan Life Ins. (S.D.W.V. 2001). Excerpt: "This court decision illustrates that an ERISA plan sponsor may be required to disclose attorney-client communications in ERISA benefits litigation. The documents in dispute related to the plaintiff's denied disability claim.... This decision serves as a reminder that communications with an attorney about a benefit denial may be subject to later disclosure if the matter ends up in litigation." (EBIA Weekly)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
Jobs | Today's Messages | Topical News | Q&A Columns | Services & Products | Search | Reference
The BenefitsLink Newsletter -
Welfare Plans Edition
Welfare Plans Edition
December 27, 2001 - 6,470 subscribers
Today's sponsor: Glasser LegalWorks
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
You are invited to attend the nation's leading seminar on how recent cases affect claims, plan design and operations. Highlights of this year's program include: -Health Care Plan Litigation -Fiduciary Litigation -Preemption after Egelhoff -Aftermath of Pegram -Managed Care Litigation More details are available now in an online brochure: http://www.legalwks.com/conferences/erisa_lit/home.htm
(Help BenefitsLink to provide this newsletter at no charge to you -- our sponsors pay our way. Remember to visit them periodically; we try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)
What Is Your Opinion on the Criticism of Marsh & McLennan's Handling of Survivors' Health Benefits?
Excerpt: "A New York Times article reports that some families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks are criticizing Marsh & McLennan for the way it proposes to fund its decision to provide 3 years of free health benefits for the families. What is your opinion? Are these individuals justified in feeling cheated? Or does the source of funding obscure the point that the employer was under no obligation to provide any health benefits for the victims' families to begin with?" (BenefitsLink Message Boards)
eHealthInsurance Booms During Nation's Bust
Excerpt: "The firm is a go-between, not an insurance company. With links to 100 insurers offering 8,000 plans in all 50 states, eHealthInsurance is a 'super mall' for comparing, tailoring and buying a health plan." (Medscape; free registration required)
Disability Plan's Calculation of Benefits Found to Be Arbitrary and Capricious
Hess v. Hartford Life & Accident Ins. Co. (7th Cir. 2001). Excerpt: "During the course of employment, the employee's compensation had been based almost entirely on commissions. The plan document, however, called for benefits to be calculated as a percentage of 'regular monthly pay' ... The employee challenged the calculation, based on an employment contract under which the employer had agreed to use an average of total commissions over the prior two years in calculating benefits." (EBIA Weekly)
Total Benefits: a Job Well Done
Excerpt: "Cost-conscious companies are looking to employee-recognition programs as inexpensive ways to increase retention." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Curing Sick Leave Ills: Paid Time Off
Excerpt: "You may be able to avoid this dance of fibbing and tracking by setting up a Paid Time Off or PTO bank. Many companies have used some variation of it successfully for years. Here's how it works: instead of allotting a separate number of days off for vacation, sickness and personal time, all three are rolled into one figure." (SmartPros.com)
Rethinking Retiree Health
Excerpt: "Sponsors are examining lifetime caps, managed care, and higher copays." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Audio Report: Health Care Costs Likely to Rise in Coming Year
December 26, 2001. Requires Real Player to listen. (National Public Radio)
Fiduciary Exception to Attorney-Client Privilege Gives Plan Participant Some, but Not All, Documents
Coffman v. Metropolitan Life Ins. (S.D.W.V. 2001). Excerpt: "This court decision illustrates that an ERISA plan sponsor may be required to disclose attorney-client communications in ERISA benefits litigation. The documents in dispute related to the plaintiff's denied disability claim.... This decision serves as a reminder that communications with an attorney about a benefit denial may be subject to later disclosure if the matter ends up in litigation." (EBIA Weekly)
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings -
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in CA
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Copyright 2001 BenefitsLink.com, Inc., but you may freely distribute this email newsletter in whole. This newsletter is edited by David Rhett Baker, J.D.
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