December 9, 2003 - 8,712 subscribers

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Today's sponsor: Agent 77

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(Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor)

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Treasury Secretary Snow Statement On Health Savings Accounts
Press release, with 'fact sheet.' Excerpt: "HSAs provide an important and welcome option for many Americans to fund their health care expenses. Treasury is committed to ensuring that taxpayers get the full benefit of HSAs as quickly as possible. We will be releasing basic information and guidance about HSAs shortly, and will request suggestions about how the rules should be applied." (U.S. Treasury Department)

Insurers Ready to Sell Health Savings Accounts
Excerpt: "Under the new law, consumers will be able to obtain relatively inexpensive health insurance policies with high deductibles combined with savings accounts. The contributions to the accounts will be tax deductible, the money will accumulate year after year tax free, and it can be withdrawn to pay for a variety of medical expenses." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Health Savings Accounts: Medicare Reform Reshapes the Landscape for Active Employee Health Coverage
Click on 'Legal Alert' on target page. (Kilpatrick Stockton LLP)

President Signs Medicare Reform Bill; Simplified and Indexed Conference Agreement Available
On December 8, President George W. Bush signed into law the Medicare Pr*scription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (H.R. 1). The law will implement a new Medicare Part D voluntary pr*scription drug benefit, effective beginning Jan. 1, 2006, and a pr*scription drug discount card in the interim. Beginning in 2006, retiree medical plan sponsors may receive subsidy payments from Medicare of 28% of the gross covered retiree medical pr*scription drug costs between $250 and $5,000. (Spencer Benefits Reports)

Estimates on Cost of Medicare Pr*scription Drug Benefit Hit $2 Trillion
Excerpt: "The new Medicare pr*scription-drug benefit could cost as much as $2 trillion in its second decade, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said yesterday, especially if Congress fills in the coverage gaps in the current benefit." (Washington Times)

Opinion: Medicare Law's Costs and Benefits Are Elusive
Excerpt: "'In return for a monthly premium of about $35, most seniors without any pr*scription-drug coverage can now expect to see their current drug bills cut roughly in half,' Mr. Bush said in signing the bill Monday. But no one knows whether the legislation will work as intended." (New York Times; one-time registration required)

Opinion: An Overview of the Troubling Medicare Legislation
Excerpt: "Because the legislation is not 'paid for,' it will substantially worsen the nation's long-term fiscal problems, which already threaten to be the most serious in the nation's history.... Of particular concern on the fiscal front is the legislation's failure to include true cost-containment provisions that would moderate the escalating cost of drugs to both the federal Treasury and American consumers." (Center for Budget and Policy Priorities)

Consumers Union, Others Call for Ability of Medicare to Negotiate Prices with Drug Companies
Excerpt: "Without the government's ability to negotiate drug prices, the average senior on Medicare will pay more out-of-pocket for drugs in 2007 when the benefit is fully implemented, then what they currently pay now without the so-called 'benefit.'" (Consumers Union)

White Paper: Health Care Fraud-- A Serious and Costly Reality for All Americans (PDF)
9 pages; Excerpt: "If you receive an 'Explanation of Benefits' after your health insurance plan has paid a claim on your behalf, read it carefully to ensure that you actually received the treatments that were paid for, and report apparent discrepancies. Many such statements list toll free hotlines that you may call to report suspicious charges." (National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association - www.nhcaa.org)

Boston To Get Drugs Via Canada
Excerpt: "Beginning next July, Boston plans to import pr*scription drugs from Canada for thousands of city workers and retirees, under a cost-saving proposal Mayor Thomas M. Menino will announce today." (The Boston Globe)

Retirees Will Not Have Adequate Funds for Health Care Costs, Study Finds
Excerpt: "U.S. retirees in 2030 will have a combined $45 billion in annual income less than required to cover basic living expenses and the cost of nursing home or home health care, according to a study released last week by the Employee Benefit Research Institute in association with the Milbank Memorial Fund foundation, the Washington Post reports." (KaiserNetwork.org)

Shifting Burden Helps Employers Lower Rate of Health Cost Increase
Excerpt: "The average cost of employer health plans rose 10% per employee in 2003, less than the 14% that was predicted heading into 2003 ... [W]ithout raising employees' premium contributions and deductibles and trimming coverage, employers wouldn't have seen costs slow much at all." (Dow Jones Business News via Yahoo! News)

Rising Health Care Costs Are Number One Concern For 66% of Employers
Rising health care costs were listed as the number one concern by 66% of employers, according to research recently released by C&B Consulting. The 2003 Benefit Survey Report found that the average annual cost per employee for medical coverage in New York has risen from $5,669 in 2002 to $6,498 in 2003. The survey collected information from nearly 300 organizations based in the New York metropolitan area. (Spencer Benefits Reports)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

Reminder: December 31 Deadline for Split-Dollar Insurance Safe Harbor (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "[F]or split-dollar life insurance arrangements that were in place on January 28, 2002, where the employer has received or is entitled to receive full repayment of all of its contributions, consideration should be given to (i) terminating the split-dollar arrangement by December 31, 2003 or (ii) for all periods that begin on or after January 1, 2004, treating all amounts paid by the employer to the policy since its inception as loans for federal tax purposes ..." (Morgan Lewis)

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Newly Posted Events

In Search of Retirement Security: The Changing Mix of Social Insurance, Employee Benefits, and Personal Responsibility
in District of Columbia on January 22, 2004
presented by National Academy of Social Insurance

Global Medical Forum Summit: Is the U.S. Subsidizing the Global Pharmaceutical Market? A European Perspective
Nationwide on December 5, 2003
presented by Kaiser Family Foundation

Workers Compensation & Disability Management Conference
in California on January 28, 2004
presented by International Business Forum

West Coast Employers' Summit on Reducing Health Care Costs
in California on February 1, 2004
presented by International Business Forum

13th Annual Defined Contribution/401(k) Conference (East Coast)
in Florida on February 8, 2003
presented by International Business Forum

5th Annual U.S. Employers Summit on Healthcare Costs
in District of Columbia on April 12, 2004
presented by International Business Forum

The 5th Annual Evening Institute in Miami featuring Legal and Illegal 412i Plans
in Florida on January 6, 2004
presented by The 412(i) Company

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Newly Posted Press Releases

Coffey to Serve as President of the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists Governing Council
(IFEBP (International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans))

Hewitt Study Shows Employers Critically Concerned with Health Care Costs and Looking for Creative Solutions
(Hewitt Associates LLC)

The WEB Network Issues RFP for Accounting Services
(Worldwide Employee Benefits Network (WEB))

Alliance Benefit Group Lauded For 401(k) Plan Services; Plan Sponsor Magazine Survey Gives Local Provider High Marks
(Alliance Benefit Group)

PBGC restates Administration support for prompt passage of interest rate relief
(Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC))

Assist America Offers Assistance Services to Florida Medical Association PLUS? Members
(Assist America)

Labor Department Proposes Rule To Simplify Registration by Investment Managers
(U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA))

U.S. Retiree Income in 2030 Will Be $45 Billion Short of Need; But Saving Added 5% of Income Could Protect Many Future Retirees
(Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI))

Companies With 401K Plans Use Manual on Investments as a Benefit for Employees
(Sankin & Associates)

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Movers and Shakers: Newly Posted Announcements of Promotions and New Personnel
( Post Yours! )

Beverly Mize (Sentinel Benefits)

Dan Shapiro (Sentinel Benefits)

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Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings


401(k) Administrator
for Caribbean Pension Consultants, Inc.
in FL

Health Management Consultant
for Hewitt Associates
in NJ

Actuarial Consultant, Healthcare
for Hewitt Associates
in CT, MA

Employee Benefits Trust Administrator
for BB&T
in NC

ERISA Litigation Attorney
for Marvel Consultants, Inc.
in GA

Client Services Representative
for PAi
in NV, WI

Retirement Plans Administration Specialist
for Union Central
in OH

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