BenefitsLink
Health & Welfare Plans
Newsletter
February 3, 2009
Here are the Web's best new links about compliance and cost
aspects of plan operation, design and policy.
Today's sponsor is International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
Smart is not a permanent state of being. What's your maintenance plan? Take advantage of the education and information available through the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, a nonprofit educational association, and find out why over 35,000 industry professionals like Ken Bradshaw, CEBS rely on the Foundation to stay informed and educated. Make sure you have the most comprehensive information on health, pension and compensation issues. Be smart by association.
[Guidance Overview]
How to Address Protected Health Information Issues Under HIPAA in ERISA Litigation
Excerpt: "Whether plaintiff or defendant, obligations to protect health information increasingly present obstacles to progress in ERISA litigation. A recent district court order serves as an example of how parties may reach an accord that assures confidentiality of protected health information without thwarting necessary discovery in development of issues central to the case. In Mass. Mut. Life Ins. Co. v. Johnson, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1448 ( E.D. Mich. Jan. 9, 2009), the district court judge, Robert H. Cleland, ordered the protection of patient information by an order which, in effect, served as an ad hoc 'business associate' agreement." (Health Plan Law)
[Guidance Overview]
Sixth Circuit Holds Retirees Not Vested in No-Cost Retiree Medical
Excerpt: "One of the unfortunate results of this economic crisis is that employers are cutting benefits, i.e. the 401(k) match, pension benefits, retiree medical, etc. Thus, the outcome of this Sixth Circuit case--Winnett, et al v. Caterpillar, Inc.--is very relevant because it deals with the issue of whether retiree medical benefits had 'vested.' While qualified plans are subject to formal vesting rules under ERISA, retiree medical plans are not. Therefore, many times the outcome of litigation over retiree medical benefits will depend upon the plan language and collective bargaining agreements involved. That is exactly what happened in the Winnett case." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via Benefitsblog.com)
Maryland Governor Seeks Wider Health Benefits with Same-Sex Couples Focus of Plan
Excerpt: "Partners of g.ay and les.bian Maryland state employees and their children would be entitled to health benefits under a proposal announced yesterday by Gov. Martin O'Malley. If the plan is approved by a legislative committee, Maryland would join the District and 15 states that offer health insurance to domestic partners, through union contracts, executive orders, laws or court decisions." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
High Medical Cost Burdens, Patient Trust, and Perceived Quality of Care
Excerpt: "Patients with higher medical costs have less faith in their physician's medical decision-making and more negative assessments of the quality of care they receive. . . . The results of this survey suggest that patients with higher medical costs may believe that physicians are more interested in financial gain than in providing appropriate and necessary services, say the authors." (The Commonwealth Fund)
Take-Up of Medicare Part D: Results from the Health and Retirement Study
Excerpt: "We analyze data from the Health and Retirement Study on senior citizens' take-up of Medicare Part D. Take-up among those without drug coverage in 2004 was high; about fifty to sixty percent of this group have Part D coverage in 2006. Only seven percent of senior citizens lack drug coverage in 2006 compared with 24 percent in 2004. We find little circumstantial evidence that Part D crowded out private coverage in the short run, since the persistence of employer coverage was only slightly lower in 2004 -- 2006 than it was in 2002 -- 2004." (National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)
The Effects of the Medicare Part D Coverage Gap on Drug Spending
Excerpt: "We calculated prescription drug usage in two groups of Medicare beneficiaries: employer group with no coverage gap, and individual Part D group with no coverage or some generic drug coverage in the coverage gap. Among those with employer coverage, 40 percent reached the doughnut hole, compared with 25 percent of those without such coverage. Overall, 5 percent went through the doughnut hole to reach the catastrophic coverage level. Those lacking coverage in the doughnut hole reduced their drug use by 14 percent; those with generic coverage reduced their use by 3 percent. Coverage of generic drugs with a $0-$10 copayment in the doughnut hole could be financed by, at most, a six-to-nine-percentage-point increase in initial coinsurance." (Health Affairs)
The Effect of Medicare Part D Coverage on Drug Use and Cost Sharing Among Seniors Without Prior Drug Benefits
Excerpt: "This study evaluates the effect of Medicare Part D among seniors who previously lacked drug coverage, using time-trend analyses of patient-level dispensing data from three pharmacy chains. Of 114,766 seniors without drug benefits, 55 percent initiated drug insurance under Part D. After the penalty-free Part D enrollment period, use of statins, clopidogrel, and proton pump inhibitors stabilized at levels ranging from 11 percent to 37 percent above the trend that would have been expected if Part D had not been implemented." (Health Affairs)
New Health Care Legislation Would Require Disclosures from Employers
Excerpt: "Both houses of Congress have passed new legislation that would, among other things, require employers to amend their health care coverage rules and disclose health plan information to state officials or face a $100 per day fine. The Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization Act of 2009 (H.R. 2) would amend the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to require that employer plans and insurers permit employees and their dependents who are eligible for coverage but not enrolled in a plan to enroll if they become ineligible for coverage under Medicaid or a state child health plan, according news reports. Employers and insurers would also have to permit employees and their dependents who are eligible but not enrolled to enroll if they become eligible for financial assistance from Medicaid or a state child health plan." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
HSAs Could Be Boon for Banks
Excerpt: "The Health Savings Account (HSA) business has apparently been kind to bank-based HSA providers, according to a new research report on the niche market segment. The market analysis by Celent indicated that the upward trend is due to the rising cost of health care and the increased adoption of HSA-qualified consumer directed health plans (CDHP). For the six-month period from January to July 2008, accounts grew by 22%, while total balances grew by 40%.' Given the financial industry's current liquidity crisis, such balance gains should come as very welcome news,' Celent commented in the report." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Boston Globe Examines Debate Over Cost Effectiveness of Mail-Order Pharmacies
Excerpt: "Some mail-order pharmacy owners have told the Obama administration that Medicare spending could be reduced and quality could be improved if more beneficiaries ordered their medications by mail, the Boston Globe reports." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
The Stimulus Plan: Billions for Health Care Insurance
Excerpt: "It will get vastly cheaper for most people to keep health insurance after losing a job if the government's stimulus plan becomes law. Some nickel and dime cuts in health coverage for the poor will be reversed, too. Geek jobs in medicine will grow. The billions to be poured into health care from the economic stimulus package will do little if anything about the chronic conditions behind the nation's stubbornly large ranks of uninsured. Instead the plan is a temporary lifeline, hasty measures for nearly desperate times." (AP via The New York Times; free registration required)
Audio and Text: Can Stimulus Funding Help Promote Wellness?
Excerpt: "The economic stimulus bill wending its way through Congress includes up to $5.8 billion for disease prevention and wellness initiatives. President Obama says the funding would provide access to vaccinations and fund community initiatives to tackle obesity, smoking and preventable chronic diseases. But an ongoing debate is taking place as to whether these prevention programs would actually save money in the long run." (All Things Considered via National Public Radio)
[Opinion]
Law Professor Writes: Preserve Domestic-Partner Benefits for Arizona State Employees
Excerpt: "A bill pending in the Arizona Senate (SB 1174) would eliminate the domestic-partnership benefits for state employees that became available in October. Withdrawing the benefits would be a mistake, and not just for those people who desperately need the benefits for health insurance. Withdrawing the benefits would signal to the world that Arizona is taking a step backward rather than forward." (The Arizona Daily Star)
[Opinion]
Disruptive Innovation, Applied to Health Care
Excerpt: "[T]he country needs to innovate its way toward a new health care business model -- one that reduces costs yet improves both quality and accessibility. Two main causes of the system's ills are century-old business models, for the general hospital and the physician's practice, both of which are based on treating illness, not promoting wellness. Hospitals and doctors are paid by insurers and the government for the health care equivalent of piecework: hospitals profit from full beds and doctors profit from repeat visits. There is no financial incentive to keep patients healthy." (The New York Times; free registration required)
WorldatWork (Sponsor)
(Click on company name or banner to learn more.)
WorldatWork, a not-for-profit professional association, is a leading publisher of compensation, benefits and total rewards information. With a portfolio of books, reports, survey briefs, booklets and online learning programs, WorldatWork creates, markets and distributes publications that are critical to improved organizational performance. WorldatWork has contributed to the education and development of business professionals worldwide since 1955.
Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
[Guidance Overview]
Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 Passes: Benefits Impacted
Excerpt: "Scotusblog has a post about the legislation here. Excerpt: The key provision says that 'an unlawful employment practice occurs' not only when a compensation policy or practice is adopted, but also when a worker becomes subject to the policy, or when the policy is applied to any worker 'each time wages, benefits, or other compensation is paid,' resulting from the discriminatory policy. In referring to benefits, as well as wages, the new Act might be interpreted to mean that a workers' entitlement to something other than wages or salary may be covered, so long as it is tied to the discriminatory pay scale. Thus, pension benefits linked to wage or salary levels perhaps also are covered. The bill has a retroactive effective date of May 28, 2007." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via Benefitsblog.com)
[Guidance Overview]
Jan. 31 Reporting Requirement Deadline Regarding ISOs and ESPPs
Excerpt: "This is a reminder to public and private companies that grant incentive stock options (ISOs) or maintain a tax-advantaged employee stock purchase plan (ESPP). Section 6039 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended requires such companies to provide information statements by January 31, 2009 to each employee who during 2008 either (i) received stock upon the exercise of an incentive stock option or (ii) sold or otherwise transferred legal title to stock acquired under an employee stock purchase plan. Treasury regulations specify the information required to be in each information statement." (Briggs and Morgan)
More Companies Cancel or Reduce Employee Awards as Sinking Prices Complicate Share-Based Compensation
Excerpt: "The vicious bear market is presenting many companies with an odd problem: They're running out of shares with which to pay employees. Caraustar Industries Inc., a maker of recycled paperboard, canceled old share awards to top executives so it could distribute shares to lower-ranking managers. Seismic-equipment firm ION Geophysical Corp. refunded some employee stock-purchase payments, because it didn't have enough shares. Electronic-equipment maker Keithley Instruments Inc. trimmed awards to executives and directors to preserve shares." (The Wall Street Journal)
Lowe's: Efficiently and Effectively Communicating the Total Rewards Package
Excerpt: "At home improvement retailer Lowe's, there's a lot more to compensation than base salary. But without clear and consistent communication about total rewards, employees tended not to think much about the value of their 401(k) accounts, vacation days, stock options, or bonuses. To help employees better understand the value of all of their rewards, Lowe's asked Hay Group to help them design paper-based total reward statements. The project was so successful that it was expanded to include Spanish language statements for certain stores, and ultimately to a bilingual online version." (The Hay Group)
Employee Ownership Update for February 2, 2009
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses a survey of how ESOP companies are weathering the downturn, Google's generous option exchange program, ESOPs and the coming wave of business sales, and initial results from the NCEO's first ESOP membership survey. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
[Opinion]
Audio: Failing Banks' Executive Pay May Face New Rules
Excerpt: "President Obama may announce new rules this week on executive pay for banks seeking government relief. The president called it 'shameful' that some bank CEOs received large bonuses last year, even as their institutions took billions in taxpayer money to stay afloat. Financial writer Roger Lowenstein tells Linda Wertheimer that overpayment of executives is the 'original sin' that fostered a culture of corporate bubbles." (Morning Edition via National Public Radio)
Newly Posted Events
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Louisiana on February 6, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in California on February 6, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Tennessee on February 11, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in District of Columbia on February 11, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Kansas on February 11, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Maryland on February 13, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Pennsylvania on February 25, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Wisconsin on February 25, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Wisconsin on February 27, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in Pennsylvania on February 27, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in California on March 4, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: Advanced IRA
in California on March 6, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Louisiana on February 5, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in California on February 5, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Tennessee on February 10, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in District of Columbia on February 10, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Kansas on February 10, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Maryland on February 12, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Wisconsin on February 24, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Pennsylvania on February 24, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Wisconsin on February 26, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in Pennsylvania on February 26, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in California on March 3, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 MidWinter Tour: IRA Essentials
in California on March 5, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: 403(b)Plans
Nationwide on March 19, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Amending & Restating QPs for EGTRRA
Nationwide on February 24, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Comparing Roth & Traditional IRAs
Nationwide on March 24, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Conducting Your Own Compliance Audit
Nationwide on February 19, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Conversions & Recharacterizations
Nationwide on March 12, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Individual(k) Plans
Nationwide on February 24, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Contributions
Nationwide on March 5, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Frontline Fundamentals - Part 1
Nationwide on February 10, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Frontline Fundamentals - Part 2
Nationwide on February 12, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: IRA Required Minimum Distributions
Nationwide on March 10, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: QRP Beneficiary Rollovers to Inherited IRAs
Nationwide on March 3, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Retirement Distribution and Income Planning
Nationwide on February 26, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: SEP Plans
Nationwide on February 26, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: SIMPLE Plans
Nationwide on March 17, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Understanding & Processing Transfers & Rollovers
Nationwide on March 26, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminar: Withholding
Nationwide on February 5, 2009
presented by Ascensus
2009 Web/Telephone Seminars: Establishing and Amending IRAs
Nationwide on March 31, 2009
presented by Ascensus
Consumer Driven Health Plans: Empowering Employees to Take Control of Their Health
in Georgia on February 19, 2009
presented by WEB (Worldwide Employee Benefit Network) Atlanta Chapter
Retirement Plans in a Troubled Economy Seminar - NEW in March 2009
Nationwide on March 19, 2009
presented by SunGard Relius
SPARK Accredited Retirement Plan Consultant (ARC) Classroom Session
in New York on March 4, 2009
presented by SPARK -- Society of Professional Asset-Managers and Record Keepers
Newly Posted Press Releases
Liability-Driven Investing Served Pension Funds Better Than Traditional Allocations in 2008
Watson Wyatt
U.S. Labor Department Obtains Nearly $115,000 From Bankrupt Merrimac, Mass., Company To Pay Employee Health Claims
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
HR XCEL and Employee Benefits Communications Team Up to Help Employers Drive Employee Engagement
HR XCEL, Inc.
Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings
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Handy Links:
- View Today's Active Message Threads
- Using the Web for Employee Benefits Research (hypertext article)
- Employee Benefits Library
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