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[Official Guidance]
Federal Register Format of HHS Regs on Indecipherable Health Information Pursuant to HITECH (PDF)
5 pages. The Federal Register document is a reprint of guidance released April 17 by HHS on its web site. Excerpt: "[The HITECH statute] provides that no later than 60 days after enactment, the Secretary shall, after consultation with stakeholders, issue (and annually update) guidance specifying the technologies and methodologies that render [Personal Health Information] unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals. . . . Because the [HIPAA] breach notification requirements apply only to breaches of unsecured PHI, this guidance provides the means by which covered entities and their business associates are to determine whether a breach has occurred to which the notification obligations under the Act and its implementing regulations apply." (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)


[Guidance Overview]
HHS Issues Guidance on Securing Protected Health Information and Preventing Harm From Breaches
Excerpt: "Employers and administrators will welcome this guidance on what is only one of ARRA's sweeping changes to the HIPAA privacy and security provisions. HHS has asked for public input on the guidance, including whether other technologies and methodologies should be included in future updates to the guidance and whether the risk of re-identification of a limited data set warrants its exclusion from the list of technologies and methodologies in the guidance." (EBIA)


[Guidance Overview]
FTC Proposes Regulations on Security Breach Notification Requirements Applicable to Entities Not Covered Under HIPAA
Excerpt: "[T]he FTC has published proposed regulations that would require vendors of personal health records (PHRs) and related entities, upon discovery of a breach of security of individually identifiable health information, to notify affected individuals and the FTC (the preamble notes that the 'FTC is consulting with HHS to harmonize its proposed rule with HHS' proposed rule'). Here are some highlights: . . . ." (EBIA)


[Guidance Overview]
Unsecured Protected Health Information for Notification of Breaches Under HIPAA
Excerpt: "The new rules provide that protected health information will be 'unsecured' if it is not secured through the application of a technology or methodology that renders it unusable, unreadable, or indecipherable to unauthorized individuals and that meets standards specified in guidance published by the government. Complying with a 60-day statutory deadline for issuing that guidance, HHS has published information and a request for comments on these technologies and methodologies." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)


[Guidance Overview]
Court of Appeals Finds Sun Life Acted Arbitrarily and Capriciously in Disability Case
Excerpt: "After reviewing the quality and quantity of the medical evidence, the court found that 'the entirety of the medical evidence available to Sun Life was not reviewed in a 'deliberate' or 'principled' fashion, which is a factor suggesting that Sun Life's ultimate determination was arbitrary.' The fact that DeLisle worked for two weeks after leaving her employer and listed 'lack of work' as her reason for leaving her employer did not amount to persuasive evidence that she was able to complete the duties of her job on April 17, 2002. For these and other reasons, the Sixth Circuit agreed with the district court and concluded that Sun Life had acted arbitrarily and capriciously." (The Wood Law Firm, PLLC)


[Guidance Overview]
Citing ERISA Preemption, Sixth Circuit Dismisses State-Law Claims
Excerpt: "The Sixth Circuit rejected Lerner's [the plaintiff] arguments that his state-law claims against EDS were based not on Continental's denial of long-term disability benefits, but on EDS's alleged failure to make sure that his SDRC benefits were not diminished in the corporate transition. The Court pointed out that Lerner had specifically pled in his state-law claims that his damages included 'the loss of disability insurance benefits (monthly benefit payments, return to work benefits, and rehabilitation benefits.)' In the view of the Court, 'Lerner has thus chosen to seek payment of the disability insurance benefits themselves, not merely damages in an amount equal to those benefits.' Therefore, the Court said, 'the state-law claims against EDS for breach of contract, fraudulent misrepresentation, and innocent misrepresentation 'relate to' an ERISA benefit plan and are preempted by that federal statute.'" (The Wood Law Firm, PLLC)


[Guidance Overview]
Health Care Claims and the Transition to the ICD-10 Coding Standard (PDF)
Pages 7-8 of 12 pages. (Milliman)


[Guidance Overview]
A Periodic Snapshot of What's Happening in the Multiemployer Health Plan Environment (PDF)
1 page. Excerpt: "This report: Provides information about recent developments in health care and the multiemployer marketplace. Presents data including consumer price index (CPI) and Segal health trends. Provides context for what's happening to health plans." (The Segal Group, Inc.)


Value-Based Strategies Drive Down Costs by Improving Quality of Care (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt: "This issue of our 2009 Perspectives series looks at how companies are working to address the disconnects between health care spending and results by assessing the varied needs of their employee populations and tailoring value-based strategies to address them." (Towers Perrin)


Analysis of the Impact of Height, Weight, and Smoking on Medical Claim Costs (PDF)
24 pages. (Milliman)


Unhealthy Employees Cut Productivity, According to Study
Excerpt: "Poor health among U.S. workers costs employers much more than many realize in reduced productivity, according to a multiyear study of 10 employers and more than 150,000 workers. The study, published this month in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, found that presenteeism -- when employees are present at their jobs but unable to perform at full capacity -- creates a greater drain on company productivity than employee absence, a finding that may come as a surprise to many employers, researchers say." (Business Insurance)


Tax Credit Is Possible To Aid Auto Retirees
Excerpt: "Labor leaders and U.S. officials seeking a way to pay for Chrysler LLC's and General Motors Corp.'s benefit programs for retirees might find an important source of aid in an obscure federal subsidy covering certain retiree health-care costs. Under the provision, known as the health-coverage tax credit, the federal government can pay health-insurance premium costs for early retirees -- those between 55 and 65 years old -- if their former employer runs into financial problems and can't pay promised benefits. In recent years, some early retirees from the troubled U.S. steel industry have used the tax credit, which was created by Congress in 2002. Now some retirees from auto-parts makers also want to take advantage of it." (The Wall Street Journal)


Minnesota House Approves Health Benefits for Domestic Partners of State Employees
Excerpt: "Deep inside a state agency funding bill approved by the Minnesota House was a provision that would extend health insurance benefits to domestic partners of state employees. . . . The bill provides for the benefits to begin in 2012. [M]any state Republicans fear the definition of domestic partner in the legislation is loose enough that even friends of state employees could get the benefits. But, state Democrats say the benefits are a hard-fought civil right." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)


Companies Find Inexpensive Ways to Promote Wellness
Excerpt: "[E]mployers are not likely to drop wellness programs altogether given the rising cost of health care. 'Even though the company can't afford a whole lot, they can't afford higher health care costs, either,' Colao says. Instead, many employers are playing up existing benefits offered through their health insurance plans. In place of biometric screening, for example, companies may encourage employees to go for an annual physical. Colao says one company promoted a 24-hour nurse hot line, an existing benefit that few employees knew about or used. 'It's part of what they're already paying for,' he says. At the same time, campaigns that promote physical activity or healthier eating are on the upswing, Colao says. 'More employers want to do wellness, but they don't have a large budget to do it in,' he says." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Replace Co-Pays With Co-insurance to Reduce Medical Costs
Excerpt: "If we want employees to be better health care consumers, employers should replace co-pays with co-insurance. Think about it: Co-insurance is a way for the employee and employer to share the actual cost of a medical service. Rather than have a fixed co-pay of $20, an employee pays a percentage -- say 20 percent -- of the total cost. In the end, the cost to an employee may be the same, but the difference is transparency. An employee will know that if he or she paid $20 to see the doctor, the total cost was $100. This makes employees better consumers, because their health care costs are directly related to the choices they make." (Workforce Management; free registration required)


Summary of Milliman 2008 Group Health Insurance Survey (PDF)
Pages 9-10 of 12 pages. (Milliman)


Tracking Major Prescription Drugs Going Generic and Cost Savings (PDF)
Pages 4-6 of 12 pages. (Milliman)


Health Insurance Optimal Rating and Underwriting Strategy for Mid-Sized Groups (PDF)
Pages 1-3 of 12 pages. (Milliman)


With Restructuring Deadline Looming, UAW Seeks To Protect VEBA in Event of Chrysler Bankrup.tcy Filing
Excerpt: "The Treasury Department and United Auto Workers have 'an agreement in principle' that would protect the health care benefits and pension plans of Chrysler Group retirees if the company files for bankrup.tcy, according to people with knowledge of the negotiations, the New York Times reports. Chrysler must present the Obama administration with a plan by April 30 for becoming and remaining financially viable, in order to avoid bankrup.tcy and receive the remainder of a federal loan granted in December 2008 (Maynard/de la Merced, New York Times, 4/24)." (Kaiser Family Foundation)

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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General

[Opinion]
Reform -- Don't Destroy -- Public Retirement Systems
Excerpt: "I want to identify a series of constructive reforms for public sector retirement systems -- both the high-profile defined benefit pension plans and cradle-to-grave OPEB plans -- hoping to achieve a sustainable balance in the long run." (Governing.com)

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Webcasts and Conferences

( Click to post your webcast or conference )

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
Nationwide on May 7, 2009
presented by Executive Benefits Design Group

The New HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules: Getting Ready for Important Changes
Nationwide on May 28, 2009
presented by EBIA / Thomson Reuters

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Press Releases

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BLAZE SSI Updates 5500 System to Include PPA '06 Funding Notice
BLAZE SSI Corp.

Thousands of Wal-Mart Workers Across the Country Unite to Call for a Voice in the Workplace
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

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Employee Benefits Jobs

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Pension Administrator
for Pension Administration Firm located in Westchester, NY
in NY

DC / 401(k) Compliance Consultant
for The Savitz Organization
in DE, NJ, PA

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EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com (Sponsor)

(Click on banner to learn more.)

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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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