Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter
December 9, 2009
December 9, 2009
International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans
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Save Up To 50% on E-Learning Courses and On-Demand Webcasts
This holiday season, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is pleased to offer special sale prices on some of our best-selling e-learning courses and on-demand Webcasts?including those covering compliance issues like COBRA and HIPAA. Now through December 31 you can save 25% on select e-learning courses and 50% off popular on-demand Webcasts. Visit ifebp.org/seasonforsavings today to take advantage of this special offer!
Save Up To 50% on E-Learning Courses and On-Demand Webcasts
This holiday season, the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans is pleased to offer special sale prices on some of our best-selling e-learning courses and on-demand Webcasts?including those covering compliance issues like COBRA and HIPAA. Now through December 31 you can save 25% on select e-learning courses and 50% off popular on-demand Webcasts. Visit ifebp.org/seasonforsavings today to take advantage of this special offer!
Hurry, the first 50 customers will receive a $10 MasterCard gift card...our holiday gift to you!
An Overview of Major Tax and Regulatory Requirements that Federal Health Reform Legislation Would Impose on Small Employers (PDF)
12 pages. Excerpt: "This policy brief summarizes some of the major requirements that health care reform legislation under consideration at the federal level will impose on smaller businesses, including the expected impact on entrepreneurship and business expansion." (Citizens' Council on Health Care)
Democratic Senators Reach 'Broad Agreement' to Resolve Dispute Over Proposed Government-Run Health Insurance Plan
Excerpt: "Mr. Reid refused to provide details. Other senators said the tentative agreement would sideline but not kill the 'public option' championed by President Obama and liberal Democrats in Congress. Under the agreement, people ages 55 to 64 could 'buy in' to Medicare. And a federal agency, the Office of Personnel Management, would negotiate with insurance companies to offer national health benefit plans, similar to those offered to federal employees, including members of Congress." (The New York Times; free registration required)
'Broad Agreement' Reached by Senate Democrats on Health Bill, According to Reid
Excerpt: "[CongressDaily] is reporting that Reid 'said the public option was not abandoned. 'Tonight we've overcome a real problem that we had,' Reid said, adding that reports that the public option was off the table were 'not true.' ... Members would not share what was in the package, but indicated its contents had changed from earlier discussions surrounding a Medicare buy-in for those between 55 and 64 years old, giving the federal government the power to negotiate with insurers on behalf of a national plan and expanding Medicaid." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Understanding House Health Care Reform Bill's Retiree Medical Anti-Cutback Protections
Excerpt: "The anti-cutback protections for retiree medical plans under the House health care reform bill (HR 3962) would severely limit employers' ability to reduce or change coverage for current retirees. While an exemption would allow employers to cap their aggregate spending for retiree medical plans, the bill leaves questions about how and when plans could impose caps. Though the anti-cutback provision raises concerns for employers, the odds for final legislation to include these restrictions remain unclear, since the Senate bill has no similar proposal." (Mercer LLC)
[Opinion]
When Americans Rejected Managed Health Care, They Didn't Know They Were Ending Wage Increases, Too
Excerpt: "Cost control is not, in fact, all pain and no gain. It's some pain in return for a fat raise." (The Washington Post; free registration required)
BenefitsLink Newsletter
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Links to Items on Executive Comp, Benefits in General
A Reluctant Retirement for Older WorkersExcerpt: "While it is difficult to quantify just how many Americans are retiring earlier now amid weak job prospects, recent work from two Wellesley College economists, Courtney Coile and Phillip B. Levine, suggests the effect is large. In a new working paper, they estimate 378,000 workers will be pushed into retirement as a result of the weak labor market -- almost 50% more than will end up working longer because of stock-market losses." (The Wall Street Journal)
New Book: The Handbook of Incentive Compensation
The NCEO presents excerpts from its new book on incentive compensation, which discusses why incentive plans sometimes fail, how to design incentives and make them work, how to structure an effective profit sharing plan, how short-term incentives work alongside longer-term employee ownership plans, how the Great Game of Business works, and what the various equity incentive plans are, from ESOPs to stock options to phantom stock. (National Center for Employee Ownership)
Press Releases
Companies and Participants Remain Committed to DC Plans During Uncertain Economic TimesProfit Sharing/401(k) Council of America (PSCA)
US Labor Department Proposes Exemption to Allow New Health Plan for Ford Motor Co. Retirees to Acquire Company Securities
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) 0
US Labor Department Sues Kentucky, Michigan and Louisiana Trustees, and Others Over Plan Overpayments to Purchase Company Stock
U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA)
Fiduciary Consulting Group, LLC (FCG) Is Certified As A Fiduciary Adviser Per The Pension Protection Act
Centre for Fiduciary Excellence (CEFEX)
Class-Action Settlement for First City Bank Retirees Approved
Thompson & Knight LLP
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Employee Benefits Jobs
Manager of Consultingfor Northwestern Benefit Corporation of Georgia
in GA
Senior Associate - Health & Welfare
for Employee Benefit Solutions, Inc.
in TX
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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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