Employee Benefit News back issues from June 2005:
Part D primer: Employers opt for Medicare subsidy.
Jun 01, 2005; ... With deadlines related to the Medicare prescription drug benefit closing in, surveys are showing that most employers expect to take advantage of the government subsidy for retiree drug plans. Experts caution, however, that some might be disappointed to find that their plans won't qualify ...
401(k) sponsors consider exchange-traded funds.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Historically, 401(k) plans have depended on mutual funds to keep them afloat, and the two have made a good team. But now, plan sponsors, weary of high fees and shaken by recent market timing scandals in the mutual fund industry, are searching for other investment options. Some ...
Legal questions, inhibit cost automatic enrollment.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Automatic 401(k) enrollment has been shown to increase plan participation and improve nondiscrimination testing, but some employers are reluctant to adopt it because the practice runs up against state law. In some states, such as California, laws require employers to receive ...
New Breed of Vending Machines encourage healtlhier snacking.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Some employers want to cut the fat from their workers by changing the selection of snacks found in on-site vending machines. When workers buy snacks from vending machines at six locations in the University of Virginia Health System, they are confronted with items color-coded in ...
It's the economy (again).(Health Care Costs)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Benefit cost increases continued their slowdown in the first quarter, rising 1.1%, only slightly faster than wages at .6%. For the year ending in March, benefit costs rose 5.8%, compared with 7% for the previous 12-month period. Ordinarily, this would be good news. But these are ...
Correction:.(Correction Notice)
Jun 01, 2005 ... An article that appeared in the May edition of EBN, titled "Multicarrier model brings choice to auto/home insurance," mistakenly stated that Fidelity is ...
Health benefits: A view from the real world.(Column)
Jun 01, 2005 ... It's not easy to place oneself in another's shoes, but after years of reading letters from employees and retirees, I thought I'd give it a shot. Do you ever wonder what your retirees think? I do, a lot (and increasingly more as I get nearer being one). Here is one perspective to ...
Upping the ante: Pressured providers take their case directly to employees.
Jun 01, 2005 ... Looking for an advantage in their negotiations with insurers over reimbursement rates, physicians and hospitals have begun taking their case directly to consumers - a controversial strategy that could have an unintended effect. Delia Vetter, director of benefits, employee ...
Smooth transition: HR input can prevent benefits blunders during M&As.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Mergers and acquisitions open the door for changes in benefit levels and pose some unique challenges for HR professionals. Companies in that situation should take steps to avoid costly errors as they transition benefits for employees. The most common mistakes include not ...
Case in point.(HR team makes acquisition easier for Ameren)(Brief Article)
Jun 01, 2005 ... Ameren, an electric utility in Missouri, completed two acquisitions - Central Illinois Light Company and Illinois Power Company - during the last two and a half years, increasing its employee roster from 5,000 to 9,500. Donna Martin, senior vice president and chief HR officer, ...
How best to divest?(Impact of Divestments)(benefits question for divesting companies)
Jun 01, 2005 ... Marrying disparate benefit packages - as in a merger or acquisition - is definitely a tougher row to hoe than simply carving out and selling a business unit. But that's not to say there aren't some rocks that must be removed or avoided to ensure smooth tilling with a divestiture. ...
Employees will trade physician choice for lower costs.
Jun 01, 2005 ... Although once enamored by health plans that offered extensive choice in physician and hospital networks, Americans now are willing to limit such broad access if it means lower out-of-pocket health care costs, new research shows. A recent national report from the Center for ...
Employers should promote EAPs to maximize ROI.(Employee Assistance Programs)(Return On Investment)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Employers can do a better job of promoting their employee assistance programs. While most companies have employee assistance programs, nearly 20% of workers don't know if their companies offer them, according to a recent survey by the Hazelden Foundation, which provides drug and ...
Economic stand-out: Rising health care costs prime business concerns.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Health insurance price hikes have crowded out other benefit issues as the top human resource concern for employers. But as the cost of employer-provided coverage continues to rise, health care may be the top business concern for employers, period. Just take a look at one of ...
Benefit plan design for an increasingly complex workforce.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Traditionally, benefit programs have been tailored to one segment of the labor force - Baby Boomers - which as a group, wielded tremendous influence over anything they came in contact with, either intentionally or unintentionally. As this massive segment of the workforce moves toward ...
Staying fresh: HR plates are full with new rules, information.
Jun 01, 2005; ... As federal laws change, courts issue key rulings, and new market forces take hold, HR professionals find themselves with a heavy platter of information to digest. In recent months, a paper blizzard has blown out of Washington - legislative proposals and federal agency guidance ...
Female employees need targeted information about heart disease risk, prevention.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Women are increasingly aware of cardiovascular disease, their No. 1 killer, but many aren't doing enough to prevent it, physicians and other health experts say. As the workforce ages, bad habits such as smoking and physical inactivity could mean heartache for employers in the form of steep ...
Covering ducklings: Employee-plus-child health coverage fills benefits need for single-parent employees at Aflac.
Jun 01, 2005; ... Aflac knows well that revenues depend on satisfied employees. So the company implemented two changes in its own benefits and compensation plan in hopes of getting a more loyal, steady staff in return. The Columbus, Ga.-based provider of disability insurance, life insurance and ...
Countdown to the new HIPAA requirements - What the final portability regs mean for your plan.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
Jun 01, 2005; ... On Dec. 30, 2004, final regulations governing HIPAA's portability of health insurance coverage were published by the Employee Benefit Security Administration (EBSA), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Service (CMS). This regulation finalizes ...
Ask the Analyst: Building the case for a health improvement culture'.(Column)
Jun 01, 2005; ... We are a company with approximately 9,000 employees and dependents. We know that the primary health issues in our population are weight and smoking, and we have a "wellness" program in place that primarily consists of educational and motivational materials, occasional seminars and a ...
Evidence-based medicine success story: Printer holds yearly medical cost increases to 4%.(Quad/Graphics)
Jun 01, 2005; ... Evidence-based medicine is helping a large Wisconsin printer control its medical costs and keep employees healthier at the same time. While other companies experienced double-digit inflation during the last several years, Quad/Graphics held its medical cost increases to 4% per ...
Medicare Part D - Prescription for retiree confusion.
Jun 01, 2005; ... There is no question that Medicare Part D is a complex new benefit program that will create a great deal of excitement - and considerable confusion - for those eligible to participate. To ensure that retirees (and other Medicare-eligibles) understand your organization's position and take ...
States continue as mainstay for DB pensions.
Jun 01, 2005; ... State and local governments may well be the last bastion of defined benefit pensions, as more private businesses freeze their DB programs. State pensions are "far more healthy" than local and federal pension systems, and "there's little evidence" that states are moving away from ...
Taking control of the fiduciary function.
Jun 01, 2005 ... This is the second article on fiduciary concerns by DuFour and Frank, accountants and financial advisers. Their first article appeared in the May issue. In our last article, we discussed some investment-related issues confronting HR professionals and other fiduciaries of ...
Work/life authors teach employers to design benefits for dual focus' workers.
Jun 01, 2005 ... The day is long gone when employees routinely put in long workdays with nothing distracting them from meeting their employers' needs. For the 21st century worker, attention is divided between work and family demands - a division which work/life authors Sandra Burud and Marie Tumolo ...
Faced with worker burnout, employers pay employees to get away.
Jun 01, 2005 ... One in three U.S. employees feels chronically overworked, and 54% have felt overwhelmed by work at some point in the past month, a study released this spring from the Families and Work Institute reveals. However, the Institute also found that although 79% of employees had access ...
New Products.
Jun 01, 2005 ... Backup care locator Ceridian, a leader in managed human resource solutions that maximizes the value of people, has developed a new, Web-based Backup Care Locator to help employees gain instant access to more than 20,000 names and the contact information for alternative caregiver ...
Info Sources.(Directory)
Jun 01, 2005 ... Below is contact information for companies that appear in this issue. You can also research benefits companies in the EBN SourceBook, accessible online at www.BenefitNews.com. Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C, 202/797-6000, www.brook.edu Center for Retirement ...
Groups spar over FMLA.(Family and Medical Leave Act)
Jun 15, 2005; ... A debate is brewing in Washington over family and medical leave. Employer groups, worried about workers who abuse their Family and Medical Leave Act rights, have proposed reforms to FMLA, but critics have accused them of trying to shrink the amount of leave available to workers ...
Benefits and procurement collaborate to corral costs.
Jun 15, 2005; ... In an effort to bring benefits costs, particularly health care expenses, back to a manageable level, senior executives are ordering their finance and purchasing experts to work with benefit managers on the benefits-buying process. "Because benefit costs are increasing by double ...
Coalitions aim for market reform: Companies prove there is strength in numbers.
Jun 15, 2005; ... Employers are continuing to join coalitions in an attempt to increase their influence in a number of areas. This is certainly not a recent trend; in the mid-1980s, private businesses and public industries experimented with forming purchasing groups. Tom Beauregard, health care ...
Job titles put accent on leadership, people.
Jun 15, 2005; ... HR is moving on up in the corporate world, and job titles tell the story. Specifically, titles indicating an executive status or a strategic role stand as evidence of HR's growing strategic duties in the business realm, experts report. Dave Ulrich, director of the HR executive ...
It's time to bring down the wall.(employee relations with purchasing departments)
Jun 15, 2005; ... What is your relationship with your organization's purchasing department? If your answer is "non-existent," you should read Karen Lee's page 1 story, "Benefits and procurement collaborate to corral costs." You soon may be getting a knock on your door. Senior ...
It's investment advice that employees need.
Jun 15, 2005 ... 401(k) participants and plan sponsors have still not learned their lesson. After the events surrounding the retirement plans at Enron, WorldCom, and Lucent, you would think that participants would understand the risks associated with investing in company stock. But as we have recently ...
Federal bankruptcy law pre-empts state retirement rules.
Jun 15, 2005 ... A bankruptcy reform law signed in April by President Bush may make future bankruptcy filings more difficult for individuals, but it will ease administration for benefit managers, according to experts. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act, "makes some ...
Cultural commitment to employee health and safety improves workers' comp costs and outcomes.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Like many organizations today, Catholic Healthcare West has felt the effects of a nationwide increase in workers' compensation costs. Consequently, we have been challenged to develop and execute a robust program that brings costs under control and ensures a higher level of safety and ...
Staff relief: Online tools, statements widen workers' pension perspective.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Like children with Christmas toys, employees at first are attracted by and appreciative of pension benefits, but generally pay scant attention to the plan as time passes. Employees do not have to manage or bear risk for the benefit themselves, as with a 401(k) account. Nor do they have to ...
Meetings preferred to drive home benefit messages.
Jun 15, 2005; ... Corporations still prefer in-person meetings when it comes to imparting key benefits information to workers. In fact, group meetings trump all other communication formats in their perceived value as a communication method for employers, according to Wells Fargo, a San ...
Health, legal experts advise on crafting your living will.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Terri Schiavo. Her name evokes strong opinions on how to treat chronically ill patients who, like Schiavo, cannot speak for themselves, yet left no legal health directive to speak for them. The recent intense legal battle between Schiavo's parents and husband spurred many Americans to ...
Consumer-Driven Health May Be Tastiest As A One - Dish meal.
Jun 15, 2005; ... Tax-advantaged spending accounts offer opportunities for employers to create a health benefits menu that will lower trends and promote consumerism among workers. But making FSAs, HRAs and HSAs appetizing to employees will require employers to hone their benefit strategies and communicate ...
On the move: Complications abound in managing expatriate benefits.
Jun 15, 2005; ... While the intricacies of benefit plans and labor law are complex in a domestic setting, that situation is compounded when expatriate workers transfer from one foreign country to another. With those moves, employers experience challenges in complying with foreign tax laws, ...
Skirting outsourcing's potholes: Strong contracts ensure happier outsourcing relationships.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Outsourcing is by all accounts booming. The $25 billion market is expected to get even bigger, evinced by the recent mega-mergers among several of the largest vendors. Gartner estimates more than 85% of U.S. employers will outsource at least one HR function this year. Many ...
Top 10 mistakes when outsourcing benefits.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Outsourcing of human resources functions has evolved into a complex undertaking, yet most businesses still view it as a conventional process. With the many business decisions being faced by corporate America today, it is important to be both strategic and realistic when considering ...
Show-Goer's Guide to San Diego: For attendees of the 2005 SHRM Annual Conference.(Directory)
Jun 15, 2005 ... Local nightlife The New York Times calls the Gaslamp Quarter "the hottest spot in town for bar hoppers," so expect a wide selection of clubbing options. Among the most celebrated are Croce's Top Hat Bar and Grille and Croce's Jazz Bar (802 5th Ave., 619/233-4355), founded by ...
Health mandates proposed in 31 states.
Jun 15, 2005; ... Last November, California voters rejected a measure that would require employers to provide health care coverage to their workers or pay into a fund for the uninsured. But the idea of mandating health benefits continues to be popular in statehouses across the nation. Thirty-one ...
New guidelines developed for calculating DM ROI.
Jun 15, 2005; ... Employers face a maze of different methodologies and ways to calculate return on investment when evaluating disease management providers. To help them out, the Population Health Impact Institute has developed five guiding principles for assessing the benefit of a DM program to their ...
DM Drill-Down: Productivity savings from disease management.
Jun 15, 2005; ... If we had only one piece of advice for readers interested in determining their productivity savings from disease management, it would be this: Give your first-line supervisors a copy of the International Classification of Diseases, 9th Edition (ICD9), have them read it, and from then on, ...
SEC finds pension consultants fail to report conflicts of interest.(Securities and Exchange Commission)
Jun 15, 2005; ... In a recent investigation into industry practices, the Securities and Exchange Commission has found that pension consultants are not adequately disclosing material conflicts of interest to their clients. "It's clear from our examinations that many pension consultants must do ...
Proposed pension reporting changes could increase plan sponsor woes.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Calls to reform and stabilize the pension system are louder than ever - with good reason. But even as employer groups press Congress for relief, they could take take another blow if a pension reporting proposal driven by the Financial Accounting Standards Board moves forward, some experts ...
Appeal of separately managed accounts grows.(for employees)
Jun 15, 2005; ... Separately managed accounts, which allow investors to customize portfolios of stocks, bonds and cash that are guided by professional investment managers, have started to appear in the retirement plans of some employers. "Professional firms are a good fit for separately managed ...
The future of retirement plans and fiduciary issues.
Jun 15, 2005 ... This is the final installment in a three-part series. In our last two articles, we discussed the growing concerns of plan sponsors and plan fiduciaries in the light of increased class action lawsuits by employees. Recent lawsuits have focused on company stock in 401(k) plans, ...
Friendship is the best medicine: AstraZeneca ElderBuddy' program connects employees, seniors.
Jun 15, 2005 ... Although perhaps best known for its brand-name pharmaceutical products, Wilmington, Del.-based drugmaker AstraZeneca does more than help heal illness. The company also helps heal hearts, as its ElderBuddy program engages its employees in service to provide companionship and friendship for ...
All eyes, not dollars, are on 529s.
Jun 15, 2005 ... It seems as if most of the securities regulatory world is investigating whether or not brokers have properly sold 529 products, the popular tax preferred accounts for educational expenses named after the section of the tax code that governs them. In addition to congressional ...
New Products.(Employee Benefits)
Jun 15, 2005 ... CIGNA Launches Second Opinion Service CIGNA International Expatriate Benefit members now have access to physician specialists at the Cleveland Clinic via its Internet extension, e-Cleveland Clinic. This new CIEB program ensures that medically eligible expatriate employees and ...
Employers lax on absence management.
Jun 15, 2005; ... Employers are slow to deal with absence management problems or invest in solutions, according to the 2005 Absence Management Survey by JHA and Employee Benefit News. More than a third of companies don't know the number of unscheduled absences, and only 12% of companies participating in ...