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=========================================================== BenefitsLink Welfare Plans Newsletter (Plain Text Format) November 24, 2004 =========================================================== We thank and invite your attention to today's sponsor: William J. Stecker, CPA =========================================================== A Practical Guide To Substantially Equal Periodic Payments And Internal Revenue Code §72(t) (Advert.) <URL:http://benefitslink.com/cgi/a_d.cgi?a_d=2004_11_24_welfare> http://benefitslink.com/cgi/a_d.cgi?a_d=2004_11_24_welfare (Click on above address, or copy and paste it into your web browser, to learn more.) NEW 4TH EDITION by William J. Stecker, CPA with all of the updates needed to reflect the issuance of Revenue Ruling 2002-62 in October, 2002 as well as all Private Letter Rulings issued subsequently. This text is a must read for anyone under age 60 who is contemplating early retirement and has substantial 401(k) or IRA assets. This text will teach the reader everything they need to know about avoiding the 10% surtax on early withdrawals as defined in IRC 72(t). All computational methods are covered and how to plan and properly execute substantially equal periodic payments. This is the definitive text on IRS 72(t) including more than 190 footnotes citing all of the relevant legal authorities. Click on the URL above to purchase and download now. (Please visit our sponsors. We try to make sure their products and services will be of interest to you. Thanks! --Editor) ---------------------------------------------------------- Text of ERIC Letters Urging Support of Technical Correction Legislation on Dependent Definition (PDF) <URL:http://www.eric.org/forms/uploadFiles/337D00000007.filename.dependentissue_groupletter_thomasgrassley.pdf> http://www.eric.org/forms/uploadFiles/337D00000007.filename.dependentissue_groupletter_thomasgrassley.pdf Excerpt: "As organizations representing those who either sponsor or administer health benefits provided to millions of Americans, we are writing you to urge your support for the approval of technical corrections legislation to address the unintended impact on different types of employee benefit plans caused by provisions of the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004 (the Act) which changed the definition of 'dependent' under Code section 152." (The ERISA Industry Committee) ---------------------------------------------------------- Can Information Technology Save the Healthcare Industry? <URL:http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1730033,00.asp> http://www.cioinsight.com/article2/0,1397,1730033,00.asp Excerpt: "[S]ix health insurers ... measured the level of medical care doled out by 45,000 doctors, based on a set of performance measures. Ten percent of the rankings were based on whether physicians had installed electronic records systems in their practices and were using clinical decision-making tools when seeing patients. The results were telling: Physicians who spent the most on computer systems also scored highest in clinical and patient satisfaction." (PC Magazine via CIO Insight) ---------------------------------------------------------- Death From Heart Attack In Car Accident Did Not Entitle Beneficiary To Death Benefits <URL:http://www.aspenpublishers.com/frame.asp?source=feature1123> http://www.aspenpublishers.com/frame.asp?source=feature1123 Excerpt: "An insured's death from a heart attack at the time of an automobile accident was not the 'direct result' of an accident and, as a result, the insured's wife was not entitled to accidental death benefits. This was the ruling of the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Dixon v. Life Insurance Company of North America (No. 04-10273)." (Spencer Benefits Reports) ---------------------------------------------------------- Some Pharmacy Benefit Managers Favor 90-Day Retail Drug Programs Over Mail Order <URL:http://www.aispub.com/Bnow/112404b.html> http://www.aispub.com/Bnow/112404b.html Excerpt: "While pharmacy benefit managers that own mail-order pharmacies report gains from their mandatory mail, two other PBMs, MedImpact Healthcare Systems, Inc. and Walgreens Health Initiatives (WHI), offer a different spin on the 90-day supply trend: incentive-based retail programs that have the potential to offer similar savings and drive generic-drug utilization. Mandatory mail programs, in which clients mandate or heavily incentivize members to obtain 90-day supplies of ...." (DRUG BENEFIT NEWS via AISHealth.com) ---------------------------------------------------------- American Health Line Examines Medical Malpractice Developments in Eight States <URL:http://bcbshealthissues.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=137819&PROACTIVE_ID=cecec6ceccc7cac7cdc5cecfcfcfc5cececbccc7cbcbcfccc8c5cf> http://bcbshealthissues.com/proactive/newsroom/release.vtml?id=137819&PROACTIVE_ID=cecec6ceccc7cac7cdc5cecfcfcfc5cececbccc7cbcbcfccc8c5cf Excerpt: "American Health Line features recent developments related to medical malpractice insurance in eight states [Arkansas, Florida, Maryland, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, and Oregon]." (The National Journal Group, Limited via BlueCross BlueShield Association) ---------------------------------------------------------- WellPoint Health Networks Back Taxes Sought for California in Lawsuit <URL:http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/nw/nw004737.php3> http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/nw/nw004737.php3 Excerpt: "A consumer advocacy group that alleges WellPoint Health Networks Inc. owes California up to $500 million in back taxes filed suit Monday to force state officials to collect. .... According to the lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court by the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, WellPoint improperly claimed an exemption for its Blue Cross of California subsidiary from the state's gross premiums tax on health insurers." (Los Angeles Times; one-time registration required via The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights) ---------------------------------------------------------- States Starting to Tackle Health Care and the Uninsured Through Medicaid Changes <URL:http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041123/ap_on_he_me/medicaid_states_3> http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20041123/ap_on_he_me/medicaid_states_3 Excerpt: "In Tennessee, nearly a half-million people are warned they could lose their government-supported health care. In Maine, the move is in the opposite direction -- the state is expanding its role and, with reliance on the private sector, aiming to provide affordable health insurance for all 138,000 residents now without it. The two dramatically divergent paths come together in one way: States are taking a deep breath and tackling the daunting problems of health care, from soaring ...." (AP via Yahoo! News) ---------------------------------------------------------- Insurers Cite Drawbacks to More Affordable Health Plans to Reduce Number of Uninsured <URL:http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/11/23/insurers_cite_drawbacks_to_more_affordable_health_plans/> http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2004/11/23/insurers_cite_drawbacks_to_more_affordable_health_plans/ Excerpt: "Responding to a call from Governor Mitt Romney to help reduce the number of uninsured residents, the state's insurers say they probably can develop more affordable healthcare plans that cost just $150 to $250 a month, but warn that these new plans would have drawbacks. Insurance executives said there are essentially two ways to do what the governor is asking without state subsidies: cut out standard benefits or require very high deductibles or both." (The Boston Globe) ---------------------------------------------------------- Three Employers Compare Consumer-Directed Health Plan Design Notes During Audioconference <URL:http://www.aispub.com/Bnow/112404a.html> http://www.aispub.com/Bnow/112404a.html Excerpt: "Although their plan designs are different, three benefits leaders who helped launch consumer-directed health (CDH) plans for their employers agree that their core reasons for implementing a CDH plan are the same: provide an incentive for employees to be better consumers of health care. Employee benefits leaders representing three CDH strategies -- from three different administrators -- discussed the design elements of their plans during a Nov. 10 audioconference sponsored by AIS." (INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE via AISHealth.com) ---------------------------------------------------------- CDC Says Data on Deaths from Obesity Is Inflated; Will Submit Correction to JAMA <URL:http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/24/health/24obese.html?ex=1258952400&en=68e0b387c85b169b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland> http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/24/health/24obese.html?ex=1258952400&en=68e0b387c85b169b&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland Excerpt: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that its widely publicized estimate that 400,000 Americans die each year from being too fat is wrong and that it will submit a new, lower figure to the medical journal that published its original estimate .... .... If obesity is a leading cause of death, more money should be spent to try to prevent it, and to treat it. Insurers should pay for diet programs or weight-loss surgery. If it is not so deadly, some fear, the impetus to ...." (The New York Times; one-time registration required) ---------------------------------------------------------- Kaiser's New High-Deductible Plan Signals Switch for Group-Model HMOs <URL:http://www.aispub.com/Bnow/112404c.html> http://www.aispub.com/Bnow/112404c.html Excerpt: "With Kaiser Permanente's decision this month to enter the consumer-directed market with a high-deductible HMO product, the managed care organization (MCO) becomes a highly visible sign of the continuing transformation of staff- and group-model HMOs toward fee-based products. HMO-focused plans are moving toward such products in greater numbers in an effort to remain competitive with employers seeking lower-cost plans." (MANAGED CARE WEEK via AISHealth.com) ========================================================== Links To Items on Executive Comp, Benefits In General ---------------------------------------------------------- ERIC Submits Additional Recommendations to Treasury on Nonqualified Deferred Compensation (PDF) <URL:http://www.eric.org/forms/uploadFiles/337B00000005.filename.Supplemental_Submission_to_Treasury_-_SCRUBBED_on_11-23-04%85.pdf> http://www.eric.org/forms/uploadFiles/337B00000005.filename.Supplemental_Submission_to_Treasury_-_SCRUBBED_on_11-23-04%85.pdf November 23, 2004. Excerpt: "The ERISA Industry Committee ('ERIC') is pleased to submit the following recommendations for guidance under Internal Revenue Code § 409A, regarding nonqualified deferred compensation. Section 409A was added to the Internal Revenue Code by § 885 of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (the 'AJCA'). Section 409A overhauls the federal income tax treatment of a wide variety of nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements." (The ERISA Industry Committee) ---------------------------------------------------------- Committee Request for Written Comments on H.R. 5395 -- the Tax Technical Corrections Act of 2004 <URL:http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=view&id=2170> http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=view&id=2170 Excerpt: "Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Committee is requesting written public comments for the record from all parties interested on H.R. 5395, the 'Tax Technical Corrections Act of 2004.'" (U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means) ---------------------------------------------------------- 2004 Worldwide Benefits Management Survey: Multinationals' Biggest Challenges - Costs and Risks (PDF) <URL:http://www.towers.com/towers/webcache/towers/United_Kingdom/publications/Reports/2004_WWBM/WWBM2004.pdf> http://www.towers.com/towers/webcache/towers/United_Kingdom/publications/Reports/2004_WWBM/WWBM2004.pdf 24 pages. Excerpt: "Our latest worldwide benefits management survey was conducted between March and July of 2004. A total of 134 organisations in a wide range of industries responded to the survey, with European companies making up slightly over half (53%) the sample and North American companies comprising 42%. The average company surveyed has almost 30,000 employees worldwide." (Towers Perrin) ========================================================== Newly Posted Press Releases 2005 Supplement to Governmental Plans Answer Book Now Available (Calhoun Law Group, P.C.) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38477 Hay Group Announces Medicare Part D Employer Survey: December 5, 2004 Deadline (Hay Group) http://benefitslink.com/pr/detail.php?id=38478 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/pr/maint.php ========================================================== Newly Posted or Renewed Job Openings Insurance – Operations Manager for Zenith Administrators in NV http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41061 Chief Compliance Officer - Employee Benefits for CitiStreet in FL, MA http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41080 Insurance – Claims Supervisor for Zenith Administrators in NV http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41081 CS Project Manager for Hewitt Associates in IL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41083 Attorney - Employee Benefits Firm for HaynesHitesman PC in KS, MO http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41084 ERISA Consultant for BISYS Retirement Services in MN http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41085 Employee Benefits Position-Tax Senior for Deloitte & Touche LLP in MI http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41087 WM HR Specialist - Recruitment for Hewitt Associates in IL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41088 Workforce Management HR Specialist for Hewitt Associates in IL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41089 Executive Director Benefits Finance for Time Warner in NY http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41090 Pension Administration Project Manager for Hewitt Associates in IL http://benefitslink.com/modperl/show_a_job.cgi?database_id=H41091 Post yours! http://benefitslink.com/jobs/post_help_wanted.html =========================================================== Subscribe to the BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter, Too Sign-up form is at: <URL:http://benefitslink.com/newsletter/> http://benefitslink.com/newsletter =========================================================== Copyright 2004 BenefitsLink.com, Inc.; except that you can forward this email in full (if you also include this boilerplate part) or otherwise reprint this email in full (if you include this boilerplate part) without obtaining our permission. 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