| Study: 59% of Employers Intend to Raise Deductibles, Copays in 2009 A new survey by Mercer found that 59 percent of companies intend to keep down rising health care costs in 2009 by raising workers' deductibles, copays or out-of-pocket spending limits. Date posted: 9/5/08 Source: The Houston Chronicle [via The Associated Press and Benefits in the News, compiled by BenefitsLink] 9/4/08 |
| Mental Health Parity Bill's Fate Likely Will Be Decided in Congress' Final 2008 Push Although less burdensome than previous proposals to enhance the mental health parity requirements, a compromise Congressional bill still would significantly broaden the scope of those requirements. If enacted, many employers likely would need to change their group health plan designs in order to comply. Date posted: 9/5/08 Source: Deloitte's Washington Bulletin [via Benefits in the News, compiled by BenefitsLink] 9/4/08 |
| New Pension Proposals Receive Cool Reception from Employers Employers believe changes to current pension accounting standards are necessary, but most are not in favor of the changes proposed in the International Accounting Standards Board's preliminary views paper, according to a recent survey by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Date posted: 9/5/08 Source: PR Newswire [via Human Resource Executive Online] 9/4/08 |
| A Few Tweaks Can Generate Better Retirement Plans for Small Businesses While some challenges small businesses face regarding retirement plans are the unavoidable result of economies of scale, . . . there are things you can do to keep up with the larger retirement plans. Date posted: 9/5/08 Source: Employee Benefit News [via Benefits in the News, compiled by BenefitsLink] 9/1/08 |
| Consumer Study: More Isn't Always Better in Health Care A study by Consumer Reports found that patients who receive the most aggressive care have a slightly higher death rate than patients with the same condition who are treated more conservatively. Date posted: 9/5/08 Source: Albuquerque Journal [via insurancenewsnet.com] 9/4/08 |
| IRS Expands PPA Transition Relief for Certain Small Plans The Internal Revenue Services has issued a new notice expanding transitional relief on some funding requirements for certain small pension plans. Date posted: 9/4/08 Source: PLANSPONSOR.com 9/3/08 |
| More Companies Bring Health Care Right into Office While many manufacturers historically had doctors or nurses around to treat injuries or give drug tests, some companies are now offering work-site primary care plus preventive services such as vaccines, health screenings, and weight-loss counseling. Date posted: 9/4/08 Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer [via philly.com and Benefits in the News, compiled by BenefitsLink] 9/3/08 |
| Flurry of Retirement Lawsuits Approach Decision Time After languishing for months in what were often heated procedural battles, several retirement-related lawsuits are fast approaching discovery cutoffs and summary judgment deadlines. Date posted: 9/4/08 Source: Spencer Fane Britt & Browne [via Benefits in the News, compiled by BenefitsLink] 9/3/08 |
| FSAs Remain Useful in Evolving Consumer-Driven Market Although HSAs are growing in popularity, FSAs are still useful products for employers, and card technology advances have given them a makeover of sorts. Date posted: 9/4/08 Source: Employee Benefit News 9/3/08 |
| Worker 'Presenteeism' Plagues Companies' Productivity Nearly half of U.S. workers were absent from work at least once in the past six months, but a trend of greater concern was the number of ill or otherwise distracted workers going to work and not being able to perform up to expectations, according to a recent survey. Date posted: 9/4/08 Source: Business Insurance 9/3/08 |
