HRFocus Archive – 2008

Issue 17 – December 4, 2008

  • Since You Asked: Adding Eligibility Restrictions Based on Student Status
  • It’s Time Again…To Impute Income on Group Term Life Insurance
  • CMS: New Data Collection Requirements to Enforce MSP
  • Promoting Health FSA Program Usage
  • Massachusetts Regulates Protection of Personal Information
  • New Bicycle Commuter Benefit
  • Building a Healthy Worksite Culture
  • Survey: EB Communication Gap

Issue 16 – November 13, 2008

  • Michelle’s Law Signed into Law
  • Key Benefit Provisions in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
  • IRS Notice Provides Guidance on Health FSA Distributions Under the Heart Act
  • Did the Plan Administrator Act Arbitrarily in Denying Benefits for a Drunk Driving Injury?
  • Despite Disclaimer Language, Courts Will Not Enforce Plan Language If It Differs From SPD Language
  • Recent Rise In ERISA Stock Drop Cases
  • Workplace Safety Saving Employer Dollars In PA
  • Healthy People Make Healthy Companies: Best Practices for Wellness Programs

Special Issue – October 31, 2008

  • Americans with Disabilities Act Amended to Provide More Protection to Disabled

Issue 15 – October 30, 2008

  • No Payment for Medical Mistakes
  • Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act: Fair Share Contribution Requirements More Onerous
  • Issue Spotlight: Charitable Organizations and ERISA Applicability
  • Employers Revisit Commuter Benefits
  • Cost-of-Living Adjustments for 2009
  • HR: Employees Much More Outspoken on Politics
  • 4 Keys to Fair Disciplinary Actions
  • Gov't Releases Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans

Issue 14 – October 16, 2008

  • Paid Family and Sick Leave Campaigns: Scoring With Voters?
  • New Efforts to Combat Health Care Fraud
  • Rewards Drive Success in Wellness
  • New Hampshire Mandates Obesity Coverage and Bariatric Surgery
  • DOL Tools And Workshops for Health Plans
  • Mental Health Parity Act
  • OK to Dock Pay for Time Taken to Address Work-Related Injury?

Issue 13 – October 7, 2008

  • Creating a Wellness Budget
  • Patients Load Credit Cards with Medical Service Debt
  • Issue Spotlight: Notice of Privacy Practices
  • Older Workers Working Longer
  • Top 50 Employers for Older Workers
  • Healthcare Coverage Increasingly Factoring into Matrimony
  • Group Drops State Ballot Fight for Paid Sick Days

Issue 12 – September 18, 2008

  • Over-Age and Under-Insured: Extending Benefits for Dependents
  • Proposed IRS Rules: Time to Review Cafeteria Plans?
  • HIPAA Goes Hollywood: the Sequel
  • Funding Increases for Massachusetts Healthcare Reform
  • Report: Economy Is Weakening Job Candidates' Bargaining Power
  • Wellness Case Story #3 – On-Site Clinic Is Win-Win for Employees and Employer
  • San Francisco Legislating Healthy Habits
  • 30% Of Employers Don't Update Employees On Financial Results

Issue 11 – September 4, 2008

  • Issue Spotlight: Communicating With Non-English Speaking Employees
  • New Jersey Healthcare Reform
  • CMS Revises Medicare Part D/Creditable Coverage Disclosure Form
  • Mandated Benefits – What’s The Cost?
  • Wellness Case Story #2 – C-Suite Embraces Wellness Culture
  • Study: Insured Losing Healthcare Access
  • Sc State Workers Face Insurance Surcharge for Tobacco Use
  • Watercooler Politics: What Can Employers Do to Keep the Peace?
  • Monthly Highlight – Checklist: Notices to Include in Health Plan Annual Enrollment Materials

Issue 10 – August 21, 2008

  • Variable Compensation Programs: Staying Compliant With the FLSA
  • Issue Spotlight: FMLA Enforcement
  • IRS Unveils Fix-It Guides for Section 401(K) Plan Sponsors
  • San Francisco HCSO
  • In Some States, More than 30 Percent of Adults Say They're Obese
  • Employers Holding Steady on Benefits, Despite Economy
  • Wellness Case Story #1 – Large Manufacturing Client

Issue 9 – August 7, 2008

  • Wellness at The Worksite
  • Gearing Up for Open Enrollment: Communicate!
  • Managing Claims and Plan Funds Is a Conflict Of Interest: Court Ruling
  • Heart Starts Pumping Relief to Veterans and Their Families
  • Increase in Federal Minimum Wage
  • Climbing the Regulatory Mountain with a DOL Map
  • Controlling Medicare Costs: Admission of Hospital Readmissions
  • Study: Lower Drug Co-Pays Can Lower Health Plan Costs

Issue 8 – July 24, 2008

  • HAS Guidance: Keep Those Contributions Tax-Free
  • Since You Asked: How Will Our Plan Be Affected By Same-Sex Marriage?
  • General Healthcare/ERISA Reform
  • Maine: Health Reform Act
  • Wellness: What Is the Value?
  • Baby Boomers Not Retiring in Big Numbers
  • Study: Record Usage of Prescription Drugs

Issue 7 – July 10, 2008

  • Wellness: What Is The ROI?
  • IRS Updates Disaster Tax Relief Info
  • Massachusetts Healthcare Reform
  • CMS Rolls Out Healthcare Quality Measurement Tool
  • Since You Asked: How Will Our Plan Be Affected by Same-Sex Marriage?
  • New Executive Order Requires Federal Contractors to Verify Employment Eligibility Electronically
  • Accrued Sick And Safe Leave Act of 2008
  • DOL Proposes Fee Disclosure Guidance
  • IRS Issues Guidance On HSA Contribution Limits
  • As We Go To Press: More HSA Guidance Announced by the IRS
  • Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Compliance Can Be Challenging.

Issue 6 – June 19, 2008

  • You’ve Selected Your HRIS System – Now What?
  • The Fair Labor Standards Act: The Source of Exemption Status
  • Opportunities in Pharmacy Benefits
  • Issue Spotlight: What Triggers COBRA Rights?
  • Post-Mastectomy Costs Can Be Shared
  • Paid Family Leave for NJ Employees
  • As We Go To Press: HSA Contribution Rule Update
  • Survey: Healthcare Among Leading Consumer Concerns
  • Rhode Island Lawmakers Target Hospital Errors
  • Child Labor Laws and Summer Hiring: An Update On Recent Developments

Issue 5 – June 5, 2008

  • HSAs May Be in Jeopardy
  • Proposed Bill Would Promote Domestic Partner Coverage
  • Since You Asked: Re-Enrolling After Waiving Health Coverage
  • Health Records Mistakenly Posted on Web
  • New Jersey Enacts Paid Leave Requirement
  • President Signs Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act Of 2007 (GINA)
  • Drug Trends: Good News and Bad News
  • IRS Announces Inflation Adjustments for Health Savings Accounts

Issue 4 – May 22, 2008

  • Effective Wellness Communications
  • Wellness: Keys to Success
  • Finalized Rules on Comparable Contributions to HSAs
  • Medicare and Social Security: Still a Grim Prognosis
  • Legislative Update: Prosthetic Parity Act
  • Healthcare Industry: New Target for Identity Theft
  • Diners Paying for Healthcare Mandate
  • IRS Announces Inflation Adjustments for Health Savings Accounts

Issue 3 – May 8, 2008

  • Yet Another HIPAA Compliance Deadline
  • Supreme Court Refuses Appeal of Retiree Health Case
  • Consumerism – Panacea or Passing Fad?
  • Another Attempt to Help Small Businesses Afford Benefits
  • Supreme Court Could Change the Way Claims Are Handled
  • DOL Sues Executives and Investment Firm to Recover Pension Plan Funds
  • It’s That Time: Change-In-Status Season

Issue 2 – April 24, 2008

  • Court Rejects Policy Requiring Prior Overtime Approval
  • EEOC Offers New Discrimination Statistics
  • FMLA And Medical Certifications
  • Employer Health Coverage Expected By Employees
  • Getting Started on the Road to Wellness
  • Enforcing English-Only Rules at the Workplace
  • Stabilizing Pay Issues for Expatriate Workers
  • Insurers Stop Paying for Care Linked to Errors

Issue 1, April 10, 2008

  • DOL Weighs In On ERISA Preemption
  • House Passes Mental Health Coverage Mandate
  • More FMLA Changes on the Way
  • 2008 Version of Massachusetts HIRD Form Released
  • IRS Confirms Limits on Executive Compensation Deduction
  • TRICARE-Eligible Employees
  • Why Wellness?
  • Selecting An HRIS System
  • Payroll Provider Survey Results


FOCUS on Benefits Archive - 2008

March 2008

  • California: Retiree Healthcare Crisis
  • Oregon's Domestic Partnership On Hold
  • Dol Releases Ebsa Enforcement Results For Fiscal Year 2007
  • Nonprofit Hospital's Plan Is Not Erisa Exempt
  • Obesity: Generating Heavy Costs
  • Health Insurance Subsidies For Small Employers
  • Medicare Drug Benefit Fueling Healthcare Spending Increase
  • Insurance Carriers And Cobra Obligations
  • Older Workers Working Longer
  • Since You Asked: Can Fsas Pay For Medical Tourism?

February 2008

  • EEOC Releases Final Regulations on Retiree Health
  • State of the States: Selected Updates
  • Uncertain Future: San Francisco's Mandated Coverage Ordinance
  • IRS Sets 2008 Standard Mileage Rates: Rate for Business 50.5 Cents/Mile
  • Misclassified Workers to File New Social Security Tax Form
  • Workplace Blogging: Blessing or Burden?
  • Spotlight On: ERISA and "Payroll Practices"

January 2008

  • Form 5500 - California Wildfires Lead to Deadline Extension
  • Further Changes Are Coming
  • Medicare Eligibility and Benefits: What Should Employers Do?
  • States' Rights: More States Enacting Cafeteria Plan Requirements
  • Opt-Out Reminder to Eligible Government Entities
  • TRICARE: New Requirements Go into Effect January 1, 2008
  • FMLA Enforcement
  • Spotlight On . . . High Cost of Maternity in a High-Deductible Health Plan

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Did you know Bray, Gibb & Co, the pre-eminent aviation insurance broker before World War I, was Samuel Cody's broker, the first man to fly a powered aircraft in the UK?