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Enhanced Labor Laws
Congress Passes Mental Health, ADA Amendments
 PRESIDENT BUSH HAS SIGNED two major bills regarding labor laws in the past few weeks that will affect employee benefits and other HR-related employment issues.
An expansion of the Mental Health Parity Act, which was included in the recent financial bailout package (see story at left), was signed into law this month. The new law requires
equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses for businesses with more than 50 employees.
Many plans provide less coverage for mental health care than for the treatment of physical conditions, according to a report in The New York Times. Now, employers and plan sponsors will have to adjust their benefits package to comply with the new law.
The Congressional Budget Office expects the new law will increase premiums by only two-tenths of 1 percent. But the benefits for employees will be significant, according to Frank B. McArdle, a health policy expert at Hewitt Associates.
“A large majority of health plans currently have limits on hospital inpatient days and outpatient visits for mental health treatments, but not for other treatments,” McArdle said. “They will have to change their plan designs.”
Group plans must comply with the new requirements by Oct. 3, 2009, except for calendar-year plans, which must comply by Jan. 1, 2010.
Before ending its 2008 session, Congress also passed an amendment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The amendment expands the number of employees who could qualify as disabled under the ADA and requires judges to interpret ADA more broadly.
Proponents of the amendment, which included the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Bush administration, said the legislation would restore the ADA to its “original intent,” according to a report in Business Insurance.
Visit http://www.ada.gov/ for more information.
Enrollment Excitement
Wellness, Value-Based Plans, Videos Top ’09 Trends
 IMPROVING PERSONAL HEALTH and controlling prescription drug costs are among the main trends emerging in this year’s benefits enrollment period, according to a new analysis by Watson Wyatt Worldwide. Here are some trend highlights from the report:
Wellness: The analysis found that more employers continue to adopt wellness programsto help their employees live better, and an increasing number are requiring health-risk assessments as part of incentive plans.
Value-based drugs: The report found manyemployers are reducing copayments on certain drugs, such as antidiabetic agents and those that treat cardiovascular disease.
More clinics: Employers are offering greater access to onsite clinics, retail clinics and health coaches. Nearly 30 percent of surveyed businesses expect to open onsite clinics next year.
More HSAs: One-third of large employers expect to offer health savings accounts tied to high-deductible plans, according to the study.
A new trend in benefits communications also is popping up this year: “YouTube Benefits.”
U.S. Internet users watched an astounding 11 billion videos online in the month of April alone, and more HR professionals are using benefits videos this year to boost their communications efforts, according to Employee Benefit News.
. . . . . . . . . . . . Bulletin Briefs . . . . . . . . . . . .
• IRS GUIDANCE: The Internal Revenue Service recently issued guidance regarding 409A and FSA requirements:
-The IRS has decided to extend its temporary halt on rulings on the tax consequences of 409A nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements.
-The Service also has issued new guidance regarding qualified reservist distributions (QRDs) from health flexible spending accounts (FSAs). The notice allows for distributions of unused amounts from FSAs to reservists called to active duty.
• MEDICARE DEADLINE: Plan sponsors of group health plans have until Nov. 15 to provide Medicare-eligible beneficiaries with a notice advising them whether or not the employer coverage for prescription drugs is actuarially equivalent (credible coverage) to the Medicare Part D drug coverage.
• E-PRESCRIBING COST SAVER: E-prescribing could reduce the nation’s health care costs by $29 billion annually, according to a new study by eHealth Initiative. While only a small number of physicians currently use an e-prescribing system, research shows it is a fast-growing trend. More than 35 million prescription transactions were sent electronically in 2007, a 170 percent increase from the previous year.
HRinsider® bulletin is brought to you each month courtesy of CCI Benefit Solutions, Inc. For more information, contact us at www.ccibenefitsolutions.com or 614.799.1404. |
