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March 2010 | www.buckconsultants.com |
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As a leader in your organization, you're charged with contributing to business performance while balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders. We hope Buck on the Issues, a monthly recap of our surveys, articles, and regulatory updates, makes your job a little easier. |
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Participants Wanted
Buck Consumerism Index®
CAREER Express Survey
More and more employers are encouraging their employees to take on a greater share of responsibility in the areas of performance management, rewards, learning, and career development. This survey collects information about ways employers are using incentives, information and education, and program design to increase employee involvement and better achieve individual and employer goals. Click here to participate.
Buck Consumerism Index® WEALTH
Express Survey
Even before economic turmoil changed the retirement landscape, employers were urging employees to be more involved in and accountable for their wealth accumulation programs. This survey collects information about program features as well as the incentives, planning and modeling tools, and other information employers are providing to promote employee savings and financial well-being. Click here to participate.
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Effective Wellness Incentives: What Works? (as published in WorldatWork’s Benefits and Work-Life Focus magazine, February 2010)
Employers are turning to incentives as external motivators to encourage participation in wellness programs, and increasingly, to achieve measurable changes in health status such as ending smoking or managing body mass index (BMI). While some employers resist “paying employees to do what they should be doing for their own good,” the stakes are simply too high to ignore the trend, as employers struggle to rein in health costs and maximize productivity. Read more …
Health Savings Accounts: Back to the Future (as published in Benefits Quarterly,
First Quarter 2010)
Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) have altered the health care landscape in ways no one might have predicted. HSAs have emerged as a valuable tool in the quest to change consumers’ health care spending behaviors and better manage health care costs. This article compares and contrasts HSAs to other health care spending accounts, addresses various HSA topics in the context of HSAs’ first six years, and speculates on the future of HSAs. Read more …
The Value of Equity Compensation: Delivering on the Best of Intentions
Many publicly traded companies grant equity-based awards to their executives every year or two. They pay careful attention to competitive practice, performance, and the impact of equity awards on dilution and expense. But most companies give little consideration to the value actually received by executives or the company’s return on its investment. This is changing as proxy advisors and shareholders demand that companies examine their equity programs more closely. One way companies can understand and demonstrate how “intended value” at time of grant relates to the “actual value” delivered to executives is the Value Delivery Ratio. Click here to read the full article.
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HITECH Compliance Required Soon
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), made significant changes to the privacy and security requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). A number of HITECH provisions, which affect both covered health plans and business associates, were scheduled to take effect or become subject to enforcement in February 2010. Read more …
IRS Provides Section 409A Correction Program for Certain Document Failures
The IRS has issued Notice 2010-6, providing formal guidance on correcting certain document failures under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A. The correction procedures outlined are available for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2009. Read more …
DOL Releases Model Employer CHIP Notice
The Department of Labor recently released a model notice that employers with group health plans may use to notify employees of their eligibility for premium assistance under Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for their own or their dependents’ health coverage. Read more …
White House Health Reform Proposal
On February 22, 2010, the White House released “The President’s Proposal,” which largely follows the Senate health care reform bill, but includes several significant modifications reflecting priorities of the House and the Administration. Read more …
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We'd like to hear from you. To provide feedback on this newsletter, share your suggestions for future issues, or request more information on any of the topics covered above, contact us at 866.355.6647 or info@buckconsultants.com. If you prefer to download a PDF of this communication, click here.
Buck on the Issues is intended to provide general information. It does not offer legal advice or purport to treat all the issues surrounding any one topic.
Buck Consumerism Index® is a registered trademark of
Buck Consultants, LLC.
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