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A free monthly newsletter for plan sponsors and employee benefits 
professionals published by The Benefit Services Group, Inc.

UnitedHealthcare, Froedtert OK Deal—Contract follows difficult negotiations
EXCERPT: "Froedtert & Community Health will remain in UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin's hospital network under a contract announced late Friday. The agreement means that people with health plans offered by UnitedHealthcare still will be able to go to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa and Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls without paying the steep costs incurred when a patient goes outside a health plan's network. The contract, reached after lengthy and contentious negotiations, will be in effect through 2011. Their existing contract was set to end on Nov. 1."  Full Article
September 29, 2006—Journal Sentinel Online

Adults’ health literacy only so-so, study says
EXCERPT: "Most adults can determine at what age their children should get vaccinated or discern from a label when to take their medicine, but they still need help understanding many basic health instructions, a new study shows.

The report by the National Center for Educational Statistics found that most adults have an intermediate health literacy, but intermediate is far from good, because so many health instructions are written in a way that’s foreign to how people talk and think, said Rima Rudd of the Harvard School of Public Health."
Full Article
September 7, 2006—Columbia Daily Tribune

Most Workers Fear Higher Costs, Reductions in Health Benefits, Watson Wyatt Surveys Find
EXCERPT: "The Watson Wyatt WorkUSA™ 2006 study found that 69 percent of workers are concerned their employer will increase out-of-pocket health care costs through higher deductibles and co-payments over the next three years. Additionally, 53 percent worry that their employer will reduce the scope of their health care benefits by limiting providers or items covered in the next two years. More than 12,000 workers across all job levels and in all major industries participated in the study."  Full Article
September 27, 2006—Watson Wyatt Worldwide

Severance packages and COBRA - Avoiding the "Loss of Coverage" Trap
EXCERPT: "Today, many employers are offering severance packages to employees involved in a layoff. An often-overlooked COBRA issue is the manner in which these severance packages are structured. If the package is improperly structured, an employer may be inadvertently delaying the loss of coverage for its former employees and subjecting itself to the possibility of uninsured claims, notice penalties and/or excise taxes."
Full Article — COBRA Outsourcing Company

2006 Annual Report on
Health Care:
National Trends

Here are excerpts from a few of the stories now available online in the recently published Annual Report on Health Care.

A New Push (And a New Look) for Universal Coverage
Universal health care coverage is back on the front burner, but it has a somewhat new look and feel as states attempt to devise plans that will ensure coverage for all of their citizens but won’t be seen as single-payer, government programs.

HSAs & HRAs Gain Traction
After a slow start, the number of companies offering HSA-qualified plans is doubling annually. Growth appears to be particularly strong in the large group market, which includes companies with more than 10,000 employees; the number of firms offering the coverage jumped from 1 percent in 2004 to 8 percent in 2005.

The Rising Cost of Care
Average annual medical costs for a family of four will be $13,382 in 2006, an increase of 9.6 percent from 2005, according to the 2006 Milliman Medical Index.

Full Articles are located at HCTrends.com

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The preceding is not intended to be and is not offered as legal advice. We are prohibited from the practice of law. Compliance is the responsibility of the employer or Plan sponsor and affected employees, who should seek their own legal counsel regarding questions about information presented in this newsletter.

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