FEATURED
Covering all bases
This article is the third and final in EBN’s annual Preparing for
Open Enrollment series, presenting benefits professionals’
advice on when and how to rollout a wellness program.
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 18)
ALSO INSIDE
16 Employee-Consumer
Broadcasting benefits messages on TV
helps one employer launch its
consumer-driven health plan
30 Health Care
Turning conventional wellness wisdeom
on its head
BeneFIT Success Stories
Healthier employees for a surprisingly
low cost
BY THE NUMBERS
3
trillion was the amount of
assets in 401(k) plans at the
end of 2010, according to the
SPARK Institute. See page 50
JUNE 15, 2011 • VOL 25 NO 8 • EBN.BENEFITNEWS.COM
HEALTH REFORM
FSA proponents press lawmakers
for changes to PPACA provisions
BY KATHLEEN KOSTER
The Employers Council on Flexible Com-
pensation is fighting to repeal parts of the
health care reform law that establish an-
nual caps for flexible spending accounts
and require a prescription for over-the-
counter medications to be reimbursed
under FSAs. It also is pushing for a
change to allow for a cash out at the end
of the year in place of the use-it-or-lose-it
system that dates back to the 1980s.
Over 100 advocates for cafeteria plans
and FSAs flooded the Capitol hallways
earlier this spring, pushing lawmakers
to reconsider certain provisions in the
Patient Protection and Affordable Health
Care Act that curtail these benefits.
Employees can make tax-advantaged
“salary reduction” contributions for
health insurance and child care through
cafeteria plans and FSAs.
These plans “are an important tool
that are available to employees who
participate in the plan, and it really goes
to the people who need it the most,” ex-
plains Allen Wishner, a board member
for the ECFC and CEO of Flexible Benefit
Service Corp.
For people with chronic conditions
or just expensive everyday medical ex-
penses such as glasses, dental care or sick
children, these plans help to reduce out-
of-pocket costs.
At the beginning of the health care
debate, legislators were going to elimi-
nate FSAs, but lobbying efforts by ECFC
and others were able to preserve them by
agreeing to an annual cap at $2,500, in-
dexed for inflation. They agreed because
they believed they could remove the cap
(SEE FSAS ON PAGE 49)
TALENT MANAGEMENT
Program lends top talent to
work in developing nations
BY KATHLEEN KOSTER
For the year ending in September 2010,
26.3% of Americans (or 62.8 million peo-
ple) volunteered through or for an orga-
nization at least once, according to the
Current Population Survey conducted
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among
working Americans, 29.2% volunteered,
compared to 23.8% of unemployed per-
sons and 22% of those not in the labor
force.
So, it appears working Americans
are ready and willing to donate their
time and energy. Companies like IBM
and Dow Corning are tapping into that
volunteerism spirit among their work-
forces, sending their highest-performing
employees to developing nations to take
part in a Corporate Peace Corps.
