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Work/Life Programs Help Employers Energize Employees Employers are responding to their employees' needs for work/life balance by providing programs and policies that allow employees to manage their personal and professional lives, according to a survey by Mellon Financial Corporation's Human Resources & Investor Solutions business (2004). Older Workers Get Preference, High Court Rules The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that companies that give richer benefits to older workers and retirees are not violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). In General Dynamics Land Systems Inc., v. Cline (No. 02-1080), the justices threw out a lower court ruling and decided by a 6-3 margin that ADEA protects workers older than age 40 from preferential treatment given to younger workers, but does not apply in reverse. Obesity Disabilities Cost Companies $12B Each Year Obesity-related disabilities have increased right along with the body weight of Americans over the past ten years, according to Unum-Provident, the nation's largest disability insurance provider. LTD Benefits Denied; Plan Standards Met Because a beneficiary did not meet a long-term disability plan's requirement for "total disability" during a 180-day waiting period, an insurance company properly denied a claim for benefits, according to a ruling by the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals (Butts v. Continental Casualty Company and Michael Foods, Inc., No. 03-1134). Aetna Program Shows CDHPs Contain Costs The preliminary results from an Aetna study (2004) suggest that consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) can be effective in controlling costs. In studying nearly 14,000 members in its HealthFund, Aetna found that medical costs increased only 1.5% and use of preventive care climbed by 16%. The study included employees from 19 different employers, and compared two similar periods of claims for the same members in 2002 and 2003. Bill Proposes LTC Partnerships With All States Legislation has been introduced into the Senate to amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to permit additional states to enter long-term care partnerships under the Medicaid program. Currently, only four states have such programs: California, Connecticut, Indiana, and New York. Benefit Costs Rise Faster Than Salaries Benefit costs in private industry continue to rise faster than salaries, according to the Employment Cost Index released by the U.S. Dept. of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS, 2004). |
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