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Category: Articles by Cowden Associates
Jere Cowden, CEO & President of Cowden Associates, Inc., speaks with Employee Benefit Adviser's Associate Editor, Robert Whiddon, about mergers in the benefit consulting arena and what they might mean for the ranks of small and medium independent benefit brokers.
Cowden Associates' 2007/2008 Tri-State Employee Benefits Survey featured in the Pittsburgh Business Times:
A survey by Downtown employee benefits consultant Cowden Associates Inc. found that the number of businesses adopting some form of the so-called consumer-driven health care plan more than tripled since last year, but 107 out of 274 respondents, or 62.9 percent, said they were unlikely to offer the coverage in the future. Another 37 respondents, or 21.8 percent, said they had no interest in the plans, which usually incorporate a health reimbursement or savings account.
"It's a big change, and employees are not necessarily looking for big changes in the way their benefits are structured," said Cowden Executive President Vincent Wolf. "We seem to have hit a threshold, a ceiling, with these types of plans."
The full article requires a subscription.
Employers in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio believe the future of managing health care costs lies in helping their employees manage their health through wellness programs, according to Cowden Associates, Inc. Seventh Annual Tri-State Area Employee Benefit Survey.
Cowden Associates, the region's leading independent human resources, compensation and employee benefit consulting firm, compiled results of its 2007-2008 survey from 274 employers throughout the tri-state region. Survey participants include for-profit, nonprofit and governmental employers. Size of employers ranged from less than 100 employees to more than 10,000.
"Competition for talented employees is strong, and employee benefits play a critical role in attracting and retaining those employees," said Cowden Associates President and CEO Jere Cowden. "As regional employers work to attract and retain talent in part through strong employee benefits plans, our regional survey data allow them to benchmark themselves against their regional competition and develop attractive, cost-effective plans."
Jim Bartoszewicz was featured in a Pittsburgh Business Times article from the March 21 -27, 2008 issue:
A recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court is being called a victory for millions of workers and a reminder for employers to exercise the utmost fiscal responsibility regarding their 401(k) plans.
The court ruled on Feb. 20 that individual participants in 401(k) retirement plans can sue to recover losses caused by the mismanagement of funds, reversing a decision made earlier by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., in the case of LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Associates.
Jim Bartoszewicz, president and CEO of Cowden Advisers Inc., a Downtown investment advisory firm, said companies can take action to guard against lawsuits.
"By creating Sound practices for governing their retirement plans, sponsors will reduce the number of legitimate claims, while putting themselves in a better position to defend the frivolous suits," he said.
The full article requires a subscription.
When it comes to your health care, how do you define value?
For a growing number of employers in the region, there's a new, practical approach to answering that question when designing the medical benefit plans that provide health insurance coverage for most workers. Many experts believe the new definition of value could be the silver bullet for the health care cost crisis. Yet this new means of determining "value" is controversial and would limit the availability of certain services and procedures to those enrolled in health plans.
This new definition of health care value, known as "value-based benefits," determines the amount of coverage based on the value a patient receives from the product or service. In other words, how critical is it to one's life that he or she undergo a particular procedure or take a particular medication?
Read the complete article by Cowden Associates' Vince Wolf in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
On June 4, 2007, the Federal Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit allowed the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to implement its proposed regulation permitting employers to reduce or eliminate employer sponsored retiree health benefits when retirees become eligible for Medicare or for a state-sponsored retiree health program (AARP v EEOC, No. 05-4594, 6/4/07).
The court also rejected AARP’s arguments that the proposed regulation constituted unlawful agency activity and represented an “arbitrary and capricious change” in agency policy. The court expressed its concern that many retirees in both age groups depend upon employer sponsored benefits, and that the proposed regulation best served the interest of all retirees by permitting employers to provide supplemental health benefits to Medicare-eligible retirees and to those retirees who might not otherwise be able to afford health insurance coverage.
An exerpt from an article by Cowden Associates President, Jere Cowden, published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"Pittsburgh is fast approaching its 250th birthday. Some would joke that our population is nearly as old, since about 16 percent of us are older than 64 -- and getting older.
Yet where some see a setting sun, I see new horizons. Savvy business leaders in the region should see this as an opportunity, too.
According to the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance, there are nearly 114,000 companies of all sizes in the Pittsburgh region, which includes the city of Pittsburgh and 10 surrounding counties in southwestern Pennsylvania.
See this article as it originally appeared in The State Journal.
Each of the past four years, without fail, Business owners and employers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Ohio have braced themselves for the inevitable — double-digit increases in medical coverage renewals charge by insurers.
Earlier this year, when Cowden Associates released results of its annual Tri-State Area Medical Benefi5ts survey, there was muted celebration in the region when the survey revealed the reneal increase in 2005 was only 9 percent...
Freezing Your Pension Plan
A recent surge in high-profile pension plan freezes will result in an examination of the potential benefits of taking this action. A plan sponsor must fully Understand pros and cons of pursuing a cessation of future benefits for employees, including coprehending life in a postfreeze world.