Vince Wolf was featured in a Pittsburgh Business Times article from the August 1 - 7, 2008 issue:

To cope with the rising cost of specialty drugs, some companies are creating a new prescription tier for employees that requires a bigger co-payment and directing patients on these drugs to a specialty pharmacy, according to Vice Wolf, executive vice president of Downtown-based Cowden Associates, Inc. But care has to be taken to set co-pays that are not prohibitively high.

"It's understandable that you'd want them to pay more, but you don't want to create a huge financial burden," Wolf said. "Where the savings are is in the management of the prescriptions, making sure that people stay compliant, which has a longer term savings."

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On June 19, the Supreme Court decided MetLife v. Glenn, ruling that a company that both administers and funds a benefits plan operates under a conflict of interest that must be considered as a factor in a court’s review of claim denials.

From the analysis on SCOTUSBLOG:

In its decision below, the Sixth Circuit explicitly considered that conflict of interest when reviewing MetLife’s denial of benefits to respondent Glenn, a Sears employee who filed for disability benefits after a heart condition impaired her ability to work. After MetLife rejected Glenn’s claim, asserting that she was still physically capable of performing full-time sedentary work, Glenn brought suit against the insurance company under ERISA, which authorizes federal courts to review the decisions of benefit plan administrators. Glenn lost her case in district court but prevailed before the Sixth Circuit... The Sixth Circuit [ruled] that the claim denial was unreasonable and should be reversed.

As always, plan sponsors should carefully evaluate how their claims are decided and paid. Any employer who both administers and pays benefits should take the ruling into account and put safeguards into place to separate benefit decisions from financial concerns.

A thorough discussion of MetLife v. Glenn can be found on SCOTUSWIKI.

In June, President Bush signed into law H.R. 6081: Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008 (HEART Act), providing tax benefits and incentives to employees in qualified military service as defined by the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA). The provisions have varied impact on many benefits, including 403(b) plans, governmental 457(b) plans, IRAs, and health flexible spending accounts. A full summary can be found at GovTrack.us.

Vince Wolf, Cowden Associates' Executive Vice President, is featured in a Pittsburgh Business Times interview focusing on wellness programs:

How does a small employer implement an effective work site wellness plan?

I think the thing that is not necessarily understood is there are a lot of programs people can do that are not really expensive or time consuming.

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The results of an Urban Institute survey show that Massachusetts health care reform has cut the number of uninsured by half since its inception in 2006. Residents also reported lower out-of-pocket costs and low-income adults are now more likely to have regular checkups and dental visits. The initiative has cost nearly a third more than projected and costs are expected to rise. In addition, around 86,000 taxpayers paid fines for not signing up for health insurance.

On May 21, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA), prohibiting employers from using genetic information for decisions on hiring, firing, promotions, or job assignments, and group health plans and health insurers from basing eligibility or premium determinations on genetic information.

SMB Human Resources interviews Cowden Associates' Executive Vice President, Vince Wolf. He discusses the results of the Cowden Associates 2007/2008 Tri-State Area Employee Benefit Survey, high deductible health plans and wellness.

Vince Wolfe of Pennsylvania-based Cowden Associates says that 84% of businesses responding to their 2007/2008 Employee Benefit Survey don't plan to adopt high deductible plans now or in the future. Wellness, he says, is the way to go.

Download the complete audio.

The U.S. Treasury Department updates health savings account (HSA) contribution limits:

The Treasury and IRS have released the 2009 inflation adjusted amounts for Health Savings Accounts under Code Sec. 223(g). For calendar year 2009, the annual limitation on deductions under Code Sec. 223(b)(2) for an individual with self-only coverage under a high-deductible plan is $3,000 ($5,950 for an individual with family coverage). A "high deductible health plan" is defined under Code Sec. 223(c)(2)(A) as a health plan with an annual deductible that is not less than $1,150 for self-only coverage or $2,300 for family coverage and annual out-of-pocket expenses (deductibles, co-payments and other amounts, but not premiums) do not exceed $5,800 for self-only coverage or $11,600 for family coverage.

Treasury Department News Release, TDNR HP-975, 2008FED ¶46,431
Rev. Proc. 2008-29, 2008FED ¶46,432

As reported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, from 2001 to 2005 health care premiums increased at a rate 10 times that of the median income. The disparity was even more acute in the Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia tri-state area, where incomes either fell or rose at a rate less than the national average. The tri-state breakdown:

Other of-note findings:

• The employer share of health insurance premium costs has increased by 28% nationally
• Americans with private health insurance fell about 6%

Read the full report for national totals and state-by-state breakdowns.

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."

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