Drug Utilization: Using Objective Data to Achieve Cost-Efficiency
by Bridget L. Eber 
By grading pharmacy benefit managers' (PBMs') performance using an objective evaluation process, employers can identify specific opportunities and establish measurable goals to define efficient drug utilization. Many employers come away from the grading process with a similar conclusion-Increased generic dispensing is a must for achieving delivery of an affordable prescription drug benefit. By focusing on the conditions that affect their population, employers are ensuring that PBMs implement practical programs that make it easy for physicians to prescribe affordable high-value drugs.
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Combating Employee Benefit Cost and Control Issues: The Case for Coalition Purchasing
By Louis N. Anastasio
Growing in popularity, employee benefit coalitions can impact an employer's bottom line and are becoming a market factor to be dealt with in every industry and business setting. This article examines how modern day coalitions are bringing classic aggregation theory into the 21st century and the reasons behind the growing popularity of employee benefit coalitions. It also suggests several strategic initiatives that human resource (HR) and benefit managers can take within their own organization to unlock the power of the coalition movement toward a better, more efficient buying model.
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Spousal Surcharge Programs-An Overview
by Hudson A. Peters, CEBS
Spousal surcharge programs help employers whose goal is to provide "above-average" health benefit plans by limiting the potential "financial leakage" liabilities from covering the spouses of employees who are eligible for other health care coverage. Spousal surcharge programs are just one alternative available to help employers manage the rising cost of providing health care coverage to dependents. This article explores the prevalence, plan design, financial implications, administrative and other considerations in implementing a spousal surcharge program.
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The 403(b) Industry-Issues and Practices
by Glenn L. Wood and Mohsen Attaran
In 2004, the National Tax Sheltered Accounts Association published a market survey of the 403(b) industry. The survey represents information from a majority of the product leaders in the 403(b) market and provides valuable (albeit limited) market information. This article reviews survey findings in terms of markets and distribution, product design, loan provisions, IRS compliance, plan support and market outlook. It then identifies the top 403(b) market issues and the formidable challenges that respondents believe the 403(b) industry will face during the next three to five years.
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Corporate Pension Reform in Japan: Big Bang or Big Bust?
by Sarah McLellan
Expectations ran high that the passage of Japan's defined contribution (DC) pension legislation in June 2001 would induce a massive wave of DC plan conversion as Japanese companies began unloading their traditional defined benefit (DB) plans. However, despite the continuing pressures on Japanese companies, such a wide-scale movement did not occur. This article investigates the events leading up to Japan's DC pension legislation and how what appeared as a clear solution in the new DC option then became a puzzle, given Japan's lukewarm response. The author argues that the main determinant of corporate decision making on the pension issue was the binding constraints of the DC legislation, not the paternalistic ways of Japanese companies.
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Lost Pensions: An Empirical Investigation
by Ellen A. Bruce, John Turner and Dongsoo Lee
With the total amount of lost pensions in the United States clearly in the billions of dollars, lost pensions are a major problem among pension participants who change jobs. This article reports results from the first known empirical study of the U.S.'s lost pension problem. Using data from a federally funded pension counseling program, the authors describe the characteristics of lost pensioners, their former employers and their lost pensions. They then discuss implications about the effectiveness of existing government policies and the pension counseling project.
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