News Archives 2004

Behind the Desk: Entrepreneurial spirit led woman to CEO chair. Read the article here.

The expanded publication includes information on health savings accounts and other tax-favored health plans. Download the PDF here.

The Internal Revenue Service released the optional standard mileage rates to use for 2005 today. 

These are used for deductible mileage for business, charitable, medical or moving expense purposes.

The most notable, increase is for business use ($.03, the single largest increase in history to account for higher vehicle and fuel costs).  The charitable rate is set by law and the rates for business, medical and moving purposes are based on an annual study.

For medical and for moving expenses:  15 cents a mile, up from 14 cents in 2004. When giving services to a charitable organization: 14 cents a mile (no change) For business purposes: 40.5 cents a mile, up from 37.5 cents in 2004.

Vista, November 5, 2004. In recognition of the economic power of multicultural businesses, DiversityBusiness.com, the nations' leading multicultural B2B online portal, recently named Creative Benefits, Inc. as one of the top Women-Owned businesses in the United States. Read the official press release!

Creative Benefits, Inc. has been selected as a finalist in the 5th Annual DiversityBusiness.com Top Business Awards.

The 5th annual "Top Small Businesses in America" survey will determine the Top 500 Small Businesses in the United States, the Top 500 Diversity Owned Business in the United States, and for each State the Top 50 Small businesses and Top 50 Diversity owned businesses. The winners will be announced on October 25, 2004 and will be honored at the 5th Annual Multicultural Business Conference in March 2005. The awards are based on annual sales volume.

Once again CB is named one of San Diego's largest women-owned businesses by the San Diego Business Journal!

For 2004 Creative Benefits is ranked in the top 25 woman-owned businesses in San Diego County, based on 2003 revenue.  We're excited and honored to be included on the list.

9/29/2004: Creative Benefits was honored by the San Diego Business Journal as one of the regions 100 Fastest Growing Private Companies at a reception at San Diego's Westgate Hotel last night.  CB's revenue growth for the period 2001-2003 was 39%.  This is the second year in a row that Creative Benefits has been honored as one of the region's economic development drivers.

Jody L. Dietel, CFCI and Kris Saunders, CFCI attend Employers' Council on Flexible Compensation's Cafeteria Plan Administrator's Conference

Both were to be speakers, but only Kris was able to present as the conference was cut short by Hurricane Charlie.  We're thankful to be able to report that all conference attendees made it home safely.

CVS Pharmacy CVS customers who use the company's ExtraCare card when buying over-the-counter remedies may now obtain a detailed list of all such purchases.

The customers can then submit the list to their employers for reimbursement, instead of keeping track of individual receipts. The list can also help customers plan ahead so they can better estimate how much money to set aside in their health-spending accounts at work.

Rite Aid and Drugstore.com. The drugstore.com© FSA Manager is a free service exclusively for drugstore.com© customers designed to help simplify the use of Flexible Spending Account (FSA) programs.

The drugstore.com© web store clearly marks those over-the-counter (OTC) products most likely to be eligible for reimbursement by FSA programs. To help eliminate the tedious paperwork, they will keep track of FSA-eligible purchases and provide you with receipts to submit to your FSA administrator.

Classes are held for 13 staff members to prepare them for an exam certifying their competence in Flexible Compensation.  This certification is available from the Employers Council on Flexible Compensation. 

Classes must be taught by those who hold the CFCI (Certified, Flexible Compensation Instruction) designation.  Jody L. Dietel, Kris Saunders, Dana Hofseth and Therasa Cheng all hold this designation at CB and are sharing instruction duties.  The classes are held twice weekly, are 90 minutes in length and require outside reading and coursework, plus a mid-term and final prior to the actual certification exam.

The conference is sponsored by the Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA) in Seattle, WA.

Employee Benefit News is a publication of Thomson Media.

The seminar was sponsored by the Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA).

The seminar was sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits.

The Employers Council on Flexible Compensation (ECFC) sponsored this seminar.

The seminar was sponsored by the Employee Benefits Institute of America (EBIA). Jody L. Dietel was a co-presenter for this seminar.

The guidance clarifies preventive care that can be provided under a high deductible health plan (HDHP) and how the HDHP interacts with other prescription drug benefits.

Read the Treasury press release

See our IRS Guidance page for related links

The seminar was sponsored by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits