In an important development, the title of this blog was changed from Employee Benefits Week in Review (EBWiR) to This Week in Benefits (TWIB). The change was proposed by Scott Mardis of AmeriFlex over beers in an Irish pub. Said Mardis, "TWIB is a lot easier to pronounce. How do you even say EBWiR, or whatever it is?" Good enough for me.

In more serious matters . . .

Health care reform provisions fall victim to the game of chicken played by both parties. Republican and Democratic leaders agreed to an 11th-hour budget compromise last Friday, narrowly averting a shutdown of the federal government. The deal, which will keep the federal government running for the rest of this fiscal year, passed both the House and Senate yesterday, and now it will go to President Obama for his signature.

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Although a House maneuver to defund a large portion of PPACA was killed in the Senate this week, the GOP is slowly chipping away at Health Care Reform.  Last week's TWIB reported on the repeal of the unpopular 1099 provision. This week's budget compromise strips away two provisions from the Affordable Care Act:

First, the agreement nixes employee vouchers, widely considered to be unpopular among employers and potentially very costly. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the sponsor of the original voucher provision, responded angrily in a blog on Huffington Post, calling the compromise "a short-sighted position. The employer sponsored health insurance system is currently unsustainable. Premiums are going to keep going higher and higher burdening both employers and employees. Free Choice Vouchers offered a safety-net and a bridge to another system."

The deal also cuts $2.2 billion in 2011 funding for health care co-ops, originally proposed as an alternative to a public option.

Happy National Retirement Planning Week. Good timing, too. According to a study by the American Institute of CPAs, 40 percent of working Americans say they'll never afford retirement. If that's the case, then it's a good time to get an advisor, and many people are – The IRI reports that 7 in 10 advisors picked up more clients in the past year.

Quick hits from around the web:

PPACA needs insurance brokers: A report published by a team of researchers from Georgetown University analyzed the exchanges in place in Utah and Massachusetts. Among the findings, researchers concluded that insurance agents and brokers play a key role in the successful establishment of a health insurance exchange and that alienating brokers is likely to hinder the growth of the exchange.

The retirement formula is changing: BusinessWeek reports that the cost of retirement is rising due to higher expenses and tax rates that aren't falling to anticipated levels when people retire.

Converting highly coveted recruits to employees in seven days: Paul English, co-founder and CTO of fast-growing travel site Kayak.com, credits the company's success to its aggressive recruiting style.

Hey, it's supposed to be National Retirement Planning Week!: According to TheStreet, 401(k) plans are designed for mediocrity, and it's not an accident.

Raising employee participation levels: Milliman reports that automatic enrollment plans are a success, but . . .

How to report health care costs on Form W-2: The IRS issued guidelines on how to comply with the PPACA mandate to disclose the cost of group health care coverage on employees' W-2 forms.

Ground zero in the pension debate: Not only is Costa Mesa, CA home to the second-largest shopping mall in the country, it's becoming the focal point in the debate over public pensions.

TWIB recommends:

Most popular story on BenefitsPro this week: Obama defends Medicare cuts

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