Headlines about "Health plans - policy"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Employers See Some Improvement, in Senate Health Care Reform Bill
Excerpt: "Latest version says large employers with more than 50 full-time employees would be assessed a fine up to $750 for every employee who works more than 30 hours a week if any employee received health insurance subsidies from the government." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Senate Health Reform Bill Contains Minimal Employer Penalties for Not Offering Health Coverage
Excerpt: "Employer-sponsored plans would be affected by H.R. 3590 in a variety of ways including these: Immediate Actions to Expand Coverage. A high-risk pool would established until 2014 to provide coverage for those denied benefits because of preexisting conditions; a temporary reinsurance program would provide reimbursement to participating employment-based plans for a portion of the cost of providing health insurance coverage to early retirees (those between 55 and 65); the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act would be amended to improve the electronic transmission of claims information . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer)
Interpreting the Tax on Cadillac Health Plans (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The idea of taxing so-called Cadillac plans may not sound unreasonable upon first glance. But an actuarial view quickly reveals that the high cost of these plans has as much to do with the characteristics of the covered population as it does with benefit richness. It also reveals that the method of determining the taxable benefit threshold may create unintended consequences -- especially when coupled with other benefit-level requirements under various reform proposals, leaving little room between benefit floors and the ceiling in certain slices of the insurance market. Is there a better way to structure a ceiling for maximum benefits? One solution might entail better defining actuarial value and using the refined notion to address both the floor and the ceiling." (Milliman)
House Health Care Reform Bill Would Make It Nearly Impossible to Reduce Retiree Medical Benefits
Excerpt: "The version of health care reform passed by the House of Representatives on November 7, 2009, the 'Affordable Health Care for America Act' ('H.R. 3962' or the 'House Bill'), contains, among its myriad rules and requirements, a provision that would have a dramatic effect on many employers. Section 110 of H.R. 3962 limits the ability of a group health plan sponsor to reduce retiree medical benefits. As currently drafted, Section 110 would not become effective until enactment. The fate of this provision remains uncertain, of course, as the Senate has not approved a health care reform bill, and the provision is not in either of the bills currently under consideration in the Senate. Employers who are contemplating changes to their retiree medical benefits should consider acting quickly -- before the potential new restrictions may become effective." (Jones Day)
Senate Health Bill Improves Employer Responsibility Provision
Excerpt: "The 'employer responsibility' provisions of the health reform bill that Senate leaders unveiled . . . reflect notable progress in lessening the disincentives that the Senate Finance Committee health bill would have created for employers to hire workers from low- or moderate-income families. Significant disincentives to hire or retain such workers remain, however, for a substantial number of employers, a matter that will require serious attention when the legislation goes to conference." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Congressional Update: Senate Health Care Bill, November 19, 2009
Excerpt: "Several other provisions of the recently introduced Senate health care overhaul bill include an additional 5% tax on cosmetic surgery that is not medically necessary; the cosmetic surgery tax is expected to generate $5.8 billion over ten years. Fees on medical devices would be reduced from $4 billion (Senate Finance proposal) to $2 billion. The House bill proposes a 2.5% excise tax instead of an industry wide fee. Projected to generate $400 million, there would also be a limit on a deduction available for Blue Cross Blue Shield plans; the deduction would only apply if companies have a medical loss ratio of at least 85%. A procedural vote to begin debate on the bill is set for Saturday, November 21." (Adams and Reese LLP)
Health Reform Bill Passed by House Restricts Employer Curtailment, Termination of Retiree Benefit
Excerpt: "The health reform bill that passed the House of Representatives on Saturday, November 7, contains a provision that, if enacted, would limit severely the ability of employers to curtail or terminate retiree medical benefits provided to retired individuals and their beneficiaries. Moreover, the new rule (Section 110 of H.R. 3962) would be effective upon enactment. . . . Recommendations: (i) Consider how the potential enactment of this provision may affect your company. (ii) Review your company's retiree medical arrangements with a view to making a decision soon whether to retain or alter the current arrangement. Part of the review would entail determining whether and when retiree benefits can be curtailed or terminated in light of plan documents and collective bargaining agreements and obligations. (iii) Form an evaluation of the business effects of a prohibition on curtailing or terminating retiree medical benefits and determine a course of action." (Jackson Lewis LLP)
Critical Issues in Health Reform: Actuarial Perspectives
Excerpt: "Actuaries bring a crucial and unique perspective to the health care reform dialogue. The role of the Academy's Health Practice Council is to bring that actuarial perspective to the attention and aid of policymakers through the introduction of a new series of policy statements: Critical Issues in Health Reform. [on the targdt page], you'll find links to each of those informative statements, as well as other thought-provoking pieces on the wide-ranging subject of health care reform. " (American Academy of Actuaries)
Many Small Employers Dropping Health Plans
Of businesses having 3 to 9 employees,58 percent provided a health plan in 2002, but only 46 percent provided a health plan in 2008, says a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Associated Press)
Employer Groups Taking Stand on Current Health Reform Efforts
Excerpt: "Some large groups of employers are sounding the alarm about the health reform provisions of the House's Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3692. For example the American Benefits Council, a group that represents large employers including 25 insurers and major health benefits consultants, in a November 12 conference call told its member participants that the Council opposed the House bill because it . . . ." (Wolters Kluwer)
Health Care Reform Bill Would Restrict Health Insurers' Compensation
Excerpt: "A provision in America's Healthy Future Act, passed by the Senate Finance Committee on Oct. 13, would limit deductible compensation for health insurers. If the provision makes it into the final legislation, it will establish a special rule under section 162(m) to cut the deductible compensation limit in half -- from $1 million to $500,000 -- for 'covered health insurance providers.' The provision is targeted at the health insurance industry -- employers with self-insured plans are excluded." (Watson Wyatt Worldwide)
A State Policymaker's Guide to Federal Health Reform
Excerpt: "Three documents released by the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation identify the most challenging and pressing health policy issues that states are currently addressing; describe the array of tools states have to improve their health care systems and look at how federal health reform may affect those tools; and examine the support states will need to implement the changes contemplated in federal health reform legislation." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
Health Care Reform Information Update As of November 16, 2009
New developments. (National Conference of State Legislatures)
State of Small Business: Healthcare (PDF)
15 pages. Excerpt: "[Key findings from healthcare] Questions: 40.9% of businesses with 11-100 employees wouldn't cancel their employer-provided coverage if there was a public offering. 16% of businesses with 1-10 employees would cancel their employer-provided coverage if there was a public offering, as would 15.5% of businesses with 11-100 employees. 71.8% of businesses with 1-10 employees do not offer healthcare to employees -- versus the 69.4% of businesses with 11-100 employees who do offer healthcare to employees." (VerticalResponse, Inc.)
Senate Bill May Not Require Employers to Offer Health Insurance
Excerpt: "The health insurance overhaul bills that the House of Representatives and the Senate Health Committee passed included employer mandates, but the Senate Finance Committee's version did not. Senate Democratic leaders are trying to merge the Finance and Health committees' bills into one measure for floor debate this week. Odds are that in the effort to get a bill that can pass, they will offer a compromise along the Finance Committee's lines. The struggle over the employer mandate is likely to be a textbook battle over how much government should involve itself in private-sector employee policies. Business groups are adamant that the cost will be high." (The Miami Herald)
A Compilation of What You Need to Know About the Current Health Care Reform Process and Status
Excerpt: "How will the proposed reform affect employers, employees, providers, and health plans? Hewitt provides you with the latest information on how this historical health reform legislation is unfolding in the U.S." (Hewitt Associates)
What Are Immediate Reforms for Employment-Based Health Insurance Plans?
Excerpt: "At first glance, employers appear to be off the hook from the changes in the House-passed Affordable Health Care for America Act until 2018. Employer-based health plans that are in effect at the end of 2012 have an additional five years to meet the requirements for a qualified health benefits plan, including the essential benefit package requirement, as noted in an earlier post." (Wolters Kluwer)
[Opinion] Getting to the Real Issues in Health Care Reform
Excerpt: "If current congressional health care reform proposals become law it would be only the start of the reform process, according to a policy perspective by HSC President Paul B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., published online on Nov. 12 by the New England Journal of Medicine." (Center for Studying Health System Change)
Business Roundtable Backs Some Health Care Reform Provisions in a New Report
Excerpt: "Democrats scored a victory Thursday when a major business group issued a report endorsing some provisions of health care reform legislation in Congress, CQ HealthBeat reports. The report from the Business Roundtable, a group of CEOs from major U.S. companies, said that certain provisions in the bills under consideration by Congress would yield savings for businesses. Those proposals would help reduce health costs by 15% to 20% by 2019, according to the study." (California HealthCare Foundation)
Employee Benefits 2009 Year-End Checklist, Year in Review, and Planning Ahead for 2010 (PDF)
9 pages. Excerpt: "In addition to the items on the legislative agenda, both the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service have important guidance projects still awaiting release, some or all of which may be issued in 2010. Employers should stay tuned for news about the following items in particular: Pending Department of Labor guidance requiring enhanced disclosure to plan participants about benefit plan administrative costs and investment expenses, and enhanced disclosureobligations from plan service providers to plan fiduciaries. Department of Labor regulations governing the provision of investment advice to retirement plan participants. Congress is also considering legislation in this regard. IRS regulations governing cafeteria plans and flexible spending accounts, particularly with respect to compliance with non-discrimination rules." (Harter Secrest & Emery LLP)
[Opinion] Protect Hawaii Health Care from ERISA
Excerpt: "The health care reform package approved by the U.S. House last week may bear little similarity to the Senate version, if one emerges. In its final form, a reform measure should expand Hawaii's health care system, but separate federal and state legislation may be needed to prevent Hawaii's system from being dismantled as a result. Three years after Hawaii's Prepaid Health Care Act was enacted in 1974, Standard Oil won a court ruling that invalidated the act as a violation of the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act. Hawaii's congressional delegation saved the day by securing an exemption from ERISA through legislation." (starbulletin.com)
[Opinion] Single-Payer Health Care: Simple, Fair, and Affordable
Excerpt: "Why is a single-payer health care system the best and only realistic solution to the crisis of the uninsured and underinsured? The answer is simplicity, inclusiveness (everyone is in, no one is left out), breadth of service, equality, preservation of the current private delivery system, and, perhaps most of all, affordability. Multiple state and federal studies show that by eliminating the overhead associated with private insurance and negotiating prices with drug companies, it is possible to offer lifetime coverage to everyone in the country for an amount similar to that which we currently pay for coverage of only part of our population (5). Health insurance would be uncoupled from employment, so that individuals who lost or changed jobs would keep the same coverage, regardless of age, preexisting conditions, or state of residence. No one would be without health insurance, accomplishing in the simplest way possible the overall goal of health reform -- improving access to health care for all Americans." (American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine via Physicians for a National Health Program)
10 Ways to Cut Health Care Costs Right Now
Excerpt: "BusinessWeek has looked at 10 such attempts to lower health-care costs and improve patient care. These innovations cannot have the same impact as a comprehensive federal bill. Nor are the gains from private efforts assured. . . . Still, companies and hospitals are taking the initiative, and some results are in plain view. 'Three years ago, professional medical organizations were very reluctant to talk about inappropriate treatments. . . . [T]he American College of Cardiology recently published several standards of care for angioplasty and other common treatments, aimed at preventing unnecessary and costly interventions. Given that about one in six U.S. health-care dollars is currently spent on cardiovascular procedures, 'that's a big step forward,' . . . ." (Yahoo!News)
Health Care Reform: Creating a Sustainable Health Care Marketplace (PDF)
Excerpt: "Business Roundtable commissioned Hewitt to prepare this report to evaluate health care reform through the lens of the private sector and to project the likely effect of proposed legislative changes on employer health care costs. This report addresses four key questions: Of the reform initiatives currently being considered that intend to curb the rate of health care cost growth, which ones are likely to have a significant impact on the health care economy at large? What missing ingredients should be added to current proposals to enhance their potential to reduce future cost trends? What are the risks that could undermine the realization of these cost savings? What can be done longer-term to restructure the current health care delivery system in order to reduce annual health care cost trend to a sustainable rate, such as the overall rate of GDP growth (approximately 4% per year)?" (Business Roundtable)
[Opinion] House Health Reform Bill Has the Most Sensible Employer Mandate
Excerpt: "All three of the leading health reform bills in Congress include some sort of employer mandate to either provide health insurance to employees or pay a fee. But since these employer requirements are vastly different in each bill, they will be effective to varying degrees at raising revenue and ensuring the stability and quality of coverage, arguably the two main objectives of any reform bill. The structure of the employer requirement will also help determine how efficiently it can be administered and enforced and what unintended labor market consequences may result. This piece examines each of these issues as they apply to each of the three competing health reform bills and finds that the Affordable Healthcare for America Act, which the House of Representatives approved November 7, is the most effective at raising revenue and encouraging employers to continue offering insurance thereby allowing people to keep the insurance they have. The House bill also minimizes administrative costs and labor market distortions." (Economic Policy Institute)
Interactive Side-By-Side Health Reform Comparison Tool of Major Proposals
Excerpt: "The Foundation has updated its health reform resources to reflect provisions of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962) as passed on Saturday by the U.S. House of Representatives." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Businesses at Risk from Health Reform, or Status Quo, Depending on Source
Excerpt: "[S]peaking to potential donors at an AIDS charity function Wednesday, Bill Clinton said that American businesses ? such as General Motors ? are being crushed by health care costs even without reform, Bloomberg reports. The American system for financing and delivering health services makes U.S. companies uncompetitive with counterparts abroad, he said. 'One of the things that killed them was General Motors had $1,500 a car in health-care costs and Toyota had $110,' he said . . . ." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Health Care Reform Legislation As Passed by U.S. House (PDF)
Excerpt: "We have revised our high level side-by-side comparison of the House and Senate proposals to reflect the final House legislation. This comparison will continue to be updated as legislation moves through Congress and updates can be accessed through this same link. Buck has also prepared an annotated flow chart which compares the employer mandate requirements in the House, SFC, and HELP committee proposals." (Buck Consultants)
Congressional Members Propose Emergency H1N1 Sick Days Bill
Excerpt: "Two leading members of Congress on the issue of employee leave will team up to write a bill that would provide paid time off for workers who contract the H1N1 flu. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut and chair of the Senate health subcommittee on children and families, announced at a hearing Tuesday, November 10, that he and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Connecticut, intend to formally introduce the legislation in coming weeks. He and DeLauro portrayed paid sick leave as the best way for workers to follow government directives to stay home if they fall ill." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
The Essential Benefits Package in House Health Reform Bill: An Employer Model
Excerpt: "The Affordable Health Care for America Act, H.R. 3962, which the House approved by a narrow margin on Saturday, Nov. 7, eventually requires employer-sponsored health insurance plans to provide, at a minimum, a certain essential benefits package. Abortion services definitely will not be a part of this package, as yesterday's post indicates. And, since the essential benefits package would be based on the benefits typically covered by employer-sponsored health insurance, it appears that employers need not worry about major adverse effects of this particular health reform bill." (Wolters Kluwer)
Employer Groups Blast House Health Reform Measure
Excerpt: "Helen Darling, president of the National Business Group on Health, which represents about 280 large U.S. employers, identified 10 major items that should concern plan sponsors that provide health care benefits to their workers. According to Darling: 1) the bill lacks meaningful ways to control health care costs; 2) the bill takes us down the road to even worse deficits and crushing national debt by not getting more savings from the health system and making the coverage more affordable; 3) there is no support for strong evidence-based medicine or a way to make certain that we don't pay for treatments that are not effective; 4) there is not a strong independent Commission that could help Congress make the politically hard but obvious good decisions to eliminate wasteful and harmful treatments and spending; 5) it does nothing to correct medical liability problems and related costly defensive medical practices; 6) it doesn't expand employers' ability to help employees to actively engage in wellness activities or achieve health goals; 7) it undermines ERISA and opens ERISA plans to unacceptable burdens; 8) there are serious questions about the public plan and how it would operate; 9) an employer who provides comprehensive benefits could still be subject to an 8% payroll tax if employees decline employer coverage because it costs more 12% of the employee's income; and 10) it contains a particularly outrageous requirement that any employer still offering retiree medical coverage would have to continue it indefinitely thereby hurting employers who have done what they could to maintain benefits for retirees." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
[Opinion] Excise Tax on Very High-Cost Health Plans Is Sound Element of Health Reform, Revised November 10, 2009
Excerpt: "The Finance Committee's health reform bill represents a very substantial improvement over the current health insurance system. However, it also has some significant shortcomings. The biggest problem is that the premium tax credits in the bill need to be stronger to make insurance affordable for more people of modest means -- and thereby to enable the mandate for people to have insurance to be strengthened. Otherwise, the new health insurance exchanges could be faced with a sicker-than-average pool of beneficiaries, which would drive up insurance premiums and threaten the ability of the exchanges to function effectively. This issue is at the heart of making health reform work. And addressing it will require increased expenditures for premium tax credits -- which means that Congress will need to find more, not fewer, offsets. Removing or seriously weakening the excise tax would make it even more difficult to address this crucial issue and strengthen the premium credits, and thus would weaken the prospects for effective health reform." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Detailed Summary of Health Reform Bill Passed by the U.S. House (PDF)
10 pages. Excerpt: "?X Benefits. Outlines broad categories of covered services in the law, and creates a Health Benefits Advisory Commission, with physicians and other expert members, to help the Secretary of HHS define the essential benefit package. Cost-sharing varies by four tiers ranging in actuarial value (AV) from 70 percent to 95 percent (??basic,?? ??standard,?? ??premium,?? and ??premium plus??). In other words, in a 70 percent plan, the plan pays 70 percent of the costs and an individual would pay the other 30 percent of expenses on average. The fourth tier plan (??premium plus??) will offer additional benefits such as adult dental or vision, gym memberships, or private hospital rooms. All plans will limit annual out-of-pocket expenses for enrollees at a maximum of $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a family, with lower levels for lowerandmiddle-income families." (U.S. House of Representatives Committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Education and Labor)
Congressional Update on House Vote Passing the Affordable Health Care for America Act
Excerpt: "Prior to passing the massive overhaul legislation, the House passed an amendment introduced by Representative Bart Stupak. The amendment prohibits federal funding of abortion in the newly created insurance program 'exchanges' and the public option program. The amendment was adopted by a vote of 240-194. Many of the newly created provisions of the health care bill will go in to affect in 2013. Individuals are given the option to keep their current health plan as a 'grandfathered' plan, but all individuals who do not already have health insurance through their employer, will be required to acquire some form of health insurance. Employers with payrolls over $500,000 must offer health care insurance to their employees or make an insurance contribution on behalf of the employee. If employers fail to meet the requirement, a penalty will be incurred. Small businesses that offer health insurance to their employees are eligible for a tax credit." (Adams and Reese LLP)
Five Flash Points As Health Care Reform Moves to the Senate
Excerpt: "In the Senate, passage of healthcare reform legislation will be even harder than in the House. Here are five issues that could delay or, perhaps, torpedo healthcare reform." (The Christian Science Monitor)
[Opinion] House Health Bill's High-Income Surcharge is Sound and Well Targeted
Excerpt: "A 5.4 percent surcharge on couples with incomes over $1 million, a key financing feature of the House health reform bill, is sound and well targeted. It would affect just a fraction of 1 percent of taxpayers, a group whose incomes have soared and tax burdens have fallen in recent years, and would have only a modest impact on small businesses." (Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Evidence-Based Medicine Practiced at Intermountain Hospital Could Be Cure for American Health Care
Excerpt: "The health care debate of 2009 has had so many moving parts that it has sometimes seemed impossible to follow. The crisis behind the debate, though, is about one thing above all: the scattershot nature of American medicine. The fee-for-service payment system -- combined with our own instincts as patients -- encourages ever more testing and treatments. We're not sure which ones make a difference, but we keep on getting them, and costs keep rising. Millions of people cannot afford insurance as a result. Millions more have had their incomes pinched by rising insurance premiums. Medicare is on a long-term path to insolvency. The American health care system is vastly more expensive than any other country's, but our results are not vastly better. Any bill that Congress passes this year is unlikely to fix these problems." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Sweeping Health Care Plan Passes House
Excerpt: "Handing President Obama a hard-fought victory, the House narrowly approved a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system on Saturday night, advancing legislation that Democrats said could stand as their defining social policy achievement. After a daylong clash with Republicans over what has been a Democratic goal for decades, lawmakers voted 220 to 215 to approve a plan that would cost $1.1 trillion over 10 years. Democrats said the legislation would provide overdue relief to Americans struggling to buy or hold on to health insurance." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Harkin Promises Approval of Sexual Orientation Discrimination Legislation in 2010
Excerpt: "A pivotal senator on employment issues predicts congressional approval next year of legislation that would ban workplace discrimination against homosexuals." (Workforce Management)
[Guidance Overview] Private Health Insurance Provisions of H.R. 3962
Excerpt: "This report summarizes key provisions affecting private health insurance, including provisions to raise revenues, in Division A of H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act . . . ." (Congressionsl Research Service via OpenCRS.com)
Small Business Employees Are 50% More Likely To Lose Health Care Coverage
Excerpt: "Employees of small businesses are 50% more likely to lose coverage as workers at large businesses, according to a recent report released jointly by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Small Business Administration (SBA). In addition, the report, Insurance at Risk: Small Business Employees Risk Losing Coverage, found that half of workers in small firms that do not offer health benefits remain uninsured." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)
Towers Perrin U.S. Legislative Tracking Chart: Health and Welfare (PDF)
Excerpt: "Thousands of bills are introduced in Congress but only a select few are summarized on this chart. This selection represents our best judgment on the likelihood of enactment and the relevance of the issue for employers." (Towers Perrin)
State Legislation Opposing Certain Health Reforms, 2009-2010
Excerpt: "States have an extensive and complicated shared power relationship with the federal government in regulating various aspects of the health insurance market and in enacting health reforms. As part of state-based responses to federal health reform legislation, members of at least 11 state legislatures are using the legislative process to seek to limit, alter or oppose selected federal actions, including single-payer provisions and mandates that would require purchase of insurance. Based on actions initially in Arizona, several states propose or may propose state constitutional amendments, using language such as . . . ." (National Conference of State Legislatures)
[Opinion] Medical Tourism: Outsourcing Your Health
Excerpt: "Pitching lower costs, 'international hospitals' are trying to make inroads into the U.S. healthcare system. But are they just a remedy for insurance companies?" (Los Angeles Times via Consumer Watchdog)
Insurance Discounts for Healthy Habits Spur Debate in Washington
Excerpt: "Safeway says it's a smart incentive: charging lower premiums for people who lose weight, quit smoking or start exercising. Some medical groups say it's a new way to exclude pre-existing conditions." (Los Angeles Times)
Insurers and Industry Critics Use Charges of Gender Bias to Call for Healthcare Reforms
Excerpt: "Charging that some insurers deny coverage to women who are victims of domestic violence, some health insurance industry critics contend that such gender discrimination is a primary reason why lawmakers should pass federal health reform legislation. Regulators and insurers, however, assert that domestic violence is not an issue in underwriting or enrolling individual members, but they do concede that women of childbearing age are charged higher rates and face exclusions and riders for maternity care." (AISHealth.com)
These 5 Healthcare Culprits Cost $1 Trillion
Excerpt: "CNNMoney.com spoke to health care experts about hidden health culprits that are adding billions of dollars to our medical bills. We love salt. . . . We love sugar. . . . Dangers of alcohol. . . . Smoking. . . . Pollution." (CNNMoney.com)
U.S., Massachusetts Clash in Court Over Federal Benefits for Same-Sex Couples
Excerpt: "The United States government and Massachusetts are clashing over the issue of extending federal benefits to married same-sex couples, with the Obama administration arguing that the government is not obligated to provide benefits to gay couples." (Berkshire Eagle)
Senate Pressing Health Insurers on the Amount of Premiums They Spend on Care
Excerpt: "The health insurance industry likes to cite figures showing that 87 cents of every dollar in premiums is spent on medical claims. But a new Senate analysis suggests that for-profit insurance companies are spending much less than that, especially for policies sold to individuals and small businesses." (New York Times; free registration required)
IRS Requests Applications for IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities
Excerpt: "The Secretary of the Treasury invites those individuals, organizations, and groups affiliated with employee plans and tax-exempt organizations to nominate individuals for membership on the ACT. Nominations should describe and document the proposed member's qualifications for membership on the ACT. Nominations should also specify the vacancy for which they wish to be considered.' (Editor's note: the document is silent as to which vacancies exist, however.) (Internal Revenue Service)
Healthcare Reform To Be Largely Funded with Tax Increase on the Rich
Individuals making more than $500,000 per year and couples making more than $1,000,000 per year would pay an additional income tax of 5.4%. (Washington Post; free registration required)
[Opinion] Small Business Is Biggest Loser in Healthcare 'Reform'
Excerpt: "[S]mall businesses would have to pay more for health insurance than they do now -- as well as comply with hefty new record-keeping requirements and audits by federal agents. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that businesses will be hit with tax penalties totaling $135 billion over six years for noncompliance with the mandate. These would surely fall disproportionately on small businesses." (Galen Institute)
House Bill Would Extend COBRA
Excerpt: "Legislation has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that would extend COBRA provisions for workers who are involuntarily terminated." (PLANSPONSOR)
Mandated Purchase of Health Insurance by Individuals Alarms Some
Excerpt: "A legal challenge to the healthcare mandate may be several years away. To challenge this requirement in court, a taxpayer would have to face a penalty, and the pending legislation does not phase in the penalties until after 2013." (Los Angeles Times)
Democrats' Latest Health Reform Proposal Incudes Subsidies for Small Employers
Excerpt: "Employers with 100 or fewer employees could buy health insurance coverage from a new Health Insurance Exchange in 2013, as part of proposed health reform legislation unveiled Thursday by U.S House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and other Democratic leaders. According to news reports and a Congressional summary of The Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), small businesses would be eligible for federal subsidies to help pay for workplace policies, while large firms would be required to cover their workers and most individuals would be required to carry insurance." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Letter to the Honorable Charles B. Rangel: Preliminary Analysis of the Affordable Health Care for America Act (PDF)
27 pages. Excerpt: "According to CBO and JCT's assessment, enacting H.R. 3962 would result in a net reduction in federal budget deficits of $104 billion over the 2010?2019 period (see Table 1). In the subsequent decade, the collective effect of its provisions would probably be slight reductions in federal budget deficits. Those estimates are all subject to substantial uncertainty." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)
Debate Rages Over Health-Risk Age Bands
Excerpt: "A significant disparity in health insurance costs between young and old tied to risk-based ratings has crippled the individual and small group markets with generally fewer than 50 lives. It also is one of the least discussed issues of health care reform. . . . Small businesses are keeping a watchful eye on proposed age bands in hopes that any final legislation will level the playing field on underwriting restrictions so that they can better manage insurance risks relative to large companies. Big business is able to self-insure hefty claims and more easily spread underwriting risks in fully insured plans." (Employee Benefit News; free registration required)
Latest Health Reform Bill Rankles Business Leaders
Excerpt: "Employers quickly disavowed a revised health care reform bill introduced by Democrats on Thursday, October 29, standing with the health insurance industry in opposition to a publicly run health insurance plan popularly known as the public option. The House bill contains far less stringent requirements for employers than an earlier version introduced this summer. Still, business lobbyists say the new version remains the most onerous of the health care reform bills introduced so far. It contains the public option plan, more stringent employer mandates, changes to ERISA, and business penalties that would go toward paying for reform." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Big U.S. Companies Balk at Health Care Public Option
Excerpt: "Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers. The Business Roundtable, comprised of chief executives at Verizon Communications . . ., JPMorgan . . ., General Electric . . ., Wal-Mart . . . and other companies that together employ more than 12 million people, said the federal government is inefficient and would underpay providers. That would result in providers boosting prices for private insurers and employers, the group said on Wednesday." (Reuters)
Business Groups Push Hard Against the Senate Health Reform Bill
Excerpt: "Lobbyists for employers thought they had staved off a public plan in the Senate after the Finance Committee opted not to include the idea in its version of the health legislation. They were caught by surprise when the public plan resurfaced and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said it would be in the bill brought to the Senate floor, albeit with an option for states not to participate." (The Wall Street Journal)
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