Variations in self-insured medical plan premiums

[Guest LindaRosenzweig]

I have been asked whether it is lawful for a self-insured medical plan to charge different premiums to employees on the basis of their incomes: the higher the income, the higher their premiums. It seems to me that nothing prohibits this practice as it discriminates against the highly compensated employees. Any thoughts?

[Kirk Maldonado]

I've seen the amount of the deductible determined as a percentage of the employee's compensation.

[KIP KRAUS]

We did a split between exempt and non-exempt at one place I worked. The exempts paid a higher percentage than the non-exempts, but like Kirk says I've heard of the same arrangement and have always been a proponent of such a deductible arrangement based on income. However, such a plan can be hard to administer unless you put people on earnings brackets.