"Many employers carve out independent contractors from eligibility under health and welfare plans. However, a rehired retiree often fails to be a true independent contractor under IRS rules, leaving the employer potentially vulnerable to a claim that they were wrongfully excluded from coverage. In a medical plan, that type of claim can result in an employer having to retroactively pay for any medical claims that arose during the time that the individual should have been eligible under the terms of the Plan. And those claims that an employer's insurance company or stop-loss carrier will refuse to pay are left to the employer to pay."  MORE >>