I put it off as long as I could, but I finally had to start doing some research on how the new health care reform bill, signed last month, will affect employers and employees. Many of the larger changes in the bill -- such as expanding Medicaid to cover more people, removing limits on coverage, creating health insurance exchanges where insurance can be purchased, and requiring people to either purchase insurance or pay a fine -- have been fairly well-publicized. There has been less coverage of how the law will affect employers and employees.
One set of changes determines the coverage and limits in health care plans. Although these changes will have to be made by the insurance companies themselves, employers will have to make sure the plan(s) they selec...
We've heard a lot in the past week about President Obama's proposed budget, unveiled in conjunction with his State of the Union speech last week. Topic number one seems to be how the budget plan would affect the national deficit. Apparently of quite a bit less interest, judging by the limited press it's received, is the proposal to extend the COBRA subsidy through 2010.
It's been reported that the budget proposal would make the subsidy available to those who are involuntarily terminated from March 1, 2010, through the end of the year. These folks would be eligible for up to 12 months of subsidized health care continuation (employees who are involuntarily terminated u...
Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) is, at times, viewed by some employers as a way to control costs. (For a primer on EPLI, check out my prior posts here and here.) Why? Because employers believe that these policies will cover all of their wrongful discharge claims and the insurer will not read its policy narrowly to exclude such claims.
But after a case by the Connecticut Supreme Court that will be officially released next Tuesday, employers should understand that EPLI policies have re...
