Health Care Reform - Related Articles
Tax Aspects of 2010 Health Care Legislation
In March 2010, President Barack Obama signed both the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). These two acts have produced a myriad of changes applicable to the health care and insurance industries, but they also make many modifications to the tax world. These tax changes are scheduled to phase in through 2013.
Rethinking Disability Insurance
Peter Orszag is wise to worry that the current system for awarding federal disability benefits will help to make unemployment perpetual for millions of Americans. But I disagree that an additional layer of private disability insurance will solve the problem.
Health Care Mandates: Nothing New for Foreign Students
Today, U.S. District Court Judge Henry E. Hudson ruled that the "individual mandate" to purchase health insurance – the centerpiece of the new health care reform law – is unconstitutional. Judge Hudson is the first judge to make that determination – to date, rulings on two similar suits have gone the other way.
Employers and Health Reform: Do You Know What Your Current Obligations Are?
Although many changes that flow from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, “PPACA”), will not phase in for years, others took effect on September 23, 2010.
U.S. Health Care Reform: Should Foreign Entities Care?
As a result of the U.S. health reform laws, specifically the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, PPACA), many non-U.S. entities with offices here, such as foreign corporations, embassies and international organizations, are left to wonder if they soon will be required to provide health coverage to their U.S.-based employees.
When Coverage is Denied Under Health Reform, the Ground Rules for Appeals No Longer Apply
When health reform took effect on September 23, 2010, in the form of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Reconciliation Act (collectively PPACA), the ground rules changed immediately for the process of appealing claims denials by employer-run health plans.
No Time Like the Present for Health Reform: The Changes that Impact Employers are Starting Now
No Time Like the Present for Health Reform The Changes that Impact Employers are Starting Now
No Rest for the Weary Employer: The New Medicare Reporting Requirements
The year 2010 introduced employers to a new world of regulations relating to health care. Since, fortunately, many of them phase in over years, employers have some breathing room before they take effect.
Leveling the Playing Field - Goodbye to the Health Insurance Antitrust Exemption
In 1945, FDR died, the U.S. bombed Hiroshima, World War II ended, and Congress passed a law that exempted the insurance industry from federal antitrust laws. Much of the world has changed since then. But one thing that remains is the McCarran-Ferguson Act that created that antitrust exemption. Until now.
Metropolitan Life v. Glenn: An Appropriate Standard or ‘Gobbledygook’
This past June, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the latest of many decisions about conflicts of interest under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”).
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act: A New Challenge for Self-Funded Employers
President Bush signed into law the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (“GINA”), HR. 493, on 21, 2008. The act is designed to do what it says: prevent discrimination against employees and prospective employees on grounds of genetic information.
Mind the Gap in Self-Insured Health Plans
Onetime Democratic presidential contender John Edwards made a cause celebre of the Nataline Sarkisyan story, a 17-year-old leukemia patient who needed a liver transplant but was denied coverage for the operation by health insurer CIGNA Corp. CIGNA relented after a public protest, but Nataline died before the operation could take place.
Self-Funding of Health Plans: One More Thing That Should Keep Risk Managers Up At Night
Just in case risk managers don't have enough to handle on the property/casualty side of insurance, here's something new to think about: Do corporations that self-fund their health plans in order to save money on insurance premiums do their jobs correctly, and does anyone fully appreciate the exposure if they don't?
Was It Confusion or Just Good Politics? Sen. John Edwards and the Nataline Sarkisyan Story
This primary season, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards made a cause celebre of the Nataline Sarkisyan story: a 17-year-old leukemia patient who died while awaiting a liver transplant. Sen. Edwards announced at multiple press conferences — often accompanied by Nataline’s bereaved parents — that CIGNA Corp. had wrongfully denied coverage for the transplant surgery and relented after a public protest, but the reversal came too late for Nataline.
Don't Fall in the Gap! Beware of Run-Out Coverage Under Stop-Loss Policies
Each year, most large employers and an increasing number of mid-sized and even small employers choose to self-fund their employee health benefits plans rather than purchasing traditional health insurance. They do so because self-funding offers attractive cost-saving features, such as avoiding premiums, premium taxes and state mandatory benefits laws.
Self-administering, Insuring and Funding Benefit Plans
Offering life, health, and disability benefits to employees used to be simple. Employers would receive proposals and select from a number of insurance companies. Except for a few administrative details, the insurance companies would do the rest. Those days are gone.
Self-Administration of Insurance Policies Are You Qualified to Do It and, If You Err, Who Pays?
Just in case corporate law departments don’t have enough to think about, here’s one more thought for the new year—do corporations that self-administer their health, life and disability insurance plans do their jobs correctly, and does anyone fully appreciate the exposure if they don’t?
Seven 'Deadly Sins' To Avoid When Negotiating Self-Funded Benefits Plans
Every year, an increasing number of corporations decide to self-fund the medical benefits they provide to their employees. They are drawn to readily apparent advantages, such as up-front cost-savings, tax benefits and avoidance of state laws. Due to the specialized nature of this area, however, it can easily happen that neither human resources personnel nor corporate counsel fully understand the small print behind their self-funded benefits plans.
Self-Funding Your Insurance Plan: Sounds Great, But Danger Lurks Beneath
Offering health insurance for employees used to be simple. Corporations would receive proposals from a number of insurance companies. They would pick the best deal. Those days are over. Now, when a corporation decides to offer health insurance to its employees, it is presented with a bewildering array of alternatives. It can be difficult even to decide among them, as the comparison usually is not apples to apples.
Tips For Easing The Newest Insurance Nightmare: The Wrongful Denial of Disability Claims
As if the HMO and health insurance battles are not enough, a new kind of insurance issue now plagues physicians and other healthcare professionals. The issue is disability coverage. And, if you haven’t run into the problem yourself, you probably have a colleague who knows far too much about it.