Maryland lawmakers have approved legislation that would require for-profit
employers with more than 10,000 employees to spend at least 8 percent of payroll on
healthcare benefits for employees or pay the difference into the state's health
program for the poor, the Washington Post reports.
A federal judge has ruled that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
lacks the authority to issue a rule that would allow employers to reduce or
eliminate retiree health benefits once retirees become eligible for Medicare
without violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Associated Press
reports.
Executives at General Motors, confronted with the automaker's worst financial outlook in a decade, want union members to accept the same cuts in healthcare benefits already endured by white-collar workers. Good luck, say analysts.
If current trends continue, most American workers will never receive health insurance from their employers in retirement, thanks to increasingly restrictive eligibility rules, according to a Washington, D.C.-based institute that has studied recent data.
Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the United States House of Representatives,
was the keynote speaker for the first day of the 2005 SHRM Employment Law and
Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. on Monday, March 14, 2005. Gingrich
advocated for healthcare reform that maximizes the use of technology, provides
incentives for people to be healthy, and revolutionizes the healthcare delivery
system.
Connecticut lawmakers were outraged Thursday to learn that a state program
meant to help poor families is footing the healthcare bills of workers for some
major companies, led by Wal-Mart.
The trend among employers to require mail-order fulfillment of drug prescriptions has led to a falling out between General Motors Corp. and Walgreen Co.
Michigan smokers can fume all they want, but there's no state law preventing employers from refusing to hire them or even firing them if they refuse to quit, according to experts.
For the third time, the parity rules under the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA)
have been extended. The rules, which require parity between benefits for mental
and physical health, were originally scheduled to sunset on or after September
30, 2001.
President Bush is touting his healthcare proposal that would use tax credits
for encouraging greater participation in health savings accounts, the Washington
Post reports.
