The last 30 years has been marked by a continuing shift from virtually no federal regulation of employer sponsored health insurance to extensive substantive and administrative requirements. These initially included the reporting, and disclosure and claims procedure requirements enacted in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). Through the years, additional federal requirements were added including portability and coverage guarantees, minimum maternity stays, mental health parity, required coverage of reconstructive surgery following a covered mastectomy, coverage of adoptees, and pediatric vaccine requirements. During the same period there was a large increase in state insurance law benefit mandates. Additional federal laws impacting the administration of health insurance plans included the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and requirement for medical support orders.
Predicting the Future of Retiree Health Care
Healthcare costs for active and retired populations now exceed 8% of payroll. In the 1990s, the Financial Accounting Standards (FAS) Board enacted its rule #106, formalizing the accounting for retiree medical costs and creating unfunded liabilities for employers. Before FAS 106, 66% of firms with more than 200 workers sponsored retiree health care. That figure in 2007 was 33%. So where is retiree health care headed next?
Huge Savings Through Ineligible Dependent Audits
Michael Watson says the reasons dependents remain on a company's eligibles databases vary from misunderstanding to carelessness to a sense of entitlement on the part of an employee. That's why he suggests a two-pronged approach to cleaning up the mess.
Healthcare Premiums Rise Much Quicker than Pay
Americans who get employer-based health insurance for their families saw their premiums increase 10 times faster than their income from 2001 to 2005, according to a analysis of government data by the State Health Access Data Assistance Center at the University of Minnesota.
Landmark Genetic Discrimination Bill Passed
Employers and health insurers would be prohibited from discriminating against individuals on the basis of their genetic information, under landmark legislation recently approved by Congress.
Company Continues to Foot the Bill for Rising Healthcare Premiums
Despite skyrocketing healthcare insurance costs, Pacific Service Credit Union (CU) continues to pay 100 percent of the medical, dental, and vision premiums for its full-time employees and their dependents, says Eleanor Leyva, vice president of human resources and administration.
