| Recession Could Impact Workers' Health Care Decisions |
Recession Could Impact Workers' Health Care Decisions
By Stephen Miller, May 2008
A recession could have wide-ranging effects on how U.S. employees use their health care benefits, predicts Edward Kaplan, senior vice president and national health practice leader at The Segal Co., an HR consultancy.
Kaplan sees a labor market that even in a downturn remains challenging for employers, who generally don’t want to burden their workers with more health plan cost increases. “Employers want to hold on to their best talent, and they are ready to battle the major health plans over threatened rate increases,” he says.
Kaplan also foresees a number of potential, sometime countervailing outcomes that HR benefits managers should be prepared to encounter—and which highlight why communicating with employees now to address their concerns may be in order.
A Gamut of Tests, Just in Case …
For instance, the threat of layoffs or increases in cost-shifting could give employees an incentive to flock to medical providers sooner rather than later. “In past recessions, we saw some people use more medical services, drugs or dental work because they worried about losing their jobs and benefits,” Kaplan says. Fearful employees may also seek to have their existing illnesses defined as disabilities, which could then lead to an increase in long- and short-term disability claims.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Employees could seek to have existing illnesses
defined as disabilities.
-------------------------------------------------------------
“Health plans and employers should also be on guard for a possible rise in health care provider abuses," Kaplan warns. "When the economy contracts, providers may be ordering additional tests for patients or providing extra services in an effort to boost their revenue.”
Or Forsaking Care
Working against a surge in doctor visits, however, is that today's employees typically face higher co-pays and more co-insurance costs than in the past, and they may not feel they have the necessary income to pay for extra services or drugs.
But while it's desirable that employees not seek unnecessary or gratuitous medical services out of fear regarding loss of coverage, if they go too far the other way and forsake needed care in order to save out-of-pocket expenses, that, in turn, could lead to a rise in admissions for expensive, later-stage diseases, Kaplan points out.
Again, benefit managers may want to ensure that workers don't have unfounded fears regarding their job security and health care coverage. And if layoffs are in the cards, be frank about COBRA and its costs but also educate employees that seeking necessary care while being wise consumers of health services is the best course of action for their physical and financial well being. |
| The Second Annual BNHRA Health, Wellness and Safety Conference and Exposition |
We are excited to announce the The Second Annual BNHRA Health, Wellness and Safety Conference and Exposition to be held onThursday, May 15, 2008 from 8:00 - 5:30. The day is packed with a panel discussion, workshops and keynote lunch as well as exhibitors that will provide important solutions to the critical problems facing today's HR professionals.
This year's marquis event will be highlighted by some format changes including a Workplace Safety component both in our workshop tracks and Exposition in addition to our Health and Wellness focus from last year. We are looking forward to a fabulous event and hope you can attend this exciting conference and exposition.
A brief summary of the event schedule is below or click here for the full conference brochure.
Register before May 1st and receive special discounts:
(Member is considered any member of the following: BNHRA, Other SHRM Chapters, BNP, BNPA)
$50.00 = Member full day
$70.00 = Non-member full day (includes a 1 year BNHRA membership - a $50.00 value)
$35.00 = Member 1/2 day (am or pm)
$55.00 = Non-member 1/2 day (am or pm)
Register Now
Exhibitor Sponsorships - Only ten exhibitor booths are still available! Click here to participate.
Event Details
Thursday, May, 15, 2008
8:00 am - 5:30 pm
Buffalo Convention Center - Ballroom
8:00 - 9:00 Registration/Continental Breakfast/Exposition Opens
9:00 - 10:00 Breakfast Panel Discussion
Panelists - Independent Health, DiVal Safety, Lawley Benefits Group, US Department of Labor - OSHA
10:00 - 10:30 Exposition Open
10:30 - 11:30 Workshop A - "Issues That Impact Workforce Productivity and the Bottom Line"
-Dr. Catherine Ansuini and Johnathan Linder, Health Promotion Solutions
Workshop B - "Incorporating Safety into the Workplace"
-Dale Lesinski and Judy Trent, DiVal Safety
11:30 - 12:30 Exposition Open
12:30 - 2:00 Luncheon & Keynote Speaker - "Our National Healthcare Crisis"
-Richard Tarrant, Chairman and Founder of Marathon Health
2:00 - 3:00 Exposition Open
3:00 - 4:00 Workshop - "Using TPS Lean Six Sigma to Improve theHealth Wellness & Safety in your Company"
- Anwar El-Homsi, Transformation Partners Company
4:00 - 5:30 Exposition Open/ Networking Reception |
| BNHRA Salary and Benefits Survey |
You are invited to participate in the 2008 BNHRA Salary and Benefits Survey and receive the Basic Survey Results for FREE!
BNHRA has partnered with WageAccess® to provide you with current and accurate online salary and benefits survey results at an extremely competitive price.
Free Survey Results!
BNHRA participants who sign-up using promotion code NY3202 and submit survey data before April 30, 2008 will receive one month of FREE access to the WageAccess® Basic Survey Results (a $99 value).
This is a limited time offer, so don’t hesitate … sign-up today!
Once survey data has been submitted, participants may immediately view the free Basic Survey Results, which is comprised of data collected in previous quarters of the survey. Participants in the free survey promotion will not be obligated to purchase an annual subscription.
Annual Survey Subscription for only $349!
For only $349 per year (discounted from $499) participants who have submitted data to the survey are able to purchase an annual survey subscription.
The annual survey results are updated quarterly and provide a comprehensive set of descriptive statistics and trends for more than 900 benchmark positions. The survey includes an extensive variety of compensation analysis tools, quartile analysis, percentile ranking, an examination of pay practices, as well as the ability to query, select and filter survey results by geographic location (national, regional, state and local market areas), industry, annual revenue and/or number of employees.
Benefits Survey Results For Free!
The annual survey also includes free access to the Benefits Survey Results. Participants in the Benefits Survey can gain free access to an extensive variety of survey results and trends for health and welfare, retirement and fringe benefits.
Important … Please use the Special Promotion Code when signing up.
When signing up for the survey, use the special promotion code NY3202. Participants who do not use this special promotion code when signing up for the survey will not have access to the reduced annual survey pricing.
More Information
For more information please visit our web site at http://bnhra.org or contact us at (866) 926-9400 or customerservice@wageaccess.com.
Remember, this is your survey! Your participation makes this resource the value that it is. We hope we can count on you to support our efforts to provide the best salary-planning tool available.
ColinAdams, GPHR
President
Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association |
| Call for Nominations: Employee Benefits Power Brokers |
It has probably never been a tougher environment for employee benefit brokers and professionals. Healthcare is the obvious big issue with continuing double-digit cost increases, ever rising healthcare premiums and the specter of increased federal government intervention. But there are also formidable challenges in other areas of employee benefits, including disability, dental, life and retirement.
More and more, today's benefit brokers are playing an important role in helping employers navigate today's and tomorrow's challenges. Frequently, they're serving as key consultants, assisting their clients in solving vexing problems that involve the need to balance cost, coverage, competition and employee retention issues.
To recognize excellence in the benefit broker community, Human Resource Executive® and Risk & Insurance® will be publishing in June the first-ever All-Star Team of outstanding benefits brokers for each of the following areas: health insurance, disability insurance, dental insurance, life insurance and pensions/401(k)s.
If you know of individuals worthy of this recognition, we'd like to invite you to submit their nominations. A panel of judges will be reviewing the nominations and selecting winners based on a set of specific criteria.
To learn more and access the nomination form, click here.
http://www.hreonline.com/pdfs/2008EmployeeBenefitPowerBrokerForm.doc
The deadline for submissions is April 1, 2008. |
| New York: Employer Can’t Deny Benefits to Legally Married Same-Sex Spouse |
By Joanne Deschenaux
A community college violated New York’s employment discrimination law, which includes sexual orientation as a covered status, by denying health care benefits to the same-sex spouse of an employee, a state appellate court held Feb. 1. The couple had been validly married in Canada, and, the court ruled, the marriage was entitled to full recognition in New York in the absence of express legislation to the contrary.
Patricia Martinez, an employee of Monroe Community College (MCC), married Lisa Ann Golden in Ontario, Canada, in July 2004. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ontario since 2003. Martinez applied for spousal health care benefits for Golden, and, although MCC provides health benefits for opposite-sex spouses of employees, it denied Martinez's application on the grounds that New York does not recognize same-sex marriages.
Martinez brought suit in state court seeking a declaration that MCC's failure to recognize her marriage for the purpose of spousal benefits violated her rights under the equal protection clause of the New York State Constitution and Executive Law Section 296, as well as monetary damages. Executive Law Section 296 prohibits an employer from discriminating against an employee in compensation or in terms, conditions or privileges of employment based on, among other grounds, an employee's sexual orientation.
The trial court ruled in favor of MCC, declaring that the marriage was not entitled to recognition in New York and that, therefore, Golden was not entitled to spousal benefits.
The appellate court reversed, rejecting MCC's argument that the recognition of same-sex marriages violated New York's public policy. New York’s highest court, the court said, has indicated that the legislature may enact statutes recognizing same-sex marriages; therefore the recognition of such marriages does not violate public policy.
The court concluded that the college’s refusal to recognize Martinez’s valid marriage thus violated state law. ”Defendants’ contention that the discrimination to which plaintiff was subject is based not on her sexual orientation but on her marital status is circular in its reasoning,” the court said. “The sole reason for defendants’ rejection of the marital status of plaintiff is her sexual orientation, and defendants thus violated Executive Law §296.” The court declined to reach the constitutional question presented.
The college had previously begun providing spousal benefits to Martinez, but the court found that she might be entitled to money damages for the period during which her benefits were denied.
Martinez v. Monroe County, N.Y. App. Div., No. 1562 CA 06-02591 (Feb. 1, 2008).
Professional Pointer: Whether a marriage can be legally undertaken in a jurisdiction is a different question from whether a marriage should be given effect in that jurisdiction. Same-sex couples still may not marry in New York. However, if they choose to marry in a jurisdiction where same-sex unions are legally recognized, employers in New York may not deny them the benefits granted to opposite-sex married couples.
Joanne Deschenaux, J.D., is SHRM’s senior legal editor. |
New Year Rings In New HR Issues in Congress
Happy New Year, HR Professionals! While much of the country's attention has turned to the 2008 presidential election, there are still several HR issues awaiting action by the United States Congress. Here is a snapshot of a few of the proposals awaiting action:
Military Family Leave – In our last HR Issues Update, we informed you that a Federal job-protected leave benefit for military family members was poised to become law as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 (H.R. 1585). However, on December 28, President Bush vetoed the defense bill citing concerns with an unrelated provision of the measure. Thus, military family leave is now in "legislative purgatory" – awaiting reconsideration by Congress when it returns to work later this month.
Paid Leave – Beyond military family leave, there are several proposals pending in Congress to expand leave coverage. Most prominent among these may be the Healthy Families Act, which would provide a paid sick leave guarantee of seven days per year to all employees at companies with 15 or more workers.
Americans with Disabilities Act – The ADA Restoration Act would significantly expand the reach of the ADA by changing the law's definition of "disability" from "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual" to simply "a mental or physical impairment." In doing so, the bill would result in the ADA covering a greater portion of the workforce. The House Education and Labor Committee will hold a hearing on the legislation early this session, and the bill appears to be a priority for several legislators in 2008.
Genetic Non-Discrimination – Congress failed to complete action on a genetic non-discrimination bill before the end of 2007, so that issue moves onto this year's agenda. The House-passed Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA) would make it illegal for an employer to discriminate against individuals in employment- and benefits-related matters on the basis of their genetic makeup. The Senate and White House are likely to follow suit with the House and enact a new law this year.
Mental Health Parity – Congress also did not finalize the Senate-passed Mental Health Parity Act, which SHRM supports. This legislation would require health insurance plans to provide equal coverage of both mental health and medical services benefits.
Employment Verification – The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's employment verification system, known as E-Verify, expires in November of 2008. One of the most prominent proposals in Congress known as the "SAVE Act," would make E-Verify mandatory for U.S. employers within four years. Support is growing on Capitol Hill to enact some form of mandatory program for employers.
Count on other issues popping up throughout the year, so please stay tuned for opportunities to use HRVoice and make your views known to key legislators. |
| EEOC MOVES TO PROTECT RETIREE HEALTH BENEFITS |
Implementation of Final Rule Ensures Age Bias Law is No Barrier to Employer Insurance
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) today announced the publication of a final rule allowing employers that provide retiree health benefits to continue the longstanding practice of coordinating those benefits with Medicare (or comparable state health benefits) without violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). The regulation, which safeguards retiree health benefits, was published in today’s Federal Register and is available on the EEOC’s web site at www.eeoc.gov.
“Implementation of this rule is welcome news for America’s retirees, whether young or old,” said Commission Chair Naomi C. Earp. “By this action, the EEOC seeks to preserve and protect employer-provided retiree health benefits which are increasingly less available and less generous. Millions of retirees rely on their former employer to provide health benefits, and this rule will help employers continue to voluntarily provide and maintain these critically important benefits in accordance with the law.”
The EEOC proposed the rule in response to a controversial decision in 2000 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Erie County Retirees Association v. County of Erie. The court held that the ADEA requires that the health insurance benefits received by Medicare-eligible retirees be the same, or cost the employer the same, as the health insurance benefits received by younger retirees. After the Erie County decision, labor unions and employers alike informed the EEOC that complying with the decision would force companies to reduce or eliminate the retiree health benefits they currently provided – leaving millions of retirees aged 55 and over with less health insurance, or no health insurance at all.
EEOC Vice Chair Leslie E. Silverman said, “The Erie County decision would have made most existing retiree health plans unlawful. EEOC’s new rule will ensure that employers can continue to offer their retirees much needed health benefits.” Silverman had testified on the rule before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in 2004 and before a subcommittee of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce in 2005.
The Commission’s rule has the support of key members of Congress, as well as the employer and labor communities, including such major organizations as the Society for Human Resource Management, the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the American Benefits Council, and other influential groups.
Employers who provide retiree health benefits generally “coordinate” those benefits with Medicare by supplementing the government healthcare or by offering retirees a “bridge” benefit to cover health expenses after employees retire until they become Medicare-eligible. Until the 2000 interpretation, employers believed that the ADEA permitted them to coordinate any retiree health benefits they provided with Medicare without having to ensure that the benefits received by Medicare-eligible retirees were the same as those received by younger retirees.
To correct the problem, the new regulation provides an exemption for ADEA coverage for this common and longstanding employer practice. The Commission voted to approve this regulation on April 22, 2004, but the AARP sued the EEOC in early 2005 to prevent its publication. After several years of litigation, the EEOC emerged victorious as the Third Circuit Court of Appeals found that the rule was “a reasonable, necessary and proper exercise of [EEOC’s] authority.”
EEOC Legal Counsel Reed Russell said, “Our rule makes clear that it is lawful for employers to continue to provide retirees with the health benefits they currently receive. Contrary to what some interest groups have erroneously asserted, the rule will not require any cuts to retiree benefits.”
The EEOC enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination. Further information about the Commission is available on its web sit at www.eeoc.gov. |
| Health Care Cost Slowdown Seen Continuing in 2008 |
Health Care Cost Slowdown Seen Continuing in 2008
By Stephen Miller, September 2007
[From SHRM Online's Compensation & Benefits Focus Area]
Employers can expect single-digit cost trend increases for most types of health plans in 2008, although health plan cost trends will still significantly outpace inflation, according to the 2008 Segal Health Plan Cost Trend Survey.
The "cost trend" is the per-capita claims cost. The survey reports cost trend projections for 2008 based on data from managed-care organizations, health insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and third-party administrators.
Among the most notable findings from this year's survey:
• Projected cost trends for point-of-service (POS) medical plans (including prescription drugs) for actives and retirees under 65 over the past five years has declined from a high of 14.9 percent in 2003 to 10.5 percent for 2008.
• Prescription drug projected cost trend rates have declined by nearly 9 percentage points since their high of 19.5 percent in 2003. For 2008, they are projected to decelerate to levels similar to trends for medical coverage for the second consecutive year. (For a look at how cost trends for health and prescription plans have changed over time, view this chart.)
• Price inflation appears to be the biggest element of overall medical plan cost trends, accounting for about 60 percent of the overall projected preferred provider organization (PPO) cost trend in 2008.
The survey found some regional variation in medical cost trend projections, ranging from a low of 9.4 percent in the Midwest to a high of 11.7 percent in the West.
Keys to Success
According to Edward Kaplan, The Segal Co.’s national health practice leader, those health care plan sponsors that are having the most success at controlling cost increases are:
• Examining detailed claims data to determine what diseases, conditions, facilities and treatments are driving cost increases.
• Then, using integrated data mining to develop targeted intervention strategies to identify gaps in needed treatment for participants, poor quality health care delivery to participants, and ways they can improve the health and health care consumption of their participants and reduce health cost trends to manageable levels. |
|
