After months of behind-the-scene work, House and Senate Democratic leaders began to reveal an outline of their health care overhaul plans last week. The issue falls under three committees' jurisdictions in the Senate so they are working together to assemble a bill. The preliminary outlines include provisions such as:
Mandating that every health insurer that offers coverage in a state must accept every employer and every individual in the state regardless of illness or preexisting conditions;
Placing new requirements on the cost of plans, such as requiring insurers to supply reports on how premiums are spent;
Expanding Medicaid by 150%;
Creating a government-run "Affordable Access Plan" that will compete with private plans;
Providing a tax credit for small businesses that provide health care based on a complicated formula to determine the cost and impact; and
Mandates on individuals to purchase health insurance and on employers to provide coverage.
Additionally, new discussions on potentially taxing employer-provided heath insurance for some or all employees is also on the table for discussion as a way to pay for health care reform.
Hearings in the Senate will begin the week of June 22 and leaders hope to complete markups in the Senate Finance, Energy and Commerce and Health Education, Labor and Pensions Committees and marry the bills before the July 4th recess. This seems to be overly ambitious at this point, but that is their goal. Democratic leaders have yet to solicit feedback from the small business community, and NLBMDA and fellow members of the Small Business Health Care Coalition continue to oppose any employer mandate or plan that puts an overwhelming cost on small business owners. Original source.
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insurance. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
NLBMDA News - Health Care Reform
Senate Finance Committee to Take Up Health Care Reform This Month
With Congress resuming work this week, a lot of eyes will be on the Senate Finance Committee's efforts to pass a health care reform bill out of committee. While there are hundreds of issues, the three marquee issues are whether the government will offer a "public option" for obtaining heath care benefits, whether there will be mandates for individuals and/or employers to participate and some determination of the fate of the current exclusion from income of employees for the value of health care benefits received through their employers. Read more.
House Republicans Propose Alternative Health Care Reform
The House GOP Health Care Solutions Group, chaired by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) last week unveiled an alternative to the expected Democratic plan that will likely include a government-sponsored health plan and mandates on employers and/or individuals. The GOP alternative aims to increase access to health care and to reduce health care costs by removing wasteful and fraudulent activity in our nation's entitlement programs and changing rules that allow trial lawyers to get rich off of medical liability lawsuits. The plan proposes pooling opportunities and incentives for states to form regional partnerships in order to help small businesses provide health care to their employees.
With Congress resuming work this week, a lot of eyes will be on the Senate Finance Committee's efforts to pass a health care reform bill out of committee. While there are hundreds of issues, the three marquee issues are whether the government will offer a "public option" for obtaining heath care benefits, whether there will be mandates for individuals and/or employers to participate and some determination of the fate of the current exclusion from income of employees for the value of health care benefits received through their employers. Read more.
House Republicans Propose Alternative Health Care Reform
The House GOP Health Care Solutions Group, chaired by Rep. Roy Blunt (R-MO) last week unveiled an alternative to the expected Democratic plan that will likely include a government-sponsored health plan and mandates on employers and/or individuals. The GOP alternative aims to increase access to health care and to reduce health care costs by removing wasteful and fraudulent activity in our nation's entitlement programs and changing rules that allow trial lawyers to get rich off of medical liability lawsuits. The plan proposes pooling opportunities and incentives for states to form regional partnerships in order to help small businesses provide health care to their employees.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Coverage with Pennsylvania Lumbermens
Are you insured by Pennsylvania Lumbermens? If so, you’ll want to make sure you’ve notified PLM that you want to be part of CSA’s safety group. By being a part of that group, you become eligible for a dividend of up to 10% of your premium. There is no risk to you – either you earn a dividend, or you don’t, but in no case would you owe more premium or fees to PLM. The dividend is based on the ratio of losses in the group to premium paid by the group.
If you are not insured by PLM, you might want to consider asking them for a quote the next time your Property and Casualty insurance is up for review. They are CSA’s endorsed carrier, and we encourage members to take advantage of this dividend program. PLM is marketed through local independent agents. You can learn more about the dividend program here. To find an agent near you who can write PLM coverage, click here.
Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company
One Commerce Square
2005 Market Street, Suite 1200
Philadelphia, PA 19103-7008
Main: 800.752.1895
Fax: 215.625.9097
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Position Available: Crack Heads and Felons Please Apply
Jim Moody
CSA President
One of the many enjoyable aspects of my job is serving as the head of our self-insured worker’s compensation fund. But this week, my enthusiasm has been sapped by a settlement mediation for a claim that should never have happened.
Back when things were blowing and going, one of our member companies hired a fellow without really putting too much thought into it. No interview with senior leadership. No background check. Just needed a warm body to do manual labor, and that’s exactly what they got.
Unfortunately, the new employee had some baggage. He was a three-time convicted felon. He had been a crack user for four years. He had two previous back injuries resulting in worker’s comp settlements. He failed two grades in school and never went beyond 9th grade. By his own admission, he was illiterate. Not long after he was hired (surprise, surprise), he injured his back.
The amount we’ve paid for that claim is significant, as is the settlement, but the amount is not the important issue here. What’s important is that this claim was set in stone the moment this fellow was hired. The negligence wasn’t on his part for getting injured; it was on the dealer for hiring him in the first place. How useful could this fellow have been as an employee? Did the owner really get a full day’s work for a full day’s pay? How did he affect morale on the yard? What kind of danger did he pose to other workers or the facility itself?
Admittedly, this is an extreme example (though it is no exaggeration). But I really worry about how this industry is going to hire people when the good times return. Many of you (perhaps all of you!) have spent the past year or so paring down your payroll. It’s my impression that you used the opportunity to jettison those who were slackers, unsafe workers, and generally poor employees. You’ve also lost many good folks, but the bad ones are long gone. We might say most of you have a clean slate.
I’ve had some people tell me that there are masses waiting in the wings to come back into the building supply business. I wonder if that’s really the case. The longer we go without a housing recovery (and let’s be honest, while the economy is probably going to start recovering in 2009, we aren’t going to see appreciable increases in new home starts until 2010), the more our best experienced workers get assimilated into other sectors of the economy. I fear that all the good ones have jobs and only the bad ones are ready to come back when you have jobs for them.
As a leader in your business, now is the time to think about how you will hire when new positions are available again. Just as important as the hiring is the orientation, where you have the opportunity to educate the employee about his job and the industry, give him his first taste of corporate culture, and indoctrinate him on safety.
Most of us spend far too little time thinking about these things because we are too busy. Yet, few things are more important in setting us up for success or failure.
I recently attended a seminar with Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great” and “Built to Last.” I’ve written about him before and urge you to read his books. Next week, I’ll discuss some of the things I heard Collins say as it relates to hiring.
CSA President
One of the many enjoyable aspects of my job is serving as the head of our self-insured worker’s compensation fund. But this week, my enthusiasm has been sapped by a settlement mediation for a claim that should never have happened.
Back when things were blowing and going, one of our member companies hired a fellow without really putting too much thought into it. No interview with senior leadership. No background check. Just needed a warm body to do manual labor, and that’s exactly what they got.
Unfortunately, the new employee had some baggage. He was a three-time convicted felon. He had been a crack user for four years. He had two previous back injuries resulting in worker’s comp settlements. He failed two grades in school and never went beyond 9th grade. By his own admission, he was illiterate. Not long after he was hired (surprise, surprise), he injured his back.
The amount we’ve paid for that claim is significant, as is the settlement, but the amount is not the important issue here. What’s important is that this claim was set in stone the moment this fellow was hired. The negligence wasn’t on his part for getting injured; it was on the dealer for hiring him in the first place. How useful could this fellow have been as an employee? Did the owner really get a full day’s work for a full day’s pay? How did he affect morale on the yard? What kind of danger did he pose to other workers or the facility itself?
Admittedly, this is an extreme example (though it is no exaggeration). But I really worry about how this industry is going to hire people when the good times return. Many of you (perhaps all of you!) have spent the past year or so paring down your payroll. It’s my impression that you used the opportunity to jettison those who were slackers, unsafe workers, and generally poor employees. You’ve also lost many good folks, but the bad ones are long gone. We might say most of you have a clean slate.
I’ve had some people tell me that there are masses waiting in the wings to come back into the building supply business. I wonder if that’s really the case. The longer we go without a housing recovery (and let’s be honest, while the economy is probably going to start recovering in 2009, we aren’t going to see appreciable increases in new home starts until 2010), the more our best experienced workers get assimilated into other sectors of the economy. I fear that all the good ones have jobs and only the bad ones are ready to come back when you have jobs for them.
As a leader in your business, now is the time to think about how you will hire when new positions are available again. Just as important as the hiring is the orientation, where you have the opportunity to educate the employee about his job and the industry, give him his first taste of corporate culture, and indoctrinate him on safety.
Most of us spend far too little time thinking about these things because we are too busy. Yet, few things are more important in setting us up for success or failure.
I recently attended a seminar with Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great” and “Built to Last.” I’ve written about him before and urge you to read his books. Next week, I’ll discuss some of the things I heard Collins say as it relates to hiring.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Stay Up to Date on Regulations
Use these links to stay up to date on regulatory changes that affect your business.
Red Flags Rule
The Federal Trade Commission has developed rules intended to address identity theft. Financial institutions and creditors will be required to implement programs to detect, prevent and mitigate instances of identity theft. The programs must be in place by May 1, 2009 and must provide for the identification, detection and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities - known as "red flags" - that could indicate identity theft.
New Georgia Lien Laws
Busch & Reed Law provides a detailed explanation of the new Georgia Lien Laws that took effect on March 31, 2009. There is a new sample claim of lien form that you can customize for your own available. To obtain that via email, email lisagolden@gocsa.com .
COBRA
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months. (Read the full article)
Weatherization Grants
The Department of Energy recently announced it will invest nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts as part of the recent stimulus legislation (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The funds will be divided between the Weatherization Assistance Program, which will receive nearly $5 billion, and the State Energy Program, which will receive up to $3 billion. DOE says this will help families save hundreds of dollars every year on their energy bills, while creating approximately 87,000 jobs. To jump-start the job creation and weatherization work, DOE is releasing $780 million in the next few days, and will release more as the states demonstrate that they are using the funding effectively.
Red Flags Rule
The Federal Trade Commission has developed rules intended to address identity theft. Financial institutions and creditors will be required to implement programs to detect, prevent and mitigate instances of identity theft. The programs must be in place by May 1, 2009 and must provide for the identification, detection and response to patterns, practices, or specific activities - known as "red flags" - that could indicate identity theft.
New Georgia Lien Laws
Busch & Reed Law provides a detailed explanation of the new Georgia Lien Laws that took effect on March 31, 2009. There is a new sample claim of lien form that you can customize for your own available. To obtain that via email, email lisagolden@gocsa.com .
COBRA
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months. (Read the full article)
Weatherization Grants
The Department of Energy recently announced it will invest nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts as part of the recent stimulus legislation (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act). The funds will be divided between the Weatherization Assistance Program, which will receive nearly $5 billion, and the State Energy Program, which will receive up to $3 billion. DOE says this will help families save hundreds of dollars every year on their energy bills, while creating approximately 87,000 jobs. To jump-start the job creation and weatherization work, DOE is releasing $780 million in the next few days, and will release more as the states demonstrate that they are using the funding effectively.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
From NLBMDA: New COBRA Requirements Take Effect
From the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months.
It has a quirky delivery method for the subsidy. The employee would pay the employer the lowered 35 percent of premium. Employers would take a credit against their payroll taxes for the amount of the subsidy. No additional federal money changes hands (unless the total subsidies exceed the employer's payroll taxes) between the former employee, employer, and the government. There are also new notice requirements that must be given to eligible employees who qualify under the new provisions. The Department of Labor has established a website with employer guidance, FAQs and sample notices.
The recent stimulus legislation contained some important changes to COBRA health care coverage originally passed in 1986. COBRA provides certain former employees, retirees, spouses, former spouses, and dependent children the right to temporary continuation of health coverage at group rates by paying their employer the premium plus some administrative costs. Group health plans for employers with 20 or more employees on more than 50 percent of its typical business days in the previous calendar year are subject to COBRA, although some states have COBRA-like requirements too with different thresholds. The new law includes an enhancement - a temporary 65 percent subsidy for COBRA premium payments for nine months.
It has a quirky delivery method for the subsidy. The employee would pay the employer the lowered 35 percent of premium. Employers would take a credit against their payroll taxes for the amount of the subsidy. No additional federal money changes hands (unless the total subsidies exceed the employer's payroll taxes) between the former employee, employer, and the government. There are also new notice requirements that must be given to eligible employees who qualify under the new provisions. The Department of Labor has established a website with employer guidance, FAQs and sample notices.
NLBMDA News - Legislative Affairs
From the National Lumber and Building Materials Dealer Association
Legislative Affairs
Recess Is Over
Members of Congress return to Washington today with a daunting agenda planned between now and the summer breaks. Both the House and the Senate passed FY2010 budget resolutions before the break, which must now be reconciled into a final version. NLBMDA is hopeful that the final resolution will contain the Senate-passed allowance for the estate tax ($5 million exemption and 35 percent rate) but such relief would still have to overcome a likely Senate filibuster with at least 60 votes in support. Both Chambers will be taking up climate legislation with a goal of final passage by the August recess. Card check proponents were active over the spring break but still face a challenge in reaching the 60 votes they need to move forward. NLBMDA and the business community must remain vigilant in informing legislators of the dangers of this legislation, or any so-called compromises, that effectively strip workers of their right to a secret ballot election to determine union representation.
TAKE ACTION: Tell your Representative and Senators to reject card check legislation that would further jeopardize jobs and our economic recovery. Visit Build the Vote and follow the prompts to quickly send an e-mail message today.
Bill Targeting Chinese Drywall Introduced
Senators Ben Nelson (D-FL) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have taken further steps to address the Chinese drywall investigations currently underway in Florida and other states. Together with Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), they have introduced the "Drywall Safety Act" (S. 793/H.R. 1977) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to study drywall imported from China in 2004 through 2007 and call for a ban on the import of Chinese drywall and "related materials." Dealers with questions or concerns should contact Colleen Levine at colleen@dealer.org.
Softwood Lumber Tariffs Increased
In response to an arbitration panel's finding that Canada failed to correctly adjust quotas from four provinces in the first half of 2007, as required under the Softwood Lumber Agreement, the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office last week announced an additional 10 percent tariff would be imposed on softwood lumber exports from Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. USTR is accepting comments on the appropriateness of this action; comments are due May 11. Please contact Colleen Levine at colleen@dealer.org if you have any feedback NLBMDA should consider in drafting comments.
Senate Committee Drafting Health Care Bill
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) and Health, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Ted Kennedy (D-MA) recently outlined their plans for advancing major health care overhaul legislation this spring. The two committees are currently working to draft separate bills which will later be combined before a Senate floor vote. Committee markups of the draft bills are targeted for early summer.
Legislative Affairs
Recess Is Over
Members of Congress return to Washington today with a daunting agenda planned between now and the summer breaks. Both the House and the Senate passed FY2010 budget resolutions before the break, which must now be reconciled into a final version. NLBMDA is hopeful that the final resolution will contain the Senate-passed allowance for the estate tax ($5 million exemption and 35 percent rate) but such relief would still have to overcome a likely Senate filibuster with at least 60 votes in support. Both Chambers will be taking up climate legislation with a goal of final passage by the August recess. Card check proponents were active over the spring break but still face a challenge in reaching the 60 votes they need to move forward. NLBMDA and the business community must remain vigilant in informing legislators of the dangers of this legislation, or any so-called compromises, that effectively strip workers of their right to a secret ballot election to determine union representation.
TAKE ACTION: Tell your Representative and Senators to reject card check legislation that would further jeopardize jobs and our economic recovery. Visit Build the Vote and follow the prompts to quickly send an e-mail message today.
Bill Targeting Chinese Drywall Introduced
Senators Ben Nelson (D-FL) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) have taken further steps to address the Chinese drywall investigations currently underway in Florida and other states. Together with Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), they have introduced the "Drywall Safety Act" (S. 793/H.R. 1977) to require the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to study drywall imported from China in 2004 through 2007 and call for a ban on the import of Chinese drywall and "related materials." Dealers with questions or concerns should contact Colleen Levine at colleen@dealer.org.
Softwood Lumber Tariffs Increased
In response to an arbitration panel's finding that Canada failed to correctly adjust quotas from four provinces in the first half of 2007, as required under the Softwood Lumber Agreement, the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office last week announced an additional 10 percent tariff would be imposed on softwood lumber exports from Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. USTR is accepting comments on the appropriateness of this action; comments are due May 11. Please contact Colleen Levine at colleen@dealer.org if you have any feedback NLBMDA should consider in drafting comments.
Senate Committee Drafting Health Care Bill
Senate Finance Committee Chair Max Baucus (D-MT) and Health, Labor and Pensions Committee Chair Ted Kennedy (D-MA) recently outlined their plans for advancing major health care overhaul legislation this spring. The two committees are currently working to draft separate bills which will later be combined before a Senate floor vote. Committee markups of the draft bills are targeted for early summer.
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