Health Care: A Right or a Privilege?

by prophecor 401 Replies latest members politics

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  LDH

  Basically we have the best of both worlds. The only downside is that it's more lucrative and so our National service is leaking staff.

  To a private health plan which is more lucrative?!?!?

  Little Toe, your eyes look just fine.
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  LDH

  
  Hello kids,

  Was reading my latest issue of Employee Benefit News and I found this article which I beleive is of great interest to this discussion.

  About 900,000 employees were eligible for a NEW HEALTH PLAN that was subsidized for PART -TIMERS by 60 companies last fall. Only 5700 enrolled. Here is the article, please read and comment.

  http://www.benefitnews.com/subscriber/Article.cfm?id=37882338&terms=|coverage|

  VOLUME 20, NUMBER 5 Saturday, April 15, 2006

  Coverage for part-timers creates few ripples By: Leah Carlson Shepherd An experiment by employers to give part-time and temporary workers access to health insurance has attracted less than sterling participation in its first year. National Health Access was conceived as a new way to bring coverage to uncovered groups without adding to benefit costs for businesses. The HR Policy Association in Washington, D.C., helped to organize the effort amid widespread concerns that health care is becoming unaffordable for workers, employers and governments. About 900,000 employees were eligible for the plan, but only 5,700 signed up during the first enrollment period from September 2005 to December 2005. Counting those workers' spouses and dependents, the program now covers 8,500 lives. Those initial enrollment figures were not as high as organizers hoped. HR Policy Association spokeswoman Marisa Milton speculates that a key reason was that employees could obtain coverage through a spouse or partner. Other reasons could be the limited scope of benefits or the premium costs. The HR Policy Association plans to look more closely at the situation. "We would like for more people to enroll, definitely," she comments. "It's always a challenge in finding something that is affordable." Paul Ginsburg, president of the Center for Studying Health System Change in Washington, D.C., also thinks that having coverage through a spouse's plan probably accounts for some of the lack of interest from workers. "I can't tell how much of it was because it was a limited medical plan or how much was because it wasn't subsidized," he says. Surprisingly, the take-up rate was especially high among men between ages 45 and 55, Milton notes. "We don't know why" that happened, she says. "It could be a lot of reasons." Plan details Almost 60 companies submitted seed money to start National Health Access. However, just 10 companies, including Avon Products, IBM, Sears, General Electric, EMC and Federal-Mogul participated in the first enrollment wave last year. A second enrollment wave is expected to occur this summer. By collaborating, the employers aim to use their pooled purchasing power to get insurance rates and terms that are more favorable than what workers could obtain individually. Workers who are not eligible for their company's subsidized health plan can enroll in the National Health Access plan. This group includes independent contractors, part-time, temporary and seasonal employees, plus their spouses and dependents. The premiums range from $7 per month for discounts on certain medical services to $109 per month for beefier coverage. Employees pay the full premium with no subsidy from the employers. The coverage parameters depend on location, carrier and premium level. Generally, preventive care, annual check-ups and a certain number of prescriptions are covered. Vision and dental care also are covered in some cases. Major surgeries, extensive hospital stays and preexisting conditions are not covered in some cases. UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Corp. and Humana supply the insurance. Maria Peninger, regional vice president of sales for Avon, states, "We are delighted to be able to offer our representatives access to health care coverage and provide yet another way to ensure their health and well-being." Benefit declines As employers cut benefits and restrict eligibility, it's getting harder for employees to obtain health insurance, especially if they work part-time or at a small business. Just 42% of employers offered health coverage to their part-time workers last year, according to the Society for Human Resource Management. Roughly 46 million Americans are uninsured, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. Jeff McGuiness, president of the HR Policy Association, comments, "Broad market reforms are necessary to reduce spiraling health costs and to ultimately begin offering millions of uninsured workers with access to health care benefits that they need and can afford." J. Randall MacDonald, senior vice president of HR for IBM, says, "The harsh reality is that millions of people are without health insurance. Because our health care system is primarily employment-based, it makes sense for large employers to take collective action to try to come up with innovative, collaborative solutions to this pressing problem." Ginsburg agrees: "In theory, the notion of employers going out and negotiating for a product for employees that aren't eligible for the main benefit plan is probably a good idea. The moral of the story is, if you want your employees to be able to have health insurance, you need to be willing to pay for a lot of it." - L.C.S.

  I have some comments but will reserve until someone else reads too?!?!?

  Lisa