House Passes Affordable Health Care For America, Health Care Reform Debate Focus Now Moves To The Senate

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the massive health care reform bill H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (HR 3962) late Saturday, November 7, 2009 after adopting an amendment prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortion services in the public option. The health care reform debate now moves to the Senate.

SHRM Tells Members Say “NO!” To Pelosi-Backed Health Care Reform

In a rare weekend meeting, the House of Representatives is scheduled to  consider H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act and, if Speaker Nancy Pelosi has her way, vote to pass it as early as this weekend. 

In anticipation of this action, the Society For Human Resources (SHRM) is voicing strong opposition to H.R. 3962 and  urging U.S. citizens and businesses to express their strong opposition to it as well to members of Congress immediately.

According to communications circulated this week, SHRM ”strongly supports comprehensive health care reform that strengthens the employer-based system, promotes wellness programs and health promotion initiatives, strengthens the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), increases purchaser and consumer access to cost and quality information and increases access to affordable health coverage.  SHRM says the House bill fails to achieve these goals.  Accordingly, SHRM is urging American’s to contact their Representative today to urge a NO VOTE on H.R. 3962.

 SHRM’s concerns about the proposal include that H.R. 3962:

• Does not include provisions to facilitate greater availability of wellness programs among employers and employees. 
• Does not include meaningful cost, quality, or transparency provisions to ensure that both employers and employees have better access to health-related information.
• Requires employers to provide and pay for “qualified” health care coverage or face an 8 percent payroll tax.  Employers must pay 72.5 percent of the premium for individuals and 65 percent of the premium for families.  In addition, even if an employer provides and pays for health insurance coverage for their workforce, that employer could still be subject to an 8 percent payroll tax if employees decline employer coverage because it is unaffordable – defined as more than 12 percent of the employee’s income.
• Would erode the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by applying state law remedies to employer purchased coverage  in a health insurance exchange; prohibiting post-retirement reductions of retiree health benefits by group health plans, unless reductions are also made to active employees’ health benefits; and requiring employer-sponsored plans to meet detailed federal requirements that will increase costs.
• Includes a public insurance plan option that raises serious concerns about cost-shifting to private plans. SHRM objects because inadequate reimbursement practices under Medicare and Medicaid has resulted in significant cost-shifting to private plans, increasing costs for both employers and employees. 

In light of these concerns, SHRM is asking all members and other concerned Americans to write mMembers of Congress TODAY and urge them to oppose the Affordable Health Care for America Act. It invites members to use SHRM’s HRVoice to share thes econcernings by:

• Log ging onto HR Voice
• Under the heading “Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues,” click on:   “VOTE NO on the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962)” and
• Personalizing and sending individualized letters by including specific information about the organization you work for, your experiences in the workplace, and why this legislation would negatively impact your organization. 

If you have questions about or need assistance monitoring, evaluating, commenting on or responding to this or any other health care reform proposal or other federal or state health care, workforce or other legislative, regulatory or other developments or concerns, please contact the author of this article, Curran Tomko Tarski LLP Labor & Employment Practice Group Chair Cynthia Marcotte Stamer.  Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and Chair of the American Bar Association RPTE Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Group, Ms. Stamer is experienced with assisting employers and others about compliance with federal and state health care, employee benefit, workforce and other legislation and regulation. Ms. Stamer has advised and represented clients about these and other health care labor and employment, compensation, employee benefit and other personnel and staffing matters for more than 20 years. Ms. Stamer also speaks and writes extensively on these and other related matters. Her public policy experience includes ongoing involvement in these concerns within the U.S. for 30 years, as well as serving as a policy advisor on Social Security Reform to the Government of Bolivia and providing input or other representation to various other clients on workforce, health care and other policies in various other regions of the world. 

For additional information about Ms. Stamer and her experience or to access other publications by Ms. Stamer see here or contact Ms. Stamer directly.   For additional information about the experience and services of Ms. Stamer and other members of the Curran Tomko Tarksi LLP team, see here.

SHRM Urges American’s To Oppose HR 3962, The Affordable Health Care For America Act

In a rare weekend meeting, the House of Representatives is scheduled to  consider H.R. 3962, the Affordable Health Care for America Act and, if Speaker Nancy Pelosi has her way, vote to pass it as early as this weekend. 

In anticipation of this action, the Society For Human Resources (SHRM) is voicing strong opposition to H.R. 3962 and  urging U.S. citizens and businesses to express their strong opposition to it as well to members of Congress immediately.

According to communications circulated this week, SHRM ”strongly supports comprehensive health care reform that strengthens the employer-based system, promotes wellness programs and health promotion initiatives, strengthens the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), increases purchaser and consumer access to cost and quality information and increases access to affordable health coverage.  SHRM says the House bill fails to achieve these goals.  Accordingly, SHRM is urging American’s to contact their Representative today to urge a NO VOTE on H.R. 3962.

 SHRM’s concerns about the proposal include that H.R. 3962:

• Does not include provisions to facilitate greater availability of wellness programs among employers and employees. 
• Does not include meaningful cost, quality, or transparency provisions to ensure that both employers and employees have better access to health-related information.
• Requires employers to provide and pay for “qualified” health care coverage or face an 8 percent payroll tax.  Employers must pay 72.5 percent of the premium for individuals and 65 percent of the premium for families.  In addition, even if an employer provides and pays for health insurance coverage for their workforce, that employer could still be subject to an 8 percent payroll tax if employees decline employer coverage because it is unaffordable – defined as more than 12 percent of the employee’s income.
• Would erode the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) by applying state law remedies to employer purchased coverage  in a health insurance exchange; prohibiting post-retirement reductions of retiree health benefits by group health plans, unless reductions are also made to active employees’ health benefits; and requiring employer-sponsored plans to meet detailed federal requirements that will increase costs.
• Includes a public insurance plan option that raises serious concerns about cost-shifting to private plans. SHRM objects because inadequate reimbursement practices under Medicare and Medicaid has resulted in significant cost-shifting to private plans, increasing costs for both employers and employees. 

In light of these concerns, SHRM is asking all members and other concerned Americans to write mMembers of Congress TODAY and urge them to oppose the Affordable Health Care for America Act. It invites members to use SHRM’s HRVoice to share thes econcernings by:

• Log ging onto HR Voice
• Under the heading “Take Immediate Action on these Hot Issues,” click on:   “VOTE NO on the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962)” and
• Personalizing and sending individualized letters by including specific information about the organization you work for, your experiences in the workplace, and why this legislation would negatively impact your organization. 

If you have questions about or need assistance monitoring, evaluating, commenting on or responding to this or any other health care reform proposal or other federal or state health care, workforce or other legislative, regulatory or other developments or concerns, please contact the author of this article, Curran Tomko Tarski LLP Labor & Employment Practice Group Chair Cynthia Marcotte Stamer.  Board Certified in Labor & Employment Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and Chair of the American Bar Association RPTE Employee Benefits & Other Compensation Group, Ms. Stamer is experienced with assisting employers and others about compliance with federal and state health care, employee benefit, workforce and other legislation and regulation. Ms. Stamer has advised and represented clients about these and other health care labor and employment, compensation, employee benefit and other personnel and staffing matters for more than 20 years. Ms. Stamer also speaks and writes extensively on these and other related matters. Her public policy experience includes ongoing involvement in these concerns within the U.S. for 30 years, as well as serving as a policy advisor on Social Security Reform to the Government of Bolivia and providing input or other representation to various other clients on workforce, health care and other policies in various other regions of the world. 

For additional information about Ms. Stamer and her experience or to access other publications by Ms. Stamer see here or contact Ms. Stamer directly.   For additional information about the experience and services of Ms. Stamer and other members of the Curran Tomko Tarksi LLP team, see here.

US and UK Agree to Share Information & Cooperate On Pension Security As US Defined Benefit Plan Sponsors Face Tough New Defined Benefit Plan Funding Requirements

The U.S. and United Kingdom recently have reached an information sharing agreement intended to help the agencies in both countries protect retirement benefits earned by workers and retirees on both sides of the Atlantic. Meanwhile, businesses that sponsoring defined benefit pension plans now are required to comply with newly released final Internal Revenue Service regulations that increase minimum contributions required by many sponsors, and impose other new mandates designed to accelerate plan funding and otherwise promote greater security of these benefit programs in an economically challenged business environment.

Congress Considering Extending & Expanding Group Health Plan COBRA Subsidy Mandates On Heels of Enactment of Expanded Military Leave-Related Family Leave Mandates

Following up on its October expansion of federal requirements that employers and their group health plans provide family leave rights in relation to certain military related absences, Congress is considering legislation that would extend and expand the “COBRA Premium Subsidy” rules for group health plans enacted by Congress on February 17, 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) beyond their currently scheduled December 31, 2009 expiration date and further to restrict the amount that group health plans can charge former employees and their dependents covered by the COBRA Premium Subsidy rules to maintain coverage under the coverage continuation mandates of the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985, as amended (“COBRA”).

November 15, 2009 Is Deadline To Send Required Group Health Plan Medicare Part D “Creditable Coverage” Notice

November 15, 2009 is the deadline for group health plans providing prescription drug coverage to send the annually-required notification (the “Part D Notice”) to Medicare-eligible participants whether the plan’s prescription drug coverage is or is not “creditable coverage” (“Creditable Coverage”) for purposes of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (the “MMA”) “Part D” prescription drug coverage program. Before distributing the required Part D Notice, group health plan sponsors and administrators should review and update the Part D Notice as needed in light of 2009 revisions to the Part D Notice requirements issued earlier this year by CMS.

IRS Updates Procedures Qualifying Small Employers Can Use To Qualify To Report Employment Taxes Annually Rather Than Quarterly

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) today published updated procedures governing when certain employers may elect to report social security, Medicare and withheld federal income taxes (employment taxes) annually by filing IRS Form 944, rather than reporting those amounts quarterly for tax years beginning after December 31, 2009.

Senate Finance Bill Finishes Drafting & Releases For Review the America’s Healthy Future Act Bill Language

The Senate Finance Committee leadership finally finished drafting has posted the 1506 page long text of the proposed statutory language of the health care reform provisions of the “America’s Healthy Future Act” on its website here.

OSHA Proposes To Change Hazard Communication Standard

December 29, 2009 is the deadline to submit comments to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on a proposal to modify its existing Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) published in the Federal Register today (September 30, 2009).

HIT Standards Committee Meets October 14

The next meeting of the HIT Standards Committee of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will be held on October 14, 2009, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m./Eastern Time at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert Street, NW., Washington, DC. The hotel telephone number is 202-234-0700. Interested members of the public are invited to attend. Reforms key to health care reform through technology deployment.