The Senate Republican Policy Committee has a paper on Federal Constraints on Healthy Behavior and Wellness Programs.
- Employers trying to do the right thing by setting up workplace programs to motivate healthy behavior and increase wellness currently have to navigate a maze of obstacles set up by the federal government.
- Federal laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), federal tax law, and possibly the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) make it more difficult for companies to implement the most effective programs.
Someone facing the loss of a job has options to prevent losing coverage along the way. Many workers will qualify for COBRA continuation coverage. Those laid off after September 1 may qualify for a subsidy equal to 65 percent of the costs for up to nine months. People have other options that are outlined in this article.
This is from Sarah Rubenstein, writing in the Wall Street Journal:
COBRA: The bill provides for subsidies for 65% of laid-off workers’ premiums for COBRA for up to nine months, at an estimated cost of $24.7 billion. Gone from the bill is a House proposal that would have lengthened the Cobra coverage for laid off workers who are 55 and older or had worked for their employer for 10 years or more. Under that proposal, those workers would have been able to stay on Cobra until they qualified for Medicare or got coverage through another employer’s plan.
Medicaid: Another casualty is the House’s proposal to allow unemployed workers to qualify for Medicaid regardless of their income or assets – an idea that Republicans had criticized. But the bill still has $87 billion in funding to help the states pay for their Medicaid programs.
Health care is toward the end of the document. The Kaiser Family Foundation also offers a summary of health provisions.
This is Robert Pear, writing in today's New York Times:
Altogether, the economic recovery bill would speed $127 billion over the next two and a half years to individuals and states for health care alone.
The specifics:
- $87 billion increasing spending on Medicaid
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$11 billion in Medicaid benefits for the unemployed
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$29 billion subsidized COBRA benefits, allowing people to remain in their previous employer's health plan.
And this doesn't count the extra cost of COBRA to employers – making future employment and, in particular, future employer-based health insurance more expensive.
Risk Averse People are Healthier. They are less likely to smoke, drink, be overweight or exceed the speed limit. They are more likely to use a seat belt. [link] Hat tip to Jason Shafrin.
Who Knew? The Anesthesiologist was Not in Network. The patient had to pony up $580 extra. [link]
One More Argument for Personal and Portable Health Insurance. Getting surgery before the bankruptcy/layoff didn't help. The employer still didn't pay the bill. COBRA didn't help either. [link]
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNMhPQoEbJE
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Health Care Policy and Reform Insights | NCPA
