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One of the employment benefits that employees value most is health insurance, but it's a highly regulated undertaking for employers. Changes to some health insurance laws were made in February 2009 as part of the stimulus package passed by Congress, and even more changes to health care benefits are expected in the near future.

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Potential changes to health insurance and how it might affect employers
President Barack Obama has stressed the necessity of health care reform in 2009, and Congress has been working on health care reform legislation for the last several months. The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), legislation that combines three different health care reform bills approved by House committees this summer. The massive legislation would create an insurance exchange that offers insurance through private companies as well as through a government-run public option. The bill would have a tremendous effect on employers through several immediate reforms, most of which would be effective for plan years beginning January 1, 2010, and through many other provisions that would generally become effective in 2013.

The U.S. Senate is also working on its own version of health care reform legislation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) is still trying to consolidate two Senate health care reform bills before he takes a final bill to the Senate floor for debate. If the Senate passes its own health care reform bill, it would have to be reconciled with the House bill.

Keep up with the latest changes in laws regarding employee benefits with the Benefits and Compensation Law Alert and the Benefits and Compensation Law for Non-Profits.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed a stimulus bill called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), into law. ARRA contains several provisions relating to health care benefits including:

  • COBRA subsidy. Under the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), an individual may usually keep health coverage through a previous employer’s health plan for up to 18 months by paying 102% of the cost of coverage. Under the ARRA, the federal government pays 65% of COBRA premiums for up to nine months for employees who were involuntarily terminated between September 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009. Members of Congress in both the House and the Senate have recently introduced legislation that would extend the original COBRA subsidy created by ARRA.
  • HIPAA changes. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was originally passed in part to address another area of employee concern about health benefits -- whether they could obtain coverage for health conditions they or their families had before they obtained benefits under a new health plan. The ARRA expands HIPAA’s privacy and security regulations, and under the stimulus package, business associates of covered entities will be directly subject to HIPAA. The stimulus plan also extensively changes HIPAA on other issues, including security breaches and related notification requirements, the rights of individuals regarding their protected health information, and increased enforcement and penalties for violations.

Other federal laws regarding health insurance offered by employers
The following is an overview of a few of the other major laws affecting health insurance plans offered by employers.

Audit your health benefits policies and practices with the Employment Practices Self-Audit Workbook

Same-sex marriages, civil unions, and domestic partner benefits

This area of the law is rapidly evolving in our nation’s courts and legislatures. Laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, including domestic partner benefits, appears to be a very hot issue in a number of states. Some states (and even some cities) have legalized same-sex marriages and/or civil unions, while others have amended their constitutions to forbid them. Some organizations, moreover, have chosen to offer benefits to their employees’ same-sex partners, and others cover both same-sex and opposite-sex but unmarried unions.

Audio Conference: Same-Sex Marriages: Overcoming Policy, Benefit and Payroll Challenges

State laws on employee benefits
States have continued to weigh in on employment and benefits issues. There’s been a steady trend for states to require employers or insurance companies to cover certain medical conditions, with coverage mandates increasing over the years. States also have a history of regulating workers’ compensation insurance, a parallel health insurance system for work-related injuries and illnesses.

State-by-state comparison of 50 employment laws in all 50 states

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