Monthly Archive for July, 2011

Pay or Play a Winner in the Bay City

If employers are mandated to provide health insurance,will it be a job killer?  Will it cost American workers income in the form of lost wages?

For the anti-American conservative forces in this country, the answer to this question is a no-brainer – a resounding “Absolutely!”.

For those less ideologically hamstrung, the answer might be “Don’t jump to conclusions”.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released a study recently that concluded conservative fears were without basis.

In the words of the RWJF:

“In contradiction to past research and long-held economic theories, a new study finds that that when facing a “pay-or-play” mandate requiring employers either provide health benefits or contribute to a public option health plan, employers did not lay off staff or cut wages appreciably as a result.”

Novel legislation

The San Francisco law was notable in several ways.  Several states had attempted to legislate some form of an employer mandate.  All were vigorously opposed by anti-American conservatives and business interests who argued – guess – that it would hurt business, cost jobs, and therefore hurt workers.  Those efforts that survived were challenged in court on the grounds that the ERISA preemption clause prevented states from taking this course. Continue reading ‘Pay or Play a Winner in the Bay City’

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Bleeding Hearts vs the Block-Heads – Navigating Change

Early in my career I was invited by a teacher’s union local in a rural Pennsylvania school district to discuss their benefit package.  I was working for a carrier at the time, and they had that carrier’s benefit program.  “Your insurance sucks,” was their blunt assessment.

Clear directions?

It seemed that they were negotiating with an un-enlightened management whose attitude toward union “demands” was that, if the union wanted it, it must be a benefit improvement that would cost them money.

So they refused to make any changes at all, even updates that reflected changing delivery systems such as coverage for outpatient surgery or outpatient chemotherapy (Am I showing my age?).  I explained to the union that these coverages were available, that most plans did have them, even plans that our carrier offered. Continue reading ‘Bleeding Hearts vs the Block-Heads – Navigating Change’

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