Business is Not Whispering

Big U.S. Companies Balk at Health Care Public Option

Excerpt: "Some of the nation's largest companies pushed back against U.S. Democrats' plans to deliver a government-run insurance option in a healthcare overhaul, decrying it as a step backward that would drive up costs for employers and their workers. The Business Roundtable, comprised of chief executives at Verizon Communications . . ., JPMorgan . . ., General Electric . . ., Wal-Mart . . . and other companies that together employ more than 12 million people, said the federal government is inefficient and would underpay providers. That would result in providers boosting prices for private insurers and employers, the group said on Wednesday." (Reuters)





Business Groups Push Hard Against the Senate Health Reform Bill

Excerpt: "Lobbyists for employers thought they had staved off a public plan in the Senate after the Finance Committee opted not to include the idea in its version of the health legislation. They were caught by surprise when the public plan resurfaced and Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said it would be in the bill brought to the Senate floor, albeit with an option for states not to participate." (The Wall Street Journal)



Constitutionality of Health Overhaul Questioned: Legal Scholars Divided Over Congress' Authority

Excerpt: "On top of all the other obstacles facing President Obama in his quest to pass health reform is this one: Does the U.S. Constitution allow the government to require uninsured Americans to buy medical insurance or impose a tax penalty if they refuse? Congress has never before required citizens to purchase any good or service, but that is what both House and Senate health bills would mandate." (The Washington Times)

Health Care Reform

Harry Reid thinks he knows whats best for you. He's back with the public option again.

Here is a great blog that offers insights into the real objective of the public option.

Now the democrats are starting to eat their own, witness Robert Reich here pointing out how obamacare shafts the middle class and ignores the current economic woes our nation faces that are the elephant in the living room.

Got Subrogation?

Got Subrogation? Where ERISA And Workers’ Compensation Claims Intersect - An Insider’s Guide by Roy Harmon whose blog is a must read for benefit professionals interested in legal matters http://bit.ly/43zOPL

NY State Extends Cobra to 36 Months & Dependent eligibility to age 29

The State of New York recently enacted two laws that will dramatically impact insured employee benefit plans, and the group health insurance industry as a whole, in the Empire State. The first law effectively extends the maximum length of federal COBRA and state-mandated continuation coverage to three years, while the second law allows certain children to continue coverage under their parents’ employer-based group health plans through age 29. Full text

“The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt, the mobs should be forced to work and not depend on government for subsistence.”


- Marcus Tullus Cicero (106-43 B.C.)

Competing to be The Biggest Loser;Got EAP?

Ever spend any time on itunes looking at random app's? I admit I do. I look at the free ones because I'm cheap. Anyhow I run across one called FML and its very popular. I click and look at it to find;

If you’ve never been the website FMyLife, it’s kind of like Twitter for losers who just can’t get a break… people post very short anecdotes about how F’d their lives are, always ending with the abbreviated mantra “FML”, and then the rest of the world votes on whether the person’s life is truly F’d or if they got what they deserved. Here are a few:

There is something sad about a culture that competes to demonstrate how terrible their life is, not too mention how shallow is the individual who lifts himself by tearing down another in the comments section of a website or blog? But we have all seen such individuals. The web has coarsened our national rhetoric. Just another reminder why you need to communicate the access to your EAP.

What's Wrong With This Photo Op?

I have to be home by 5:30 pm these days to take my son to football practice. Passing by the tv on ABC during the national news last night and I see the image of Senator Baucus at the podium. Alone. Charlie Gibson is wondering why the plan has no bi-partisan support from republicans since Baucus has met all the Presidents objectives. Gibson never notices the podium void of any Democratic supporters. Nor does he notice Harry Reid being quoted the bill wont work for Nevada due to the oppressive burden it places on States after the Medicaid Mandates remain long after the funding dries up which I wrote about last month.
Meanwhile, The President is slated for a full Ginsburg on the Sunday talk shows followed by Letterman on Monday for a full hour. Making dogfood is just not a pretty sight.