Yay or Nay: Is the employer-sponsored system worth saving?

Although President Obama has called the employer-based health care system "an accident of history that works," a recent New York Times opinion piece by Princeton economics professor Uwe Reinhardt says the system makes employers "pickpockets, so to speak, who take a chunk of the employee’s total compensation and buy with it whatever fringe benefits they 'give' their employees."



While I'm sure you don't wholly agree or disagree with either the president or Reinhardt, what are your thoughts? Should the employer-based system stand, or do you think it needs dismantling?

Overheard @: President addresses health care at first-ever 'web-hall' meeting

Earlier this afternoon, I posted live Twitter updates on President Obama's first -ever online web-hall meeting. Taking a variety of questions from Internet viewers and a live White House audience, the president addressed several queries on health care.

One online questioner asked: Why can't we have a universal system based on patients' need, not finances?

Calling the employer-based system "an accident of history that works," Obama confirmed that employer-based health benefits should continue to be the foundation of the nation's system of care, but that we need to "fill gaps" in access and focus on prevention. Further, addressing critics who said his current budget proposals will swell the country's deficit, the president responded that one of keys to reducing the deficit is addressing problems in accessing and purchasing health care.

An audience member asked the president about how to amend insurance rules so that individuals with preexisting conditions still can obtain care and coverage affordably.

Referencing his mother's difficult struggle with ovarian cancer that was made even harder by "fighting on the phone with insurance companies," Obama emphasized that any reform of the health care system has to address pre-existing conditions in that insurers must be obligated to provide coverage.


Lastly in a humorous moment, the president addressed the question that won the most online votes: Is legalizing marijuana a sound strategy to aid economy? Joking about the interests/focus of the voting audience, Obama confirmed no, legalized marijuana is not an economic recovery tool. ;)

I thought the web-hall was a great way to include "regular people" in government. If President Obama hosts another web-hall meeting, what question would you most want him to answer? Comment and let me know.

Meanwhile, see EBN coverage of health experts' wish list of topics for Obama to address, and join our live discussion of all benefits topics on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ebneditor.

News You Can Use: Obama open to taxing health benefits

When President Obama told attendees at this month's White House forum on health care reform that there were "no sacred cows," and "all options are on the table," few suspected he meant taxing health care benefits, as he campaigned hard last year against Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for proposing just that.

However, at a recent Congressional hearing, when Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) raised the issue with presidential budget director Peter Orszag, Orszag said making benefits taxable should “most firmly should remain on the table.” Wyden has crafted a health care reform proposal of his own that would tax benefits.

Although details still have yet to be ironed out, it's believed that employer contributions for health benefits would not be taxed, but that the cost of providing benefits would be factored in to total compensation and subject to taxes.

What do you think of this proposal? It no doubt will be politically unpopular, but could it finance a larger reform effort that is sorely needed? Comment and let me know.

Overheard @: Obama on health care: 'Let's get to work'

Calling today's White House forum on health care reform the "hottest ticket in town," President Barack Obama in his opening remarks made an ambitious promise to reform the nation's health care system by the end of the year.

Referencing the $634 billion his budget sets aside for the reform initiative, Obama said "every option is on the table. There are no sacred cows. The only option off the table is the status quo."

Although the president mentioned few specifics, he said modernizing health records and lowering the overall cost of care as main priorities.

Yay or Nay: Is Sebelius a good pick to lead HHS?

President Barack Obama yesterday announced his selection of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius (D) to lead the Health and Human Services Department.

Sebelius, along with former Clinton administration official Nancy-Ann DeParle (who will head the newly created White House Office for Health Reform), will be tasked with executing the president's ambitious health care reform agenda (click here for EBN coverage on President Obama's health care proposals and how health benefits experts handicap the odds for passage). The president's budget sets aside $634 billion for health care reform.

On Sebelius' scorecard:
* She is a long-time advocate of universal coverage, but lost at several attempts to expand coverage to low-income and uninsured Kansans.
* She's worked to control state health care costs and encourage wellness by implementing an incentive program to get state employees to quit smoking.
* She served as her state's insurance commissioner for eight years, notably blocking the sale of BCBS of Kansas, and joining a multi-state group to purchase lower-cost prescription drugs from Canada.

So, what do you think? Is Sebelius a good pick to lead HHS -- yay or nay?

Overheard @: Health care stakeholders comment on Obama budget

Following this morning's announcement of President Obama's budget proposals, which make significant investments in health care reform, benefits experts offered their opinions:

Tracey Moorhead, president of DMAA, lauded the budget for channeling "health care dollars to where they are needed most: prevention and care strategies shown to create value and improve outcomes. His plan also recognizes the basic need to help the uninsured and underinsured maintain health status, rather than become costly victims of chronic illness."

Karen Ignagni, AHIP president and CEO also released a favorable statement, saying, “Today’s budget submission sends a signal to the American people that this Administration is serious about prioritizing health care. We applaud the president for laying out a bold framework and setting aside significant resources to put our nation on a path towards comprehensive health care reform, which is a goal that has eluded our country for more than a century." (Click here to read the full statement.)

News You Can Use: Obama budget also would mandate auto enrollment, expand saver's credit

Among the proposals in President Barack Obama's budget, unveiled this morning, is a measure to expand retirement plans by requiring employers that do not have such a plan to auto-enroll workers into an IRA, and modifying the existing Saver’s Credit to provide a 50% match on the first $1,000 of retirement savings for families that earn less than $65,000. The credit would be fully refundable to ensure that savings incentives are fair to all workers.

What is your opinion of these proposals and their potential effect on both retirement plans and retirement savings? Ready, set, comment!

News You Can Use: Obama budget puts $634B down payment on health care reform

President Obama this morning unveiled his first budget, which includes a $634 billion down payment on achieving universal health care for Americans.

Obama says increasing taxes on the wealthy, cutting wasteful Medicare spending and eliminating certain government subsidies will finance the plan. According to the Associated Press, among the proposed Medicare cuts are curbing payments to insurers serving older Americans and charging wealthier beneficiaries more for the program' s prescription coverage.

However, AP reports, the $634 billion is a little more than half the money needed to insure all Americans, including the some 48 million currently living in the United States without coverage. The nation currently spends more than $2 trillion on health care.

What do you think of the early details -- sketchy though they may be -- of the president's health care budget proposal? Comment and let me know.

News You Can Use: Obama: Health care reform ‘will not wait another year’

President Barack Obama last night reaffirmed his priority to provide universal health coverage and reduce health insurance costs, declaring before the joint session of Congress that "health-care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."

For the most part, the health insurance community’s reaction appears to be supportive, yet cautious. A statement from America’s Health Insurance Plans concurs that insurers “strongly agree that comprehensive health care reform cannot wait. We will continue to offer workable solutions to ensure that all Americans have quality, affordable health care."

Other health care experts say the president needs to offer more concrete details on his plans.“This was a solid commitment to changing health care, but the part on how you solve the health-care cost puzzle while covering everyone is still missing,” Paul Keckley, director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions in Washington, D.C., told Bloomberg. “He’s got to start giving specifics.”

Labor leaders appear more solidly aligned with Obama. Doug Sizemore, the executive secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO Labor Council in Cincinnati, said, "We see [the effects of health insurance costs] every time we go to the bargaining table with an employer - businesses dealing with the rising costs of providing health care to workers and putting those costs on the backs of the workers. There has got to be a better way. The president gets that."

Naturally, however, Republican lawmakers are among Obama’s critics. In a staunch rebuttal to the president, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) drew his party’s line in the sand. “We stand for universal access to affordable health care coverage, [but] we oppose universal government-run health care. Health care decisions should be made by doctors and patients – not by government bureaucrats.”

But we know who’s opinion in this debate matters most – yours. As employers will shoulder much of the responsibility and the cost for whatever proposals ultimately become law, we want to hear what you think. Comment and let us know.

Overheard @: Benefits attorney opposes exec pay cap

While some -- I admit, myself included -- hailed President Obama's recent edict that executives at companies receiving federal bailout money will have their compensation capped at $500,000, not everyone thinks the limits are a good idea.

Perhaps you're thinking, surely I jest? But no, Edward R. Rayner, a partner in the employee benefits and executive compensation practice at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in New York, says these limits may actually further harm the U.S. financial system.

"While at first glance, this may appear to be an important crackdown on the greed of recent years, the fact that the $500,000 cap only applies to companies accepting U.S. bailout money is a huge issue," Mr. Rayner says. "This opens the door for foreign institutions not subject to these compensation limits to quite easily and relatively cheaply, steal our best financial talent. Once this talent is gone, it will be extremely difficult to get back, and I expect that this will significantly weaken the U.S. financial industry."

Amid the deepest economic recession in decades, with millions jobless, Rayner is opposed to capping the pay of bank execs that are relying on taxpayer dollars to re-stabilize their institutions? What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with Rayner? Comment and let me know.

Tip of the Day: Prepare for new CHIP requirements

President Obama last week signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIP), a law that extends a federal program to provide health insurance to low-income children.

However, the law has implications for employers as well, as it gives states the option to provide a subsidy for employer-sponsored coverage to CHIP-eligible children, if the child's parent elects to receive it.

Yay or Nay: Does Daschle withdrawal hurt the chances for health care reform?

Wow, what a difference a news cycle makes. In yesterday's EBN inBrief e-newsletter, we featured an item about how optimistic Congressional Democrats were about health care reform.

Barely hours later, former Sen. Tom Daschle withdrew his name from consideration to lead the Health and Human Services Department, the lastest among a string of Obama cabinet nominees to be outed with "tax issues."

After the shock of the announcement had rippled from the White House and beyond, out came the handicappers to assess the damage to President Obama's health care agenda.

You all are the best pundits I know on all things benefits-related, so what say you? Does Daschle's withdrawal hurt the chances for health care reform? Yay or Nay?

News You can Use: Obama signs fair pay law

President Barack Obama this morning signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which, according to the Associated Press, clarifies that the 180-day statute of limitations is extended every time an employer violates the law by issuing a paycheck or engages in other practices that discriminate.

Therefore, AP reports, if an employee alleges that she received a salary 20 years ago that was less than that of male co-workers because of discrimination, each new paycheck since that occurrence would be a new unlawful employment practice that resets the statute of limitations. The bill retains current limits on employer liability by restricting back pay awards to two years.

The law carries Ledbetter's name because she's been a staunch fair pay advocate ever since filing a charge with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission when she found out she was earning less than male coworkers. A Supreme Court ruling in 2007 threw out Ledbetter's complaint, saying she was required to bring suit within 180 days of the initial act of discrimination.

Read more about the law and its implications for you here, and comment below to let us know your thoughts about the law's approval.

Tip of the Day: Answer the call to service

President-elect Barack Obama has called on Americans to spend Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. holiday engaging in community service projects. His transition team has offered a list of more than 8,500 projects occurring nationwide for individuals/families/teams to participate in.

As many employers offer Monday as a paid holiday, I encourage you to meet the President-elect's call and engage in an act of service -- no matter how small -- with your family, your coworkers, your friends or just by yourself.

If you need more reasons besides improving your community, read this EBN report that details evidence that volunteerism has positive health effects and aids retention among employers that offer volunteer programs.

How will you spend the King holiday? If you're planning a service project, what is it? Comment below to share your plans and volunteerism programs.

News You Can Use: Govt. may subsidize COBRA

Someone who knows someone who knows a lobbyist close to the stimulus package talks tells Workforce Management that Congress may be considering a 50% to 60% subsidy of COBRA premiums for employees who lose their jobs. The subsidy would last 18 months, the maximum time workers can maintain COBRA through their ex-employers.

One of the biggest complaints about COBRA has long been that it's too expensive -- particularly for workers who suddenly find themselves out of work and/or need to cover their entire families. However, health industry experts also lament that Americans have been sheltered from the true cost of health care and coverage, which is why COBRA induces such sticker shock.

What say you? Should the government subsidize COBRA premiums? For how long? President-elect Obama seems to lean in favor, WM reports. Do you? Comment below.

News You Can Use: Obama to form taskforce for working families

President-elect Barack Obama has announced plans to convene a White House taskforce charged to "look at existing and future policies across the board and use a yard stick to measure how they are impacting the working and middle-class families," Vice president-elect Joe Biden said, who will chair the taskforce.

Biden's team on the taskforce will include the secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Commerce, as well as the directors of the National Economic Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Benefit managers will want to stay up-to-date on the taskforce's activities, as the goals Obama has outlined generally fall under benefit pros' area of authority, including:
• Expand education and lifelong training opportunities
• Improve work and family balance
• Restore labor standards, including workplace safety
• Protect retirement security

News You Can Use: You're damned if you do and damned if you don't on health reform, CBO reports

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office explores the various proposals on the table for reforming the nation's health care system and concludes there aren't many options that will overwhelmingly benefit both employers and employees.

Although most surveys find employers in favor of health reform, among the proposed options to increasing the number of Americans with health coverage -- essentially, premium subsidies and/or individual or employer mandates to obtain/provide coverage -- most would increase costs, CBO finds. And higher costs for employers likely would ultimately mean lower pay for workers (and less taxable income for the government).

Got an idea for how best to reform the health care system? Comment below to share it with us, or click here to share it with the Obama administration.

News You Can Use: Obama taps Solis to lead DOL

Rep. Hilda Solis, (D-Calif.), is President-elect in Barack Obama’s pick for Secretary of Labor, he will announce in a news conference today.

"We're thrilled at the prospect of having Representative Hilda Solis as our nation's next labor secretary," John J. Sweeney, president of the AFL-CIO, told the New York Times. "We're confident that she will return to the Labor Department one of its core missions: to defend workers' basic rights in our nation's workplaces. She's proven to be a passionate leader and advocate for all working families."

If approved by Congress, Solis will oversee an agency responsible for regulating nearly 700,000 retirement plans and 2.5 million health plans. However, some in the business community fear that her support for the Employee Free Choice Act and her position on free trade will further impede businesses to compete in a global economy.

Randel K. Johnson, vice-president of labor policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told the New York Times he is disappointed having "expected Obama to pick someone supported by the A.F.L.-C.I.O. She's not a pick whose philosophy we didn't expect. We will disagree with her on some issues and work with her on some."

News You Can Use: AHIP offers tit-for-tat reform proposal

America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) last week offered its own health care reform proposal on behalf of the nation's insurers. Although the plan would require a mandate for all Americans to purchase health insurance -- an idea rejected by President-elect Obama -- the industry cedes ground by stating the plan would prohibit insurers to reject individuals based on health status.

Read the full proposal here, then voice your opinions to Obama's health care team.

News You Can Use: Send Obama your health care suggestions

The website of the President-Elect Barack Obama features a community discussion board to pick the public’s brain on Health Care solutions. Since the discussion went live on Tuesday over 3,500 individuals have commented.


Care to share? Click here to join the conversation.