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SHRM Addresses Health Care Reform in Letters to Congress, President
In letters sent to the White House and House and Senate
leadership on Feb. 22, 2010, the Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM) reiterated its support for health care reform legislation that
lowers costs, strengthens the employer-based system, improves quality
of care and offers all Americans affordable coverage.
The letters from SHRM President and CEO Laurence G. O'Neil
went out the same day that President Barack Obama held a news
conference unveiling he was dropping the proposed employer health
coverage mandate from stalled health care reform legislation, and just
days before a Feb. 25, 2010, bipartisan health care summit convened by
the White House.
Obama's latest proposal would force most employers who do not
provide employee health coverage to pay into a fund that would help
workers obtain insurance. It was an attempt to revive stalled health
care reform legislation and was posted on the White House web site
before the summit in order to gauge public reaction, SHRM Online reported.
In letters to the president, Senate Majority Leader Harry
Reid, D-Nev., Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader John
Boehner, R-Ohio, O'Neil outlined what SHRM believes a reform law should
reflect:
Employer responsibilities.
SHRM wants legislation that omits the Senate's "free choice"
provisions, which SHRM says would require employers to provide vouchers
to certain employees, "because this would likely destabilize
employer-sponsored coverage."
Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) structure for employer-sponsored coverage.
ERISA structure works and should be maintained, according to
SHRM. It opposes House provisions "that would apply state law rights
and remedies to employer-sponsored coverage obtained through an
exchange and restrict changes to retiree health coverage."
However, SHRM supports the Senate provision, which does not limit continuation of plans already in effect.
Workplace wellness incentives.
Wellness programs save organizations money ultimately by
improving employee health and reducing overall health care costs, SHRM
pointed out in the letters. It supports Senate provisions permitting
employers to discount up to 30 percent of the premium or cost-sharing
requirements for workers participating in employer wellness programs. SHRM also wants health care reform legislation to include
Senate provisions codifying current law protections in the Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act regulations.
Flexible spending accounts (FSAs).
SHRM does not want a limit on how much individuals may
contribute to their FSAs, believing that a limit would raise health
care costs for unreimbursed health care expenses. SHRM urged lawmakers
to raise the maximum for individual contributions above the $2,500
limit if a cap must be included in the health reform legislation.
High-Cost Plan Excise Tax.
The Senate's version of health reform legislation passed in
December 2009 contained a 40 percent excise tax on high-cost employer
health insurance plans. This proposed tax is likely to cause major cuts in employer-provided health benefits,
according to SHRM, because of health care inflation, differences among
regions of the country, and the age of an employer's workforce.
SHRM wants health care reform legislation that increases the
tax threshold, noting that employers and employees cannot afford added
health care costs.
SHRM asked that contributions to spending accounts or
supplemental benefits such as vision, dental and wellness plans not be
counted toward the excise tax threshold.
Retiree drug subsidies.
The president's health care reform proposal would exclude the
28 percent drug subsidy for employers provided through the Medicare
Modernization Act of 2003. However, "altering the tax treatment of this subsidy would
come at a significant cost to those organizations offering the most
comprehensive coverage to current and future retirees," O'Neil wrote;
he urged eliminating those provisions from the bill.
Medical liability reform. SHRM pointed to medical liability lawsuits as a contributor to
rising health care costs. It advocates including reform of the medical
liability system in final legislation as a component for cost
containment.
Transparency and payment reforms.
SHRM favors provisions in the House and Senate bills that
would help individuals be better informed medical consumers. Such
provisions include access to Medicare claims data and to provider
performance measures and outcomes. Provisions that promote transparency and reward efficient care should be strengthened, according to SHRM. Copies of the letters were sent to the chairman and ranking
member of the Senate Committee on Finance; Senate Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions; House Committee on Education and Labor;
House Committee on Energy and Commerce; and the House Committee on Ways
and Means.
(Source: SHRM, please click to view original article)
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