Health Care Reform - What You Should Know Right Now!

Before the health reform bill was passed, Nancy Pelosi famously said, "We need to pass this bill to find out what's in it". Now that the health reform and reconciliation bills were passed in late March (known, according to the Obama Administration, as the “Affordable Care Act” or “the Act” and enacted as P.L. 111-148 and 111-152, respectively) one thing is certain. The Affordable Care Act is massive, and upon studying its contents, the Act often generates more questions than answers. The Wisconsin law firm Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek has prepared a Special Report that focuses on 10 items that Wisconsin employers should know about the Act right now as health reform moves forward and likely evolves. The report suggests answers the following questions for business owners.
1. Is my company's Health Plan a “Grandfathered Health Plan?”
2. Am I a “Large” or “Small” Employer? What does than mean under the Act?
3. Are Wisconsin and Federal Initiatives to expand coverage to dependents in their early20s in conflict with each other?
4. Should I offer insurance or be self-Insured? What are the differences under the Act?
5. Are there advantages to offering coverage to employees who retire before age 65?
6. What if I have an employee that is eligible for the high risk pool due to preexisting conditions?
7. What are Workplace Wellness Grants, and are my employees eligible?
8. How Much will it cost me to cover employees and their dependents under the Act?
9. Is the Affordable Care Act more than Health Insurance Reform?
10. Are certain provisions like the individual mandate to purchase insurance coverage Constitutional?

Click here for the answers to these questions.

There still remain many unanswered questions. The Act is complex and written so that the average lay person cannot comprehend it. This law may soon be called the full employment act for attorneys that practice labor and employment law.