December 24, 2007
Judge stays Social Security Number no-match injunction | Congress extends SCHIP funding without making policy changes | California moves closer towards universal health care
Legislation updates provided by Rob Smith, Ceridian manager of Government Relations
Judge stays Social Security Number no-match injunction
Congress extends SCHIP funding without making policy changes
California moves closer towards universal health care
Judge stays Social Security number no-match injunction
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer agreed to stay his October 10 order preventing the government from implementing a policy that would threaten employers with criminal liability for failing to properly resolve employees' mismatched Social Security numbers. Breyer gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until March to amend regulations regarding employer notifications to accompany the "no-match" letters annually sent to employers. The motion was unopposed by plaintiffs -- a coalition of labor, business and civil rights groups.
The government, in its motion for stay filed on December 4, said DHS over the next four months will work to fix the rule to satisfy court concerns over its legality, including assessing the rule's impact on small business by preparing a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis. The Social Security Administration previously announced that it would not be issuing the letters this year. The letters cover some eight million workers whose numbers provided on W-2 forms did not match government records.
The parties are scheduled to return to Breyer's court on March 28. The judge said he would grant the government more time if it is needed at the time of the hearing.
Congress extends SCHIP funding without making policy changes
By a 411-3 vote on Wednesday, December 19, the House approved S. 2499 providing a six month Medicare pay increase for physicians and extending funding for SCHIP through March of 2009. The Senate approved the legislation, and it is expected to be signed by the president. This comes after the Democratic Congress failed twice to get expanded funding for the health program approved by the Bush administration.
House Democrats said the bill represented the best possible outcome given the failure of the Senate to pass a more comprehensive bill. Ways and Means Committee ranking minority member Jim McCrery (R-LA) said that Democrats can either work with Republicans next year or they can keep getting the "same result." Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill) was skeptical about the chances of Democrats raising the issue again in 2008. "This will be the first thing a new Democratic president will get done," he stated.
Previous versions of the SCHIP legislation contained several provisions which would require employers in states that offer premium assistance programs to report to state agencies company health plan cost and coverage information. The legislation also would have required businesses to notify employees of the state's premium assistance programs. These provisions are expected to be off the table at least until Congress resumes the SCHIP reauthorization debate in 2009.
California moves closer towards universal health care
A plan that would provide health coverage to an estimated 70 percent of the five million uninsured California residents passed the Democratic-controlled State Assembly by a vote of 46 to 31 on Monday, December 17. The bill has the backing of Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The California proposal is similar to the one adopted by Massachusetts last year and embraced by several Democratic presidential candidates. The proposal would force insurers to offer policies regardless of a consumer's age or health status and would require most individuals to obtain basic health coverage. Some resident would be exemptions if their income is too low to afford premiums, but too high to qualify for heavy government subsidies. The state would offer subsidies to purchasers with incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty line in an attempt to make the policies affordable for middle-income workers.
The cost of the plan, which would go into effect in 2010, is estimated at $14.4 billion, paid for primarily by $1.50 tax increase and $0.87 levy on tobacco products and a four percent levy on hospital revenues. In addition, employers would have to spend a fixed percentage of their payrolls on health coverage or pay a comparable amount into a state insurance pool, similar to the system used in Massachusetts.
Although the bill passed the state's lower chamber, it must still be approved by the California State Senate and then by California voters in a statewide referendum. The state is currently mired by a $14 billion budget deficit. Senate President Don Perata, a Democrat from Oakland, announced it would be "imprudent and impolitic to support an expansion of health care" before the state addressed the widening budget gap. The bill is not expected to be considered by the Senate until it reconvenes in early January.
State legislatures across the country have been paying close attention to California and Massachusetts as they consider their own measures to expand health coverage. If the California bill is successfully implemented into law, it could serve as a model for other states.
Legislation updates provided by Rob Smith, Ceridian manager of Government Relations
Judge stays Social Security Number no-match injunction
Congress extends SCHIP funding without making policy changes
California moves closer towards universal health care
Judge stays Social Security number no-match injunction
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer agreed to stay his October 10 order preventing the government from implementing a policy that would threaten employers with criminal liability for failing to properly resolve employees' mismatched Social Security numbers. Breyer gave the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) until March to amend regulations regarding employer notifications to accompany the "no-match" letters annually sent to employers. The motion was unopposed by plaintiffs -- a coalition of labor, business and civil rights groups.
The government, in its motion for stay filed on December 4, said DHS over the next four months will work to fix the rule to satisfy court concerns over its legality, including assessing the rule's impact on small business by preparing a Regulatory Flexibility Act analysis. The Social Security Administration previously announced that it would not be issuing the letters this year. The letters cover some eight million workers whose numbers provided on W-2 forms did not match government records.
The parties are scheduled to return to Breyer's court on March 28. The judge said he would grant the government more time if it is needed at the time of the hearing.
Congress extends SCHIP funding without making policy changes
By a 411-3 vote on Wednesday, December 19, the House approved S. 2499 providing a six month Medicare pay increase for physicians and extending funding for SCHIP through March of 2009. The Senate approved the legislation, and it is expected to be signed by the president. This comes after the Democratic Congress failed twice to get expanded funding for the health program approved by the Bush administration.
House Democrats said the bill represented the best possible outcome given the failure of the Senate to pass a more comprehensive bill. Ways and Means Committee ranking minority member Jim McCrery (R-LA) said that Democrats can either work with Republicans next year or they can keep getting the "same result." Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill) was skeptical about the chances of Democrats raising the issue again in 2008. "This will be the first thing a new Democratic president will get done," he stated.
Previous versions of the SCHIP legislation contained several provisions which would require employers in states that offer premium assistance programs to report to state agencies company health plan cost and coverage information. The legislation also would have required businesses to notify employees of the state's premium assistance programs. These provisions are expected to be off the table at least until Congress resumes the SCHIP reauthorization debate in 2009.
California moves closer towards universal health care
A plan that would provide health coverage to an estimated 70 percent of the five million uninsured California residents passed the Democratic-controlled State Assembly by a vote of 46 to 31 on Monday, December 17. The bill has the backing of Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The California proposal is similar to the one adopted by Massachusetts last year and embraced by several Democratic presidential candidates. The proposal would force insurers to offer policies regardless of a consumer's age or health status and would require most individuals to obtain basic health coverage. Some resident would be exemptions if their income is too low to afford premiums, but too high to qualify for heavy government subsidies. The state would offer subsidies to purchasers with incomes below 250 percent of the federal poverty line in an attempt to make the policies affordable for middle-income workers.
The cost of the plan, which would go into effect in 2010, is estimated at $14.4 billion, paid for primarily by $1.50 tax increase and $0.87 levy on tobacco products and a four percent levy on hospital revenues. In addition, employers would have to spend a fixed percentage of their payrolls on health coverage or pay a comparable amount into a state insurance pool, similar to the system used in Massachusetts.
Although the bill passed the state's lower chamber, it must still be approved by the California State Senate and then by California voters in a statewide referendum. The state is currently mired by a $14 billion budget deficit. Senate President Don Perata, a Democrat from Oakland, announced it would be "imprudent and impolitic to support an expansion of health care" before the state addressed the widening budget gap. The bill is not expected to be considered by the Senate until it reconvenes in early January.
State legislatures across the country have been paying close attention to California and Massachusetts as they consider their own measures to expand health coverage. If the California bill is successfully implemented into law, it could serve as a model for other states.
Ask Ceridian
How does an employer compute overtime in a week with a holiday? With vacation?Get the answer
Archives
Upcoming Events
See Us @ National Events!
