I have been saying that this is another Big Dig to taxpayers for almost two years, now they finally agree?Before they made this chapter 58 law why didn’t they find out how many are uninsured and how much is this going to cost?I can’t understand their thinking.I am not educated but I would never buy anything without knowing the cost!Maybe because their not spending their own money so they don’t care how much it cost.

Victim of its own success??? I know several cash businesses, who previously had fully insured plans, that have dropped them and moved to CommonwealthCare since they qualify based on the income limits.

Seconly I also know of other businesses who have do not pay their employees much, who have dropped their group plan and paid the penalty thus enabling their employees to qualify for CommonwealthCare.

I question how many of the subscribers enrolled in CommonwealthCare truly were uninsured, but have switched to this lower premium subsidized plan.

If a firm drops coverage for its low income workers who would then qualify for Commonwealth Care, it also has to drop coverage for the higher-paid workers. Chapter 58 added a non-discrimination clause to the insurance law.

This still might make sense from an economic point of view. We’ll know if many or just a few employers have dropped coverage when the follow-up employer survey is conducted this fall.

One other problem. If a firm drops coverage now, the employees are locked out of Commonwealth Care for 6 months.

The one firm that I know had done this only had one highly compensated, who was on medicare. Alot of companies in this situation have their building owned by a seperate entity that could apply for insurance. Take a small machine shop, where the owner rents the building to the shop via a realty trust. He can drop health for his employees then apply for health insurance for himself as an employee of the real estate trust.

“If a firm drops coverage now, the employees are locked out of Commonwealth Care for 6 months.” I did not know that, is that new? Also how is that enforced or monitored?

If an applicant to Commonwealth Care has been offered health insurance by their current employer within the past six months, they are not eligible for the program. This was written in Chapter 58 from its inception. The only way that a person in this category may be eligible for Commonwealth Care is if their employer does not make a ‘fair and reasonable’ contribution to their health insurance. To fall into this category the employer must contribute less than 33% of the annual premium cost for an individual or less than 20% for a family plan. I hope that this helps.

If a company decides to cancel their group plan and pay the penalty then their employees would be eligible for CommonwealthCare. The underlying employees would be eligible for CommonwealthCare right now and would not have to wait 6 months, right?

Kate:

If a company decides to cancel the employer sponsored group plan today, would an employee be eligible for CommonwealthCare tomorrow?

Thanks

Bill

Bill,

If a company cancels their health insurance plan today, the employee is not eligible for Commonwealth Care for 6 months. On the flip side, if an employee leaves the company, the employee is eligible tomorrow.

Please don’t hesitate to let me know if you have any additional questions.

Thanks,

Kate

Kate:

I know a group that decided dropped the employer sponsored health plan and his employees were able to sign up for CommonwealthCare right away. They did not have to wait six months.

I believe that CommonwealthCare considerd a person uninsured the very first day an underlying employer cancels group coverage and does not require the employees of the employer to wait six months.

Bill

Bill

Bill:

Are you willing to share the name(s) of the employers that you say dropped the employer sponsored health plan? Again, according to Commonwealth Care regulations, if a person’s current employer has offered them health insurance within the last six months, they are not eligible for Commonwealth Care. The application form has questions that crowd-out these populations from being eligible for the program. The people that you speak of should have checked ‘yes’ to the question that they were offered health insurance from their employer within the last six months. I hope that this helps.

Thanks,

Kate

Kate:

I really do not want to give you the name of the employer, since it would only hurt the employees, who signed up for CommonwealthCare. They did it last year–would that have made a difference?

Putting all that aside consider this. If a company cancelled their group health plan today, a person who was on the health plan paying for it would not qualify for CommonwealthCare (assuming of course they were eligible) and would have to wait six months. On the other hand an employee who was not on the employer sponsored health plan would be eligible day 1. Are we not almost rewarding people for not participating.

Lets take this to the next step. Lets look at a company that does is in business and employee A, who would be eligible for CommonwealthCare, participates in the group plan. On the other hand employee B, same income/demographics etc, who has never bothered to sign up could call up and be eligible for CommonwealthCare as long as it is six months after the open enrollment. Again are we not rewarding people for not participating.

Worse what if this happens and employee A decideds to drop the plan, take his or her chances and wait for six months after the open enrollment to get on CommonwealthCare?

My point is that this CommonwealthCare subscribers are not all formerly uninsured. There are alot of people, who had health insurance that have now dropped it for the subsidized CommonwealthCare.