Health Coverage While Unemployed

Written by Tony Novak


A key decision that millions of Americans face each year is whether to elect "COBRA" “HIPAA” or “COBRA alternative” health care continuation coverage when they lose employer-provided health coverage. About two thirds of all Americans are covered by employer-provided health coverage but withrepparttar recent increase in layoffs acrossrepparttar 106707 country,repparttar 106708 number of workers losing these employer-provided health benefits is at a record level. Workers typically have three or more options available andrepparttar 106709 cost can vary dramatically betweenrepparttar 106710 various choices available. Some may opt to take no health insurance coverage and bearrepparttar 106711 financial risk themselves. In order to makerepparttar 106712 best decision, they need to know about two laws, COBRA and HIPAA.

COBRA Employers who have over 20 employees and offer group health coverage are required to offer continued coverage to their workers, former workers or dependents who lose eligibility forrepparttar 106713 group health plan. This benefit does not apply ifrepparttar 106714 health plan withdrawals coverage or ifrepparttar 106715 employer terminatesrepparttar 106716 group health plan beforerepparttar 106717 worker is enrolled underrepparttar 106718 COBRA benefit. When workers lose health insurance coverage, COBRA is usually notrepparttar 106719 best solution unlessrepparttar 106720 employee or a dependent is inrepparttar 106721 middle of a course of medical treatment because this isrepparttar 106722 most expensive health coverage option. But in some cases, for example, if a worker has serious medical conditions orrepparttar 106723 worker’s spouse is pregnant, COBRA coverage may be desirable.

HIPAA Most group health plans offer membersrepparttar 106724 right to convert to a variety of individual plans while preserving continuation of coverage benefit. In many cases you may also change to another insurance plan in your local market by providing evidence that you were covered by a prior health plan. For “preferred risk” applicants, changing insurance plans can result in significant savings, but this will generally will not be an appealing option for those with significant pre-existing conditions.

RECYCLING HUMAN ASSETS – PERSONNEL TREND OF THE FUTURE?

Written by Mason Duchatschek


In Economics 101 I learnedrepparttar basic laws of supply and demand. Whenrepparttar 106706 demand was high andrepparttar 106707 supply was low . . . prices went up. From an employer’s perspective, I would say that lesson accurately describes today’s job market.

The economy is great. Companies are growing. Corporate demand for quality employees to feed that growth is high. But because of low unemployment,repparttar 106708 supply of quality job applicants is far smaller than most companies have grown accustomed to. With recruiting costs escalating, mistakes and wasteful use of human resources are more obvious than ever.

Some ofrepparttar 106709 best candidates for available positions in your company could be right under your nose. Promoting from within is relatively easy when you’re talking about top performers. But what about those employees who just don’t seem to be getting it done? You know . . .repparttar 106710 ones you want to fire.

Just because a person was miscast for a job does not mean that person is not capable of being a good employee. Simply put, a liability in one context could be an asset in another. Are employees being expected to perform work that doesn’t suit their skills, attitudes, or personalities?

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