On February 22, 2010, Hewitt Associates had an informational webcast/web conference on Health Care Reform to help individuals, companies and families understand the changes in the new health care bill.
Here is a direct link to the recorded session. If you have not viewed this event, please take time. It is filled with valuable user friendly material:
http://www.infiniteconferencing.com/Events/Hewitt/022210hewittalumni/recording-playback.html
After more than a year of debate, Congress has completed work on a comprehensive health care reform package.
The “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (PPACA) (P.L. 111-148) became law on March 23, 2010. Following House passage of the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010″ (H.R. 4872) on March 21, 2010, the Senate approved the reconciliation bill on March 25, 2010 by a vote of 56-43 (only 51 votes were needed to pass the reconciliation bill). However, due to some changes the Senate made to the bill (unrelated to health reform), the reconciliation bill had to go back to the House for another vote. The House approved the Senate changes to the reconciliation bill later in the evening of March 25, 2010, clearing the bill to be sent to President Obama to sign into law.
The Special Report linked to at right provides a preliminary analysis of the new law (including the reconciliation bill) and its impact on employers.
Apple confirmed the rumors today and unveiled a tablet device, which looks like a giant iPhone, called iPad. While Apple CEO Steve Jobs and his team of presenters at Apple’s iPad launch event this morning did not mention the healthcare vertical as a key market for the iPad: It looks to be just that. The iPad holds promise as a new point-of-care tool for healthcare workers and as a personal health device for patients.
The iPad will run “almost” all of the 140,000 applications currently available for the iPhone and iPod touch in the company’s iTunes AppStore, according to Jobs. Given the iPad’s much larger screen (9.7 inches diagonal), the apps can run in their normal size as a smaller window on the iPad or can be “blown up” to fit most of the screen. That means all 4,980 health and fitness apps currently available in the AppStore are immediately available to iPad users. That is the key leg up that Apple’s new iPad has on other medical tablets — a built-in application library of almost 5,000 apps. Apple said that iPhone/iPod touch users can port their already purchased apps over to the iPad without having to pay for them again, which is likely welcome news for healthcare workers currently relying on their iPhones and eyeing an iPad.
Apple is offering the iPad at a number of different price points: The WiFi only iPads (no cellular connectivity) run 16GB for $499; 32GB for $599; and 64GB for $699. With 3G the iPad is a bit pricier: 16GB for $629; 32GB for $729; and 64GB for $829.
The device is half an inch thin, weighs 1.5 pounds, and has up to 10 hours of battery life (one month in stand-by mode). Much like the iPhone and iPod touch, the iPad comes with 3G or without. Both versions of the device include WiFi (802.11n) Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR as well as an accelerometer, compass, speaker, mic and dock connector. The touchscreen also includes some 1,000 sensors for touch.
For the 3G iPads, Apple is working with AT&T (same carrier as the iPhone) to offer two data plans: $14.99 month gets iPad users up to 250MB of data, while the unlimited plan is $29.99 a month. The plans require no contract so users can cancel them anytime. AT&T is also offering free connectivity at their WiFi hotspots. The 3G device also works with unlocked GSM SIM cards, so if a carrier offers data SIMs, Apple says it will work with the iPad.
Jobs likened the new device to the netbook groups of devices that sit between smartphones and laptops in terms of functionality and use cases. While the iPad sits between smartphones and laptops as a category, Jobs said the new device is very different from a netbook.
Jobs noted that in order to be a success, the iPad needs to “far better at doing some key tasks… better than the laptop and smartphone. What kind of tasks? Things like browsing the web… enjoying and sharing photos, videos, enjoying music, playing games, reading e-books.” Jobs explained that the iPad has to be better at these tasks or it has no reason for being. While some skeptics have told Jobs that the iPad is just a netbook, he quipped that the problem with netbooks is that they aren’t better than smartphones or laptops at doing anything — “They are just cheap laptops,” he quipped.
Earlier this month, details about Epic Systems’ partnership with Apple for a mobile phone-based electronic health record (EHR) application came to light when Epic System’s iPhone application, Haiku, became available on Apple’s AppStore. Like all iPhone apps, Haiku will work on the iPad device, too. For mobile EHR apps though, the increased screen size will likely be very helpful for those clinicians aiming to use images on the platform for making any kind of diagnostic decisions.
Of course, healthcare providers may also see the iPad as another platform they could use to connect with their patients: Mayo Clinic recently partnered with smartphone application developer DoApps to form a new start-up, called mRemedy, which is focused on creating health apps for smartphones. mRemedy, which formed just a few weeks ago, is creating apps with Mayo based on the provider’s research and services.
While more physicians are adopting smartphones and iPhones’ popularity is growing at the fastest clip, we wonder if the iPad will cannibalize iPhone usage inside care facilities. Will the iPad replace the iPhone for clinicians? Will it find strong adoption among care providers? What’s your take?
Hewitt Alert:
Health Care Reform Finally Complete
Congress completed its comprehensive health care reform package on March 25, 2010, marking an important day in history. The Senate approved the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010” (H.R. 4872) on March 25, 2010 by a vote of 56-43 using budget reconciliation rules that required only a simple majority (51 votes). Because the Senate dropped some provisions not affecting health care reform, the reconciliation bill was sent back to the House for another vote, which was also approved on March 25, 2010. This reconciliation bill makes substantial changes to the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (PPACA) (P.L. 111-148), which President Obama signed into law on March 23, 2010. The reconciliation bill now goes to President Obama for his signature, completing Congress’s work on the issue.
The following provides a preliminary analysis of the employer impact associated with the new health care reform law, including the changes made by the reconciliation bill.
Some of the high-impact items of the new law for employers are as follows:
■ Individual Responsibility: The law requires individuals to purchase health insurance coverage or pay an income tax penalty beginning in 2014. Enrollment in an employer group health plan satisfies the individual mandate.
■ Health Insurance Exchanges: Beginning in 2014, states are required to create Health Insurance Exchanges where individuals and small employers can purchase health insurance.
■ Employer Responsibility: Employers are subject to a “free rider” penalty, under which employers with at least 50 full-time employees must pay a penalty if a full-time employee receives a federal subsidy to purchase health insurance in the Exchanges. A penalty is assessed if the employer does not offer health coverage at all, if the employee is offered coverage that is considered “unaffordable,” or the plan has an actuarial value of less than 60%. Employers that offer health care coverage and make a contribution toward the cost of the health care coverage must provide “free choice vouchers” to qualified employees for the purchase of qualified health plans through the Exchanges.
■ Grandfathered Plans: Grandfathered plans are subject to certain insurance reforms, such as extending coverage to children until age 26, prohibiting lifetime and annual limits, and prohibiting waiting periods beyond 90 days, among others.
■ Excise Tax on High-Cost Plans: A 40% excise tax will be imposed on the aggregate value of health coverage offered by employers if that value exceeds a certain threshold.
■ Inclusion of Cost of Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage on Form W-2: Employers are required to report the annual cost of health care coverage received by their employees.
■ Automatic Enrollment for Employees of Large Employers: Employers with more than 200 employees must automatically enroll new full-time employees in health care coverage (subject to any waiting period authorized by law).
■ Reinsurance Program for Early Retirees: A $5 billion fund is created to finance a temporary reinsurance program to help employers offset the costs of expensive health claims for retirees ages 55–64 and their families.
■ Flexible Spending Arrangements: Annual contributions to employer-provided health care flexible spending arrangements (FSAs) are capped at $2,500 (indexed) and reimbursement of over-the-counter medicines are limited to those that have a prescription.
■ Medicare Part D Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS): Employers receiving the Medicare Part D Retiree Drug Subsidy will have to include the payment in income for tax purposes.
■ Additional Medicare Taxes: An additional Medicare tax of 0.9% on wages and 3.8% on unearned income will be imposed on individuals receiving wages in excess of $200,000 (single taxpayers) or $250,000 (couples). These new taxes are imposed only on the employee portion of the Medicare tax, not on the employer portion.
Hewitt will provide a more in-depth report on this new health care reform legislation soon.
Please join Hewitt on April 6 for our complimentary webcast, “Health Care Reform: Now What? Making Sense of What Employers Need to Do and When” where we will discuss how the legislation will change how your organization approaches how it provides health care benefits. Further information on how to register for this upcoming webcast will be forthcoming.
Direct URL:
http://inclusionparadox.com/seven-inclusion-leadership-lessons-in-historic-healthcare-reform/
Seven Inclusion Leadership Lessons in Historic Healthcare Reform
Posted on March 21, 2010
by Andres T. Tapia –
This of course is a tricky blog post to write given the contentious and polarized debate that has ensued in the past year around healthcare reform. It’s tricky because while the politics and policy debates at the heart of what has transpired have dominated the airwaves and blogosphere, as a corporate and modern society anthropologist (which is a large part of what Chief Diversity Officers really are), what interests me is the cultural impact that greater diversity is having on the outcomes that emerge from the current mix of players. And this mix is particularly interesting because in its unprecedented diversity it’s changing the culture in profound ways, hence the subtitle of my book, The Inclusion Paradox: The Obama Era and the Transformation of Global Diversity.
So here I want to explore the lessons for leadershipin the 21st Century we can draw from President Barack Obama’s historic achievement after 100 fruitless years of leaders attempting health care reform of this magnitude. And while there are many definitions of leadership, here I am using C. Maxwell’s definition of leadership. Maxwell, a business leader is the author of various books on leadership including The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership where he sums up his definition of leadership as “leadership is influence – nothing more, nothing less.” And for the sake of what? I would add: “to get things done.”
Make no mistake, regardless of whether one enthusiastically agrees or vehemently disagrees with the healthcare bill and whether it will achieve it’s stated objectives, as much as this is about healthcare, this also about leadership. What follows is an analysis of effective leadership, the ability to influence in order to get things done even in the midst of much division–but it is not intended to be about debating the particulars of the healthcare vote. Another caveat is that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also played a vital role in winning the vote, but it is more difficult to draw broadbased leadership principles from her role to share here given the significantly more partisan role she plays.
What does it require to succeed at leading? Here are seven lessons I glean from President Obama’s approach. To make my points, I sometimes use excerpts from his words the night before the vote to those in the House of Representatives who are members of the party he leads:
Be values driven.Candidate and President Obama consistently operated from the following values:- a nation like the US needs to ensure it’s most vulnerable — in this case the sick — are protected not only healthwise but from economic ruin. (And the sick are not only those with ailments today, but it could be any one of us at any moment.)- out-of-control rising healthcare costs have to be managed to a sustainable level. And in his final push, President Obama kept coming back to these values as to the why of the effort.
“Maybe you’re thinking, Why did I ever get involved in politics in the first place? And maybe things can’t change after all. And when you do something courageous, it turns out sometimes you may be attacked. And sometimes the very people you thought you were trying to help may be angry at you and shout at you. And you say to yourself, maybe that thing that I started with has been lost. But you know what? Every once in a while, every once in a while a moment comes where you have a chance to vindicate all those best hopes that you had …And this is one of those moments. This is one of those times where you can honestly say to yourself, doggone it, this is exactly why I came here. This is why I got into politics. This is why I got into public service. This is why I’ve made those sacrifices…. and [why] I’m willing to stand up even when it’s hard, even when it’s tough.”
Application for us: As a leader, what are those moments for you? In the diversity and inclusion work in your organization, when the slog makes it feel all but impossible, what are the values you can go back to in order to remind you why you got into this work in the first place that can then give you the fortitude to stay the course?
Be in a long-term, sustainable mindset. Thinkers across the political spectrum agree that this was a politically high-risk goal to try to achieve. In the end President Obama explained why he did by quoting Lincoln: “I am not bound to win, but I’m bound to be true. I’m not bound to succeed, but I’m bound to live up to what light I have.” Then more specifically,
“Without serious reform efforts like this one people’s premiums are going to double over the next five or 10 years…folks are going to keep on getting letters from their insurance companies saying that their premium just went up 40 or 50 percent.”
Other long-term consequences that have been well documented: in the next 10-15 years another 15-20 million Americans could lose their health insurance because they won’t be able to afford it.
While some advisors and, of course, opponents were advising that he drop the effort or make the changes incrementally, leader Obama was driven by his belief that the current system was not sustainable and, while the short-term risks were very high politically, the long-term risks for the American economy and Americans were way too high. Politically, if he is right, then the long-term impact will also be beneficial to those with his point of view and beliefs.
Application for us: As diversity and inclusion leaders we know that the results we want to see are not within reach overnight. And it’s tempting to get the quick win with some visible hire at a senior level. And in the many times it works out, great. But how well are we managing the pipeline of talent, the entry and mid-level positions where it’s going to take 3 to 7 years to see the results of, but if done right, will create the most sustainable strategy for diversity in leadership rather than the current senior talent roulette we all play where we compete for the same talent as we rob Peter to pay Paul.
Have a heightened focus on results.This requires a great deal of pragmatism and ability to operationalize. Many a leader can extol great sounding strategies, but are they able to give up certain elements for the sake of influencing others to come along. President Obama has taken quite a bit of criticism from members of his own party for perhaps not being true to the totality of his convictions or not being a strong enough leader when he didn’t fall on the sword for certain cherished policy preferences by core members in his own party. His actions reveal a deep seated pragmatic approach of being willing to give up certain aspects of the plan (such as the public option) in order to gain support from enough and for enough to still have a piece of legislation that would bring about change. In this excerpt he implies, that often perfect adherence to theory, ideology, or philosophical stance can undermine any change from taking place.
“Now, is this bill perfect? Of course not. Will this solve every single problem in our healthcare system right away? No. There are all kinds of ideas that many of you have that aren’t included in this legislation. I know that there has been discussion, for example, of how we’re going to deal with regional disparities and I know that there was a meeting with Secretary Sebelius to assure that we can continue to try to make sure that we’ve got a system that gives people the best bang for their buck. So this is not — there are all kinds of things that many of you would like to see that isn’t in this legislation. There are some things I’d like to see that’s not in this legislation. But is this the single most important step that we have taken on health care since Medicare? Absolutely. Is this the most important piece of domestic legislation in terms of giving a break to hardworking middle class families out there since Medicare? Absolutely. Is this a vast improvement over the status quo? Absolutely.”
Application for us: In the diversity and inclusion space, where does our idealism get in the way of good enough? Where is it that we can — given budget constraints, leaders that still don’t get it, middle managers that are hard to move on this issue — create pragmatic and tangible enough results that when all added up begin to turn the tide? What are the list of things we are are already doing, that are the successes we are already achieving, that despite how far we may feel we may be from the desired state, still add up to a significantly better environment and set of opportunities than if nothing had been done at all?
Tap into the transformative force of inclusion. After today 32 million who have not had coverage will be included in the giant pool of the insured and they too can benefit from the entire system pooling the risk so the healthy and the sick can help protect one another. And among the un-insured who will now be covered we have had a crosssection of the US — white and people of color, low income and middle class. It also includes young people, a generation that has been the most affected by job losses, with their unemployement rate at over double the national average who now through age 26 will be covered by their parents’ insurance. This is a major inclusion play.
“But even before this crisis, each and every one of us knew that there were millions of people across America who were living their own quiet crises. Maybe because they had a child who had a preexisting condition and no matter how desperate they were, no matter what insurance company they called, they couldn’t get coverage for that child. Maybe it was somebody who had been forced into early retirement, in their 50s not yet eligible for Medicare, and they couldn’t find a job and they couldn’t find health insurance, despite the fact that they had some sort of chronic condition that had to be tended because somewhere deep in your heart you said to yourself, I believe in an America in which we don’t just look out for ourselves, that we don’t just tell people you’re on your own, that we are proud of our individualism, we are proud of our liberty, but we also have a sense of neighborliness and a sense of community and we are willing to look out for one another and help people who are vulnerable and help people who are down on their luck and give them a pathway to success and give them a ladder into the middle class. That’s why you decided to run.”
Application for us: the greater the diversity that comes into your organization’s doors, and the more benefits policies or advancement processes continue to exclude them, the more the pressure will build to challenge a system that perpetuates marginalization. The message is simple and compelling. When we don’t include all in the benefits of being part of the overall society or organizations, the cost is not just to the marginalized but the dislocations caused by keeping so many out start to spill out into the entire organization.
The bottom up is as important as the top down. Like he did in his campaign not only did Barack Obama work top down through the House and Senate leadership including attempting to do so with the Republicans, he also directly reached out to normal citizens through dozens of healthcare town halls, several healthcare rallies in the final weeks before the bill’s passage, through Tweets and through email. He led the effort to mobilize hundreds of thousands to express their support. To be sure, so did the opposition– and the grassroots, bottom-up energy on both sides has been a significant part of the debate as difficult and painful as the debate got. Leadership, both sides of the debate realized, require tending to and giving voice to the bottom up. And it does make a difference on results. Application for us: As a diversity and inclusion leader, how much are you tapping your affinity groups to not just have them be social gatherings but to be forces for change? How are you giving voice to their marginal voices so that their experience in the organization can be heard and their unique insights into what would create greater inclusion can be translated into policies and culture change? How much does their unique perspective into diverse ways of thinking is being captured in terms of enhancing their company’s products and services in order to grow their markets as they pursue tapping the growing diverse marketplace?
Be relentless. From his critics on the left to the right there is one thing they agree on and that is that President Obama showed resilience in living up to what he said were his agenda priorities. In a short-term focused society this is quite remarkable. A year of painful, and protracted debates in congressional chambers and on the streets, even after a big political setback like the result of the Massachusetts election to replace the deceased Senator Edward Kennedy that broke the Democrat’s filibuster proof majority, when most commentators were saying healthcare reform was DOA, the president continued soldiering on. Part of being relentless is not just to persevere but also to keep adapting one’s approach as one discovers what is not working and trying something new again and again until it works. And given the withering criticism, the sagging poll numbers, President Obama’s relentlessness driven by his convictions (and some say his will to survive politically) kept pressing on and calling those on his political side to stand fast.
Application for us: As a D&I leader where it that you continue to show relentlessness? where is it that you feel your stamina is flagging? What do you need to not give up on? How do you draw from your values, from the results achieved so far by others before you and due to your own work to persevere?
Be inspirational. It’s not about being inspirational for inspiration’s sake, but the truer, more profound way to inspire is to effectively perform the other six principles here. Nothing is more inspiring that hearing a leader have a vision and then be successful at bringing about change. It’s easy to pinpoint what is wrong, ten thousand times more difficult to implement a solution. But to be able to bring about change where in 100 years other presidents have not able to, is in the end, what counts when it comes to leadership.
UPDATE: President Obama signed the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (H.R. 3590) into law on March 23, 2010, clearing the way for the Senate to take up the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010″ (H.R. 4872).
The reconciliation bill, the “Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010″ (H.R. 4872), includes significant modifications to the Senate-passed “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (H.R. 3590). The reconciliation bill changes (only) now go to the Senate for its consideration early this week. For the reconciliation bill to pass the Senate, it would require a simple majority vote (51 votes) under the budget reconciliation rules, with Vice President Biden available to break a tie.
Senate Democrats aim to complete the reconciliation bill before the Senate adjourns for spring recess, slated to begin March 29 (unless delayed). Now that the House has passed the reconciliation bill (H.R. 4872) and the Senate-passed bill (H.R. 3590) on the same day, President Obama is expected to sign the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” (H.R. 3590) into law as soon as possible.
The Hewitt bulletin linked to at right provides a preliminary analysis of the employer impact associated with the reconciliation bill (H.R. 4872), including certain changes to H.R. 4872 adopted via House passage of the Manager’s Amendment.
Hewitt Associates to talk about Health Care Reform. This is an opportunity to attend an open forum discussion on the short term and long term ramifications of the health care bill and how it will affect individuals, families and companies.
Tuesday, March 23rd at 1:00 PM CST
Please click here to register to attend this event:
On March 21, 2010, Congress passed a comprehensive health reform bill that represents the largest single change in health care policy since the enactment of Medicare in 1965.
Health care reform experts from Hewitt Associates (NYSE: HEW – News), a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, are available to provide an independent analysis of the bill and its implications on employers, individuals and insurance companies.
Specifically, Hewitt experts can address:
Short-Term Impact (2010-2013)
Changes in the tax treatment of Medicare retiree drug subsidies (RDS), which may impact companies’ balance sheets in the calendar quarter in which the bill is signed into law by the President.
The Medicare Part D coverage gap (known as the doughnut hole) will be phased out by 2020, beginning in 2011 and with a $250 rebate to Medicare beneficiaries in 2010.
Adult children up to age 26 will be eligible for health care coverage under their parents’ health care plans—if they are not eligible for other employer-provided health coverage—for plan years beginning six months or later after the enactment of the law.
Lifetime limits on health coverage and restrictive annual limits will be prohibited.
Insurance companies will be prohibited from turning away children under age 19 with preexisting health conditions.
Annual employee contributions to health care flexible spending accounts (FSAs) will be limited to $2,500 in 2013, indexed annually to general inflation.
A temporary federal reinsurance program for health benefits provided to pre-65 retirees will be available.
Single taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) of $200,000 or more and joint filers with AGI of $250,000 or more will pay additional Medicare taxes.
Medicare Advantage payments will be restructured and reduced and include bonus payments for high quality ratings.
Additional fees and taxes will be assessed on health insurance companies, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers.
Long-term Impact (2014-Beyond)
States will set up health insurance exchanges for individuals and small employers to buy health care insurance.
Employers not offering health insurance coverage will be required to pay $2,000 per full-time employee for all full-time employees if at least one employee enrolls in a health plan through the health insurance exchange and receives a federal subsidy.
Employers offering “unaffordable” coverage will be assessed $3,000 for each full-time employee who enrolls in the exchange and receives a subsidy.
An excise tax will be imposed on high-cost health plans above a certain threshold, starting in 2018.
Annual benefit limits will generally be prohibited.
Waiting periods longer than 90 days for individuals to be eligible for coverage will be prohibited.
Insurance companies and employers will be prohibited from turning away individuals with preexisting health conditions.
Visit http://www.hewitt.com/healthcarereform for Hewitt’s detailed report on the new health care reform legislation.
To schedule an interview with a Hewitt spokesperson, please contact:
MacKenzie Lucas, (847) 442-2995, mackenzie.lucas@hewitt.com
Maurissa Kanter, (847) 442-0952, maurissa.kanter@hewitt.com
Frelinghuysen Opposes “Flawed” Obama-Pelosi Health Care Bill
Washington, D.C. – Declaring “I support health care reform. I just do not support Nancy Pelosi’s version of health care reform,” Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen voted “no” today on both the Senate-passed health care bill (H.R. 3590) and the “reconciliation” package (H.R. 4872) designed to “fix” flaws in H.R. 3590.
In remarks prepared for the House floor debate, Frelinghuysen declared “When it comes to controlling health costs for New Jersey’s families, changing objectionable insurance company practices and making coverage available to more Americans, the status quo is simply unacceptable. We can, and we must, do better, but not at the expense of millions of American families worried about a government takeover of their health care!”
Frelinghuysen cited many provisions in both bills that he strongly opposed:
Fiscal “Responsibility”
“Speaker Pelosi claims that this package may reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over ten years. With our budget deficit expected to be $1.4 trillion this year alone, it is clear that this bill has no connection to fiscal responsibility! Only in Washington, can you spend one trillion dollars and claim you are saving taxpayer money!”
Medicare Cuts:
“The question is not whether you can choose your doctor under the Pelosi health care plan, but whether your doctor will choose you!”
“Older Americans need to know that this package contains over a half-trillion dollars in total cuts to Medicare. In addition to cutting reimbursements to doctors and hospitals, ths bill also hits skilled nursing facilities, hospice centers, ambulance services, dialysis facilities, labs and durable medical equipment (DME) suppliers, these reductions include $202 billion from seniors’ Medicare health plans, including massive cuts to Medicare Advantage. 148,000 seniors in New Jersey, including over 35,000 in my Congressional District, enjoy the benefits of this innovative program. Thousands currently receiving health benefits through Medicare Advantage will be dropped.”
Tax Increases:
“This package contains over $523 billion in job-killing higher taxes. I cannot think of a worse time to tax families and small businesses than in the middle of a serious recession.”
Individual Mandate
“This bill contains $17 billion in new taxes on Americans who do not obey the bill’s mandate that individuals must buy health insurance whether they want to or not, and $52 billion in new taxes on employers that do not provide health coverage deemed “acceptable” or “affordable” by Washington-based government bureaucrats. This provision alone may require hiring over 16,000 new IRS agents and auditors to enforce the new law.”
FICA Tax Extension
“In addition, the bill hikes the Medicare FICA tax to 3.8 percent for certain taxpayers AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, THIS TAX WILL BE EXTENDED BEYOND WAGES TO INCLUDE INTEREST, DIVIDENDS, CAPITAL GAINS, ANNUITIES, ROYALTIES, HOME SALES AND RENTS. This new tax will be particularly damaging to New Jersey’s seniors, many of whom depend on such interest, dividends and annuities to cover their monthly expenses and potential nursing home costs.”
Active Military, Retirees and Veterans
“It is unconscionable that our men and women in uniform, military retirees and veterans could be affected by the Senate-passed health care bill because it omitted protections for military health plans. Specifically, the Senate language does not give the VA health care system specific protection from interference by other government agencies. Further, the final bill would leave it up to bureaucrats at the Department of the Treasury to determine whether TRICARE meets the minimum standards under the bill’s individual health insurance mandate. Our men and women in uniform, and our veterans, deserve better!”
Omissions
“There is no medical lawsuit reform. The Pelosi package also fails to promote portability of coverage. It does not allow insurance companies to sell their policies across state lines. It fails to recognize the value of Association Health Plans, which permit small businesses to pool their risk in order to secure lower insurance rates. The bill does not expand Health Savings Accounts which millions of families use to provide protection against catastrophic illness. The package does very little to enhance medical training for doctors, nurses and technicians. If we are going to expand coverage for tens of millions of Americans, we need to increase graduation rates in these critical medical professions.”
“This package completely ignores the ongoing crisis in Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors. Many doctors in New Jersey are already questioning their participation in the Medicare program, putting in greater jeopardy our seniors access to care. Does the Majority actually believe that the pending 22-percent reimbursement reduction will not cause more doctors to ‘opt out’ of Medicare?
Human Resources, Talent Acquisition, Global Social Media and Marketing Solutions including: organizational development, team building, change management, compensation structural development and implementation, social media and talent community development, growth and advancement, training, rewards and recognition, recruitment, attrition control, affirmative action administration, labor relations and M&A.
Trainer
So You Think You Can Interview - ProNet August, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - ProNet June, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Resources - Lee Hecht Harrison July, 2010 Personal Branding and Social Media Tooling - Lenova Women in Leadership September, 2010 Your Life Bag - ProNet October, 2010, The Effects of Social Media in the Workplace - Carolinas Payroll Conference November 2012
Published Author
Sonni's Abyss (June 2008)
A Beautiful World (February 2011)
This Time Around (Scheduled for February 2013 Publication)
