We are pleased to announce the first webinar in 2011 of our free monthly HR webinar series. We kick off the year with an important presentation by Peter Duncan, Partner at Sidles Duncan and Associates.

Health Care Reform legislation passed in March of 2010 and is back in the headlines as the new Congress revisits the Act. In this timely webinar, Mr. Duncan will review:

• The key provisions and overview of Health Care Reform (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA))
• 2011 and Beyond: Its multi-year implementation time-line.
• Understanding the “grandfather” clauses.
• What is likely to happen as Congress re-visits Health Care?
• What should employers know to be prepared for implementation of the existing legislation?

Please join us THIS coming Thursday!

A friendly reminder to California employers, that effective last month (on September 23) health insurance plans must offer coverage to young adults. This is one of the first major health care reforms to take effect under federal health care reform legislation.

For employers, this means that employees enrolled in heath care plans can get coverage for their young adult children up to 26 years old. Several federal agencies issued regulations to put this into action, and key elements of those regulations include:

• Coverage Extended to More Children: The goal of this new policy is to cover as many young adults under the age of 26 as possible with the least burden. Plans and issuers that offer dependent coverage must offer coverage to enrollees’ adult children until age 26, even if the young adult no longer lives with his or her parents, is not a dependent on a parent’s tax return, or is no longer a student. There is a transition for certain existing group plans that generally do not have to provide dependent coverage until 2014 if the adult child has another offer of employer-based coverage aside from coverage through the parent.  The new policy providing access for young adults applies to both married and unmarried children, although their own spouses and children do not qualify.
• Special Enrollment Opportunity for All Eligible Young Adults: For plan or policy years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, plans and issuers must give children who qualify an opportunity to enroll that continues for at least 30 days regardless of whether the plan or coverage offers an open enrollment period.  This enrollment opportunity and a written notice must be provided not later than the first day of the first plan or policy year beginning on or after September 23, 2010.  The new policy does not otherwise change the enrollment period or start of the plan or policy year.

What Employees Might Ask You About

• Immediate Options: Private health insurance companies that cover the majority of Americans volunteered to provide coverage earlier than the implementation deadline for young adults losing coverage as a result of graduating from college or aging out of dependent coverage on a family policy. This stop-gap coverage, in many cases, is available now. Employees might ask their employers and insurers about this option.
• Open Enrollment: If early coverage is not an option with an employer or insurance company, then young adults will qualify for an open enrollment period to join an employee’s family plan or policy beginning on or after September 23, 2010. Insurers and employers must provide notice for this special open enrollment period. Parents will probably watch for it or ask you about it.
• Offer of Continued Enrollment: Insurers and employers that sponsor health plans will inform young adults of continued eligibility for coverage until the age of 26. To get the coverage, employees with young adult children need not do anything but sign up and pay for this option.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, via the California Chamber of Commerce