labor lawAdivision of labor law center

The U.S. Department of Labor recently issued a notice for employers to inform workers annually of state healthcare premium assistance.

 

Under the CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009, employers who offer group health plans must notify employees each year of the right to premium assistance under the state Medicaid or CHIP program.

 

Employers must notify qualified workers by the first day of the first plan year falling after February 4, 2010 or May 1, 2010, and every year thereafter. Many employers have annual healthcare plans, so the notification date would be before January 1, 2011.

 

Workers who reside in Alabama, Alaska, California, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming must receive notification.

 

In addition, employees in other states must be notified if the group health plan offers services in any one of these states. This is true, regardless of the employee’s or employer’s location. For example, employees in Mississippi are not covered by any state assistance program. However, a Mississippi employer must notify employees who live in Mississippi if their group health insurance also offers benefits in Alabama.

 

Most employers provide the notice to every employee every year. This puts the company in compliance with the law, and eliminates the need to determine which employee’s will qualify for assistance based on family income and location.

Usually the notices are attached to annual information regarding healthcare benefits, but they may be distributed individually, as a memo or with paychecks, or in another way.

 

CHIP, the Children’s Health Insurance Program is also referred to as “Children’s Medicaid” covers uninsured children and teens who might not otherwise qualify for Medicaid. Employers and interested parties have until April 5, 2010 to comment on the new notice and suggest changes for future years.

Last 10 posts by Cara

• New Florida Background Check Required - September 1st, 2010
• Tennessee Allows Payroll Debit Cards, Direct Deposit - August 13th, 2010
• School Visitation Law Update - August 4th, 2010
• New Connecticut Family Violence Leave - July 23rd, 2010
• Healthcare Reform Changes for 2010 - July 7th, 2010
• New FMLA Entitlement for Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, Same-Sex Parents - June 30th, 2010
• Illinois Minimum Wage Increases to $8.25 - June 9th, 2010
• New York Discrimination Law - June 2nd, 2010
• Genetic Discrimination a Federal Case - May 14th, 2010
• Unpaid Interns in California - April 28th, 2010