labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Here’s news regarding a ruling that affects all employers whose health plans include mental health benefits.

Many Wyoming employees will be happy to learn that a bill requiring that mental health benefit limits equal those for surgery and other medical procedures has been extended again, this time until the end of 2007.

The extension of the Mental Health Parity Act, known as the MHPA, will have a major impact on Wyoming employee benefit packages. Nationwide, it applies to more than 150 million employees.

The law is the Mental Health Parity Act, or MHPA, passed originally in 1996, and was just extended through the ruling by the U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) through December 31, 2007.

Mental health treatment includes the following:

• Visits to a psychologist, licensed therapist, or psychiatrist.
• Stays in rehabilitation facilities for drug or alcohol dependencies.
• Stays in mental hospitals or the mental health sections of hospitals for such ailments as schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The law does not mandate that all health insurance plans include treatment for mental health. What it requires is that, if an existing health plan already includes mental health benefits, those benefits cannot have a lower limit on payments than those for medical and surgical treatment. 

To be legal, a health plan that puts a $250,000 limit, for example, on medical and surgical treatment must put the same maximum lifetime benefit on mental health care. Before passage of the original MHPA in 1996, coverage could have a quarter of a million dollar limit on medical care but only $15,000 on mental health care. Annual cops are covered by the same regulation. The annual or lifetime caps must be equal for either kind of treatment.

The ruling by EBSA was released without attention. In essence, it continues the MHPA through the end of 2007. The MHPA has been amended five times to extend its original “sunset clause” expiration date beyond September 31, 2001.

Here’s news regarding a ruling that affects all employers whose health plans include mental health benefits.

Many Wyoming employees will be happy to learn that a bill requiring that mental health benefit limits equal those for surgery and other medical procedures has been extended again, this time until the end of 2007.

The extension of the Mental Health Parity Act, known as the MHPA, will have a major impact on Wyoming employee benefit packages. Nationwide, it applies to more than 150 million employees.

The law is the Mental Health Parity Act, or MHPA, passed originally in 1996, and was just extended through the ruling by the U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) through December 31, 2007.

Mental health treatment includes the following:

• Visits to a psychologist, licensed therapist, or psychiatrist.
• Stays in rehabilitation facilities for drug or alcohol dependencies.
• Stays in mental hospitals or the mental health sections of hospitals for such ailments as schizophrenia, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The law does not mandate that all health insurance plans include treatment for mental health. What it requires is that, if an existing health plan already includes mental health benefits, those benefits cannot have a lower limit on payments than those for medical and surgical treatment.

To be legal, a health plan that puts a $250,000 limit, for example, on medical and surgical treatment must put the same maximum lifetime benefit on mental health care. Before passage of the original MHPA in 1996, coverage could have a quarter of a million dollar limit on medical care but only $15,000 on mental health care. Annual cops are covered by the same regulation. The annual or lifetime caps must be equal for either kind of treatment.

The ruling by EBSA was released without attention. In essence, it continues the MHPA through the end of 2007. The MHPA has been amended five times to extend its original “sunset clause” expiration date beyond September 31, 2001.

It should be no surprise to us to learn that Wyoming expects all of its new employers to report themselves to its Unemployment Tax Division in the Department of Employment, and that part of the whole unemployment insurance system in the state is determined by how well you keep info on your employees.

But getting back to the application to the Wyoming Unemployment Tax Division, you can get one from contacting the division directly, or downloading one of the applications off of their Web site. And this application is important for all new business owners, especially if you are paying a wage to someone. It is also important if you acquired or bought a business. In both cases, you could be liable as an employer under the Wyoming Employment Security Law, which means you could have to pay taxes to help fund the unemployment insurance system in the state.

Have we discussed what happens if you happen to be the employer getting bought out, or shutting your doors? We have considered the other half of the scenario pretty exhaustively (if I do say so myself), but when it comes to getting bought out or acquired, or shutting your business down, we haven’t talked much about that. In these scenarios, you will have to actually close down your account with the Unemployment Tax Division in Wyoming.

To do so, you have to make a request in writing to the Department of Employment’s Unemployment Tax Division that they shut down your account with them. This too requires a form, a Notice of Change Form. You can also use your company letterhead to send the letter. In either case, provide both your unemployment insurance number and your workers’ account number, as well as the last date of your payroll. You can fax or mail in this letter.

According to Wyoming Unemployment Insurance posters, Unemployment Insurance is a program to pay temporary benefits to those workers who lose their job through no fault of their own, are seeking work, and meet definite requirements. The program is financed entirely by employers covered under the Wyoming Employment Security Law.

Statutes for Unemployment Insurance require that any individual performing services, and receiving remuneration for those services, be considered an employee, unless the individual is free from direction and control by contract and fact, represents his services to the public as a self-employed individual or an independent contractor; and may substitute another individual to perform his services. Workers learn about the definition of an employee by reading Wyoming Unemployment Insurance posters at the workplace. These are required by law to be present and viewable in all workplace locations.

Beyond posting Wyoming Unemployment Insurance posters, you will also be required to file paperwork concerning UI. Employers can now file unemployment insurance and workers’ compensation quarterly reports using the WIRE Web application.WIRE allows employers to file joint or separate UI and WC quarterly reports. Once an employer has used WIRE, employee wage information will be retained for future filings, eliminating the need to complete lengthy Employee Wage Listing forms each quarter. WIRE will compute the taxes due based on the wage information provided by the employer.

Employers filing by WIRE will need to print out a payment remittance coupon after submitting the electronic report and mail a check for the appropriate amount to the Division. When you remit your payment, you only need to include the “WIRE Remittance” form with your check. The division does not need copies of the actual report.

Additionally, no later than December 31, 2006, there will be a joint UI/WC Internet registration process that will allow employers to register for both programs over the Internet and, in most cases, receive UI and WC rates and numbers immediately.