A new 2011 U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Study of employee benefits offered shares key insights into the availability of employer-provided health and other coverage. 

With regard to health benefits, the report reveals that practices vary significantly among employers, on average, medical care benefits were available to 69 percent of private industry workers. 1/2 private industry  workers participated in a medical plan. For single coverage, private sector employers paid 80 percent of the medical care premiums for full-time workers and  69 percent of medical care premiums for full-time workers in private industry.  Data shows employees often elect not to take offered coverage.  

The study shows that health and other benefits offered by employers and utilized by employees varies widely varied by whether the employer is a government or private sector employer, the industry, size and other characteristics of the employer and the income, profession, education and other characteristics of the employee. It is no surprise that government employers that can pass along costs to taxpayers provide coverage more broadly and subsidize more of the cost. 

The report reveals that most health care employers offer health coverage and significantly subsidize the cost of this coverage for their workers.    According to the report:

•  73  percent of private sector health care workers are offered health coverage by their employers;
• 52 percent of health care workers participate in employer provided health care coverage;
• The take up rate by private sector health industry workers for employer provided coverage is  72 percent.

The report also shows that private sector health care employers on average paid 81  percent of single coverage health coverage costs, and only required employees to contribute an average of 19 percent of the cost for their single coverage.      

In addition to data on medical benefits, the study also reports that paid leave remains the most commonly provided benefit nationally and includes data on other benefits.

The DOL highlights 1st time reporting of domestic partner status for 1st time in its announcement.  Data also provided on paid vacation and other leave. 

Read report summary and access report at http://www.bls.gov/news.release/ebs2.nr0.htm.

For Help or More Information

If you have questions or need help understanding or responding to the Regulations, with other health benefit design, administration or operations concerns, or with other employee benefits, compensation, labor or employment or other workforce management concerns, please contact the author of this update, Board Certified Labor and Employment attorney and management consultant Cynthia Marcotte Stamer here or at (469)767-8872.

Past Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Interest Group, Chair of the ABA RPTE Employee Benefit and Other Compensation Committee, and a council member of the ABA Joint Committee on Employee Benefits, Vice President of the North Texas Healthcare Compliance Professionals Association, Exempt Organizations Coordinator of the Gulf States Area TEGE Council, and Executive Director of the Project COPE: Coalition On Patient Empowerment, Ms. Stamer is nationally recognized for her more than 23 years pragmatic and innovative health program work.

Board certified in labor and employment law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization with extensive leading edge health care, human resources and employee benefits experience. 

For more than 24 years, Ms. Stamer has worked with health care providers, payers, government and charitable agencies, policymakers and others on managing health, insurance and employee benefits, practices, people, performance, costs, performance and policy.  In the health care industry, Ms. Stamer works extensively with hospitals, physician practices, skilled nursing, hospice, and other health care providers to manage their people, compliance, quality and operations.  Along side this work, Ms. Stamer also has worked extensively in the payor community on product design, administration, quality, contracting, compliance, public policy and other concerns.  As part of this work, she has worked continuously throughout her career helping self-insured and insured, public and private health plan sponsors, fiduciaries, administrators, insurers and others design, administer and defend health and other employee benefit and insurance programs domestically and internationally. She is widely recognized for her experience helping design and implement legally compliant self-insured and insured health reimbursement, mini-med, high-deductible health plans, limited benefit plans, 24-hour and occupational medicine, Medicare and Medicaid Advantage, ex-pat and medical tourism, deductible reimbursement and other creative health benefit programs to solve a wide range of financial and other challenges while coping with changing regulatory and market realities. Her work includes both working with clients to design, document, implement and administer these and other arrangements, as well as the development of wellness and disease management, claims administration and appeals, eligibility, and other administrative services, processes and technologies.  Ms. Stamer regularly represents and defends these and other clients in dealings with the Department of Labor, Department of Justice, Department of Health & Human Services, Department of Defense, Internal Revenue Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, state insurance regulators, state attorneys general and other federal and state regulators and prosecutors and private plaintiffs in connection with investigations, prosecutions, audits and other actions arising from employee benefit, insurance and related arrangements and products.

Recognized in the International Who’s Who of Professionals and bearing the Martindale Hubble Premier AV-Rating, Ms. Stamer also is a highly regarded author and speaker, who regularly conducts management and other training on a wide range of health care, insurance, labor and employment, employee benefit, human resources, internal controls, privacy and data security, board governance and other related risk management matters.  Her writings frequently are published by the American Bar Association (ABA), Aspen Publishers, Bureau of National Affairs, the American Health Lawyers Association,the American Bar Association, SHRM, World At Work, Government Institutes, Inc., Atlantic Information Services, Employee Benefit News, Modern Healthcare, and many others. For a listing of some of these publications and programs, see here. Her insights on human resources risk management matters also have been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, various publications of The Bureau of National Affairs and Aspen Publishing, the Dallas Morning News, Spencer Publications, Health Leaders, Business Insurance, the Dallas and Houston Business Journals and a host of other publications. In addition to her many ABA leadership involvements, she also serves in leadership positions in numerous human resources, corporate compliance, and other professional and civic organizations. Her insights on these and other matters appear in the Bureau of National Affairs, Spencer Publications, the Wall Street Journal, the Dallas Business Journal, the Houston Business Journal, World At Work, the ICEBS, SHRM and many other national and local publications. For additional information about Ms. Stamer and her experience or to access other publications by Ms. Stamer see here or contact Ms. Stamer directly.

About Solutions Law Press

Solutions Law Press™ provides business risk management, legal compliance, management effectiveness and other resources, training and education on human resources, employee benefits, data security and privacy, insurance, health care and other key compliance, risk management, internal controls and operational concerns. If you find this of interest, you also be interested reviewing some of our other Solutions Law Press resources at www.solutionslawpress.com.

If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail – by creating or updating your profile at here or e-mailing this information here.

©2011 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer.  Non-exclusive right to republish granted to Solutions Law Press.  All other rights reserved.

For assistance with assessing or defending your current worker classification, wage and hour or other health care and human resources policies and controls, please contact Cynthia Marcotte Stamer at cstamer@solutionslawyer.net, 972-419-7188..

For More Information or Assistance

The author of this update, attorney Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, has extensive experience advising and assisting health care providers and other health industry clients to respond to these and other health care industry enforcement and other compliance, public policy, regulatory, staffing, and other operations and risk management matters.

Board Certified in Labor and Employment Law, Vice President of the North Texas Health Care Compliance Professionals Association, Past Chair of the ABA Health Law Section Managed Care & Insurance Section and the former Board Compliance Chair of the National Kidney Foundation of North Texas, Ms. Stamer has more than 23 years experience advising physicians, hospitals and other health industry, assisted living, educational and other clients about human resources, employee benefits and compensation, regulatory compliance and enforcement, quality assurance, peer review, licensing and discipline, and other medical staff performance matters.  She continuously advises health industry clients about the use of technology, process and other mechanisms to promote compliance and internal controls, workforce and medical staff performance, quality, governance, reimbursement, and other risk management and operational needs. As part of this experience, she has worked extensively with health care providers, payers, health care technology and consulting and other health industry clients, as well as other businesses, on privacy, data security, trade secret and related matters. A popular lecturer and widely published author on health industry concerns, Ms. Stamer also publishes and speaks extensively on health care compliance, staffing and human resources, compensation and benefits, technology, medical staff, public policy, reimbursement, privacy, technology, and other health and managed care industry regulatory, and other operations and risk management concerns for medical societies and staffs, hospitals, the HCCA, American Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association and many other health industry groups and symposia.  Her highly popular and information packed programs include many highly regarded publications on HIPAA, FACTA, medical confidentiality, state identity theft and privacy and other many other related matters.  Her insights on these and other related matters appear in the Health Care Compliance Association, Atlantic Information Service, Bureau of National Affairs, World At Work, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insurance, the Dallas Morning News, Modern Health Care, Managed Healthcare, Health Leaders, and a many other national and local publications. To review some of her many publications and presentations, or for additional information about Ms. Stamer, her experience, involvements, programs or publications, see here.

Other Recent Developments

If you found this information of interest, you also may be interested in reviewing some of the following recent Updates available online by clicking on the article title:

• Health Care Fraud Enforcement Packs New Heat
• President Signs Long-Sought Red Flag Rule Exemption Into Law
• Red Flag Rule Relief For Health Care Providers, Lawyers & Other Service Providers Awaits President’s Signature
• Quality, Recordkeeping & Unprofessional Conduct Lead Reasons For Medical Board Discipline of Physicians
• Small Employers Should Weigh If Health Premium Tax Credit Justifies Changing Employee Leasing Arrangements
• 2011 Standard Mileage Rates Announced
• 12/15 Deadline For Input on New Joint Commission Heart Failure Certification
• CMS Finalizes Calendar Year 2011 Physician Fee Schedule & Other Medicare Part B Payment Policies
• DEA Cautions Practitioners Must Restrict Delegation of Controlled Substance Prescribing Functions, Urges Adoption of Written Policies & Agreements
• OIG Shares Key Insights On When Owners, Officers & Managers Face OIG Program Exclusion Based On Health Care Entity Misconduct
• Update Employment Practices To Manage Genetic Info Discrimination Risks Under New EEOC Final GINA Regulations
• DOL Proposes To Expand Investment Related Services Giving Rise to ERISA Fiduciary Status As Investment Fiduciary
• EEOC Attacks Medical Leave Denials As Prohibited Disability Discrimination
• Annual Benefit Limitation Waiver Guidance Offers Fast Acting Employers, Insurers Expanded Options To Meet Affordable Care Act Health Plan Rule
• New Insured Group Health Plan Non-Discrimination Rules Create Significant Liability For Employers & Insurers; Prompt IRS Also To Review Self-Insured Group Health Plan Rules
• NLRB To Review, Invites Briefs In Cases Involving Voluntary Recognition Agreements & Successor Employers
• DMEPOS Suppliers Face 9/27 Deadline To Meet Tightened Medicare Standards
• Initial EHR Certification Bodies Named
• HHS Announces Adjustments to Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Rates
• CMS Publishes Corrections To Proposed 2011 Physician Fee Schedule Rules
• Medicare Changing How It Pays For Outpatient Dialysis
• Rite Aid Agrees to Pay $1 Million to Settle HIPAA Privacy Case As OCR Moves To Tighten Privacy Rules
• HHS Invites Input On Medicaid Changes To Promote Children’s Health Quality
• CMS Adopts ESRD Facility Prospective Payment System & Proposes New Quality Incentive Program
• CMS Rule Clarifies When Outpatient Services Subject to 3-Day Rule & Finalizes FY 2011 Inpatient Payment Rates
• New Affordable Care Act Mandated High Risk Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Pool Program Regulations Set Program Rules, Prohibit Plan Dumping of High Risk Members
• CMS Proposes Changes To Civil Monetary Penalty Rules For Nursing Homes

For More Information

We hope that this information is useful to you.  You can review other recent health care and internal controls resources and additional information about the health industry and other experience of Ms. Stamer here. If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates about developments on these and other concerns, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail – by creating or updating your profile at here or e-mailing this information here.

About Solutions Law Press

Solutions Law Press™ provides business risk management, legal compliance, management effectiveness and other resources, training and education on human resources, employee benefits, compensation, data security and privacy, health care, insurance, and other key compliance, risk management, internal controls and other key operational concerns. If you find this of interest, you also be interested reviewing some of our other Solutions Law Press resources.  If you or someone else you know would like to receive future updates and notices about other upcoming Solutions Law Press events, please be sure that we have your current contact information – including your preferred e-mail – by creating or updating your profile at here. For important information concerning this communication click here. 

©2010 Cynthia Marcotte Stamer. Limited license to reprint granted to Solutions Law Press.  All other rights reserved.