May 21, 2010

Health Care Rules

President Obama and Congress revamped the U.S. health care system in March. You might have heard about it.

There’s a lot of information – and a lot of opinions – swirling around regarding how things are going to change. You’re probably wondering how all of it is going to affect you, not just as an individual but as an employer – an employer of a highly mobile, seasonal work force.

Well, some of the measures that will affect you as an individual – and your family – will take effect later this year, including the ability to carry children on your insurance plan to age 26, the elimination of annual and lifetime coverage caps on insurance plans and the elimination of dropping coverage due to illness.

For employers, here are a couple of tidbits from a summary of the new health care rules put together by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation:

Effective this year, employers with 25 employees or less (and average annual wages of less than $50,000) that provide health insurance will get a tax credit.

Effective in 2014, employers with more than 50 employees will be required to offer health coverage or face thousands of dollars in fees.

Also in 2014, employers with more than 200 employees must automatically enroll their workers into health insurance plans offered by the employer, though the employees may opt out of the coverage.

What information we have right now is very general, and much will depend on how the rules are actually written, according to Frank Gasperini, executive director of the National Council of Agricultural Employers.

The rulemaking process will be long, and there will be opportunity for public input. Though the basic timelines and framework of the new health care rules will most likely remain intact, Gasperini said it’s difficult to predict what the final outcome will look like.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will carry the brunt of writing the regulations, but the Labor Department and other agencies will have a hand in the process, too, he said.

Gasperini said most of the rules of greatest impact to agricultural employers would not take effect for two to four years. But he, and others, are concerned that the new legislation doesn’t take into account the uniqueness of agriculture and its seasonal work force.

“We hope to get some of these issues addressed in the regulatory process, and hope USDA and others will weigh in to help at that point,” he said.

A story published by McClatchy on March 22, shortly after Congress passed the bill, highlights agriculture’s uncertain position:

“But one provision folded into the 2,409-page bill carves out an exemption for those who hire seasonal employees for fewer than 120 days a year. The opaquely worded provision states that the exempted seasonal workers include ‘workers covered by section 500.20(s)(1) of title 29, Code of Federal Regulations.’

“The cited provision refers to migrant and seasonal agricultural workers. This will save employers money; conversely, it will also mean the seasonal workers are cut out.

“But Jack King, manager of national affairs for the California Farm Bureau Federation, noted that important questions still remain. The 120-day employment threshold, and ambiguity about how farm labor contractors will be handled, leave uncertain the real-world impact in California.”