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How to Choose an HMO
When
you join an HMO, you pay a fixed monthly fee, called a premium.
In the health insurance company and its health care network
provide a variety of medical benefits. The range of
health care services covered by an HMO varies, so it is important
to compare available plans. Some health care services, such
as outpatient medical health care, are often only covered
on a limited
basis.
Health maintenance organizations consist of a network
of physicians. From the list, you choose a primary care physician,
who is then responsible for your health care as well as for
making referrals to specialists and approving further means
of treatment. Any health care cost from other providers, except
in emergencies, is not covered. Non-network care, however,
is rarely ever covered.
Instead you are responsible for paying the entire medical
bill.
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Recent Survey Shows Employees Value Health
Insurance More Than Higher Salaries
A
recent national survey by Stony Brook University, indicates
that more Americans are willing to take a lower paying job
offering health coverage than a job with a higher salary but
no benefits.
The Health Pulse of America, conducted by Stony Brook's Center
for Survey Research, shows just how important a role medical
benefits play in the job selections people make today. After
researchers conducted telephone surveys with 865 adults, they
found not only are employees increasingly valuing comprehensive
medical coverage, they are also wanting more vacation time
from their employers. These are the two major findings of
the SBU survey, which also addresses other work-related issues.
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Voluntary Benefits Programs And Flexible
Benefit Plans: Two Vehicles For Offering Choice To Employees
The American work force today looks much different than
it did just a few decades ago, and projections indicate that
it will continue to change. According to the Department of
Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in the decade 2000-2010,
the following changes will take place:
—
While the median age of the work force will rise due to the
aging of the baby boomers, the "youth labor force," defined
as workers ages 16-24, will grow more rapidly than the overall
labor force.
— Women's share of the labor force will increase, as will
the participation rate of women in nearly all age groups.
— The Asian labor force will grow by 44%, the Hispanic labor
force by 36%, the Black labor force by 21%, and the White
labor force by 9%.
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New Proposed COBRA Regulations Issued By the Department
of Labor
Approximately seventeen years since COBRA became law,
the Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a proposed regulation
that provides updated guidance regarding the timing and content
of COBRA notices and the establishment of new standards for
administration. Issued in late May 2003, the proposed regulation
includes two notice models, both of which, if adapted and
used by employers, would constitute a "safe harbor" for compliance.
With the new proposed regulation, the DOL is taking steps
to clear up some of the confusion relating to the COBRA administration
process for employers.
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