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Welcome to the Arizona Workforce Prospective. This is a collection of short stories and articles focused on a variety of workforce related topics effecting today’s businesses. Some of the topics of these stories include: Human Resources, Business Development, Funding, Marketing and Social Media.
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2010
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) has already made ripples in the ponds of the economy and the environment, and its latest focus is on healthcare - an issue that affects us all, both personally and publicly.
In addition to computerizing Americans' health records and aiming to reduce overall health care costs, the recent stimulus plan hopes to make COBRA payments more manageable for eligible, unemployed people and their dependents by providing a 65 percent COBRA premium subsidy for up to nine months.
People who are eligible for this subsidy include anyone who:
- Is eligible for COBRA continuation coverage at any time during the period from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009.
- Elects COBRA coverage (when first offered or during the additional election period provided by ARRA).
- Is uninsured due to involuntary termination of employment that occurred at some time from September 1, 2008 through December 31, 2009.
- Is not eligible for other group health coverage (such as through a new employer's plan or a spouse's plan) or Medicare.
How might this change impact your business? Employers are required to pay the COBRA subsidy up front, then be reimbursed through a new payroll tax credit. So you'll need to have money on-hand for these expenses, especially if you have had to lay off employees recently, or need to do so in the next few months. (But the COBRA-related ARRA statute may only be temporary.)
And if the offset amount does not cover the subsidy, you will likely have to file paperwork with the government to get a refund, which could mean cash flow problems for smaller businesses, especially those that are already in a financial crunch.
For more details about the COBRA-related changes, visit the following links:
- U.S. Dept. of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration website
- Podcast interview with K. Sebelius, U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary
- White House overview of healthcare-related changes in the Recovery Act
- Internal Revenue Service website
