HRMA November 2009 Luncheon: Social Networking in the Professional Marketplace

This past week, I was invited to speak to my colleagues and friends at the Human Resources Management Association in New Orleans about Social Networking in the Professional Marketplace.  I am pleased to announce that there were about 100 HR professionals in attendance and the meeting went extremely well.  The most difficult part for me was parting with my Who Dat gift basket and Wild Side Snuggie when door prizes were drawn.

Below is a copy of the presentation I gave (uploaded to SlideShare).  Feel free to review, share and comment if you like.  I am happy to answer any questions you may have.

Health Care Reform Update

The following is a fairly comprehensive update (from the Big “I”) on where things stand with the Health Care Reform debate that continues in Congress.  The next couple of months will be extremely important for all.  Take a few minutes to review what is expected to happen from here:

With House and Senate members back in their districts and states for much of last week, there was very little health care reform movement in Washington. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) continues to hold hope that the Senate will begin debate on the merged Finance/HELP Committee bill this week. However, that timeframe is looking less likely since, at press time, Reid is still awaiting a cost estimate and analysis from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and has yet to circulate the bill’s text to even his own caucus. Given those circumstances, this week’s update gives us an opportunity to assess the winter forecast for health care reform.

Conventional Forecast: The Senate begins consideration of the merged Finance/HELP Committee bill possibly this week but more likely the week of November 30th. The health care reform debate is anticipated to consume at least 3-4 weeks, meaning the Senate will be hard pressed to conclude debate prior to the December holiday recess. Following Senate passage of the bill, either just before the holiday recess or in early January, the House and Senate will each appoint members of their respective chambers to serve as conferees for a House/Senate conference to negotiate a final compromise bill. After a majority of conferees reach agreement on a conference report, likely sometime in January, the House and Senate will each vote on the conference report and then send it to the White House for the President’s signature.

Unconventional Forecast: The Senate begins consideration of the merged Finance/HELP Committee bill possibly this week but more likely the week of November 30th. After 3-4 weeks of debate, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is unable to attract the necessary 60 votes to invoke cloture and end debate on the bill. At that point, Reid pivots and invokes the partisan budget reconciliation process to consider the bill. In this year’s congressional budget resolution, Democratic Leadership inserted language giving them the option to utilize the budget reconciliation process to consider health care reform legislation. The budget reconciliation process is typically reserved to legislate policy changes in mandatory spending or revenue programs. Under it, debate is closed after 20 hours in the Senate and it only takes a mere 51 votes to pass a bill. Aside from political considerations, the major drawback to using the reconciliation process is that provisions included in the bill must have a budgetary effect (either increase or decrease revenue). If they do not have a budgetary effect, they are subject to a point of order in the Senate and it takes a super majority of 60 votes to keep the extraneous provision in the bill. Senate parliamentary experts have suggested this route would likely have the effect of turning the health care reform bill into swiss cheese as many key provisions would be subject to a point of order and stricken from the bill. With all of that said, should the Senate proceed down this path, they would pass a bill with 51-plus votes, and then ship the reconciliation bill to the House for a vote. Following House passage, assuming the House does not amend the bill prior to passing it, the bill would be sent to the White House sometime in January for the President’s signature.

Other news… On Friday (11/13), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a report analyzing the House-passed health care reform bill. In the report, CMS estimates that the House-passed bill would increase health care costs over the next decade by $289 billion. This number will be cited often over the next several weeks as proof that the House bill fails to bend the cost curve.

Employee Rewards Programs: The Formula for Successful Rewards

This afternoon, Matt Lundy, co-owner of Rewarding Events & Incentives (REI), came to our office to educate a few of our clients on Employee Rewards Programs and how they can be used to do everything from drive revenue and increase customer satisfaction to increasing safety records or recruiting new team members.

The presentation covered how to build a budget, select the right reward option for your company, as well as how to avoid common mistakes.  It was extremely eye-opening for me and for our clients in attendance.  I encourage everyone to take a look at the recorded presentation when you have some time.

Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962) Passed. . .Now What?

Well it was a very exciting Saturday night for Health Reform enthusiasts like myself.  By now, you have all heard the news and seen the tweets (apparently, rumors of Kanye West’s planned interruption of Pelosi’s victory speech were exaggerated).  Now, most business owners and employers just want to know what all of this means to them.

Well, for now (drum roll please) nothing - as the Senate will now need to voice their very slightly more conservative opinion on the matter.  But here is a very quick summary of the key points to be aware of:

• Employer will be required to contribute at least 72.5% of the cost of acceptable coverage for individuals and 65% for family coverage.

• In lieu of paying for coverage, employers may opt to “pay” instead of “play” by paying a payroll-based fee in accordance with a sliding scale, up to 8% of payroll for firms with an annual payroll greater than $750,000 (firms with payroll less than $500,000 are exempt).

• A tax credit equal to 50% of the cost of health coverage is available to firms with 10 or fewer employees and $20,000 or less in average annual wages.  Credits are phased out if the employer has 25 or more employees and average annual wages are $40,000 or more.

• Grants will be available for small employer-based wellness programs.

For a full breakdown of employer provisions contained in H.R. 3962, please click here.

HR Outsourcing: What Are My Options?

This afternoon, David Lawrence came to our office to discuss the latest trends in Human Resource Outsourcing. Though HR Departments manage one of an employers most important “assets” (it employees), they are not profit centers and do not directly generate revenue towards the bottom line. Because of this, one of the fastest growing industries over the past 10 to 15 years is HR outsourcing. In this presentation, David goes through through the variables in every HR department that can and are being outsourced to professionals.

David is the owner and President of Delta Administrative Services.  Delta Administrative Services provides Human Resource Outsourcing to over 100 clients throughout the Gulf South Region.

more about “HR Outsourcing: What Are My Options? …“, posted with vodpod

 

UniCare is Exiting the Texas Market

I saw a blurb that UniCare was getting out of Illinois this morning (via Twitter).  It looks like they will be getting out of Texas as well.  Here is the text of an email they sent:

UniCare has made a difficult strategic decision to exit commercial health insurance markets in Texas. Following a transition period, UniCare will no longer provide health benefits in Texas.

While UniCare continues to be financially secure, competitive pressures have made it increasingly difficult for us to maintain our high standards for excellent customer service and affordable, quality benefits that you expect from us.

UniCare is pleased to collaborate with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBSTX), which will offer guaranteed replacement coverage to UniCare’s existing employer groups and individual policyholders. We believe that BCBSTX is best positioned to offer quality products, a high level of benefits and the superior customer service that our customers have come to expect. In addition, like UniCare, BCBSTX is a statewide plan that includes a comprehensive network of physicians and hospitals to choose from.

For UniCare customers who elect to transition their benefits to BCBSTX, UniCare will pay all claims for covered services rendered on or before December 31, 2009. BCBSTX will pay all claims for covered services from the time and date specified in their offer letter. There will be no break in coverage.

For UniCare customers who do not choose to transition their benefits to BCBSTX, UniCare will offer to renew their policy but only for a term ending on June 1, 2010. If the customers’ renewal date falls after June 1, 2010, UniCare will terminate coverage effective June 1, 2010 if permitted to do so by the terms of the policy, or otherwise continue to provide coverage up to the renewal date.

BCBSTX will be in contact with you soon to discuss an offer to transition your customers’ health benefits. As groups transition over you will be able to view them in your BCBS Agent Access Portal.

If your customers also have dental, vision, group life or disability coverage through UniCare, the BCBSTX offer will also include that coverage.

Until UniCare has completed its exit from the market, they will continue to process claims as we do today and honor the commission structure that is in place.

We have enjoyed a productive working relationship with you and want to help make this transition as seamless as possible. BCBSTX looks forward to the opportunity to work with you to provide your customers with the same level of quality health care benefits and service that they received with UniCare.

HR and Benefits Technology Capabilities Presentation

This afternoon, Steve Cassidy, with HR Technology Advisors, presented an overview of our HR & Benefits technology capabilities.  With the state of employment-based health insurance in a state of flux right now, it is more important than ever for employers to evaluate their process for managing employee data and communicating the value of their benefits (both mandatory and voluntary).  Though the details of health care reform may still be a little fuzzy, we can be sure that change is coming.  With these change will come a potentially time consuming communication and administration efforts.

While we wait for more details regarding what we can and can’t do with respect to benefit plan design and funding strategies, I would encourage employers to take this time to ensure that internal employee management processes are as efficient as possible.  Our time will be stretched more than ever and process automation will be an essential element of successful, growing organizations.

Please, take some time to review at your leisure and let me know if you would like additional information on any of the tools discussed and how they could impact your organization’s bottom line.

Quick Health Care Reform Presentation

Here is a quick 4 slides I put together for a recent 30 minute talk.

United Healthcare – Client Value Proposition

Today, Kim Gallagher, Strategic Account Executive with United Healthcare, came to our office to present the benefits of accessing the web as an administrator.  She outlined the impressive list of Value Added Services available to UHC clients and members.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana – Access Blue Presentation

Kellie Barbier is a trainer for the Marketing division of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana, specializing in online services training. She has been with Blue Cross since 1987 and has served as a trainer for the last 11 years. This afternoon, she and Debbie Stagni came to our office to present the following to a small group of of our clients.

During her presentation, Kellie explains how to navigate through Access Blue, Blue Cross’s employer web page – including a number of NEW features rolling out in October and November of this year (Member Enrollment, Member Maintenance, and eBilling). She discusses the importance Louisiana 2 Step Wellness Program and other value adds Blue Cross has to offer. This is a great session for existing Blue Cross clients.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana Access Blue Presentation

View more presentations from Tom Daly.