Tag Archives: Health Care

by | July 24, 2010 · 10:19 am

Hotel Industry Health Insurance: Nevada Hotel Operator To Subsidize Medical Insurance For Part-Time Employees In Effort To Reduce Turnover

“We recognize the importance of medical insurance for our team members and their families,” Gordon R. Kanofsky, Ameristar’s chief executive officer, said in a written statement. “This is another way we can show team members we appreciate their commitment to delivering outstanding service to our guests.”

Ameristar Casinos, Inc. said Thursday it will begin subsidizing medical coverage for part-time employees after researching methods for reducing part-time employee turnover.

The company, which owns and operates Cactus Petes Resort Casino and the Horseshu Hotel & Casino in Jackpot, Nev., will pay one-half of the premiums for part-time employees working less than 30 hours per week and their dependents.

“We recognize the importance of medical insurance for our team members and their families,” Gordon R. Kanofsky, Ameristar’s chief executive officer, said in a written statement. “This is another way we can show team members we appreciate their commitment to delivering outstanding service to our guests.”

Ameristar hosted focus groups with part-time employees to gauge how effective the program will be, officials said. Employee feedback led to Ameristar’s decision to make the care plan available to all part-time team members.

For more:  http://insurancenewsnet.com/article.aspx?id=209821

Comments Off on Hotel Industry Health Insurance: Nevada Hotel Operator To Subsidize Medical Insurance For Part-Time Employees In Effort To Reduce Turnover

Filed under Health, Insurance, Labor Issues, Liability, Risk Management

Tagged as , , ,

by | May 20, 2010 · 7:17 am

Hospitality Industry Health Insurance: Hotel Industry Must Comply With New Health Care Law Provisions For Automatic Enrollment, Waiting Periods And Coverage For Dependents

The hotel industry has some unique work-force characteristics that make the health-care reform law of particular interest, said Ron Kramer, partner with Seyfarth Shaw.

The abundance of part-time workers, seasonal workers and independent contractors, to name a few, will have a dramatic impact on how the hotel owners and managers accommodate the act’s many provisions, he said.

  • “There’s a provision that requires automatic enrollment for employers with 200 or more employees,” Kraft said. “That means they would have to automatically enroll employees.”
  • The waiting period for enrollment is being set at 90 days, which means many employers will have to shorten their current policies.
  • The act puts a prohibition on rescissions (cancellation of contracts) by insurance companies, except in cases of fraud. In the past, some insurance companies have been accused of scouring through a participant’s medical files upon huge claims to try to find some reason to rescind coverage.
  • By 2014, there will be no pre-existing conditions exclusions for any covered individuals.
  • While group health plans are not required to provide coverage for dependents under the act, they must extend that coverage to dependent children up to age 26 if such coverage already exists. Grandfathered plans must only extend that coverage if the dependent does not have any other employment-based coverage. By 2014, all plans will be required to provide coverage for dependent children.

For more:  http://www.hotelnewsnow.com/articles.aspx?ArticleId=3359&PageType=News&ArticleType=35

Comments Off on Hospitality Industry Health Insurance: Hotel Industry Must Comply With New Health Care Law Provisions For Automatic Enrollment, Waiting Periods And Coverage For Dependents

Filed under Health, Insurance, Legislation

Tagged as , ,

by | April 19, 2010 · 1:13 pm

Small Hotel And Hospitality Companies Can Qualify For Tax Credit Portion Of Health Insurance Bill

The tax credit’s value depends on a company’s size and average wage. Businesses with 25 full-time employees or more aren’t eligible for the credit. Neither are businesses that, on average, pay their employees more than $50,000 a year. The full value of the credit—35 percent of a company’s premium costs—is available only to businesses with 10 or fewer full-time employees and an average wage of $25,000 or less.

The full value of the credit increases to 50 percent in 2014, when small businesses and individuals will be eligible to purchase coverage through new state-based insurance exchanges. The tax credit could disappear after 2015, however. The law allows eligible small businesses to claim the credit from 2010 through 2013, and then for any two years after that.

(From a Portfolio.com article)   “…the owner of Hawthorne Auto Clinic in Portland, Oregon, expects to save $10,000 to $12,000 a year on his company’s health insurance costs thanks to the tax credit. He hopes to use that savings to give raises to some of his nine full-time employees. Houser hasn’t been able to increase their pay in recent years because of the rising cost of health insurance. He wants to “show that they’re appreciated,” he said.

Other small-business owners are just beginning to look at how health care reform will affect them. Many of the changes won’t go into effect for a few years, but the tax credit is available now. White House officials estimate that 4 million businesses qualify for this tax break, and they’re promoting it through Web chats, postcards to small businesses from the Internal Revenue Service, and workshops around the country.

Ever since the bill became law last month, “there’s been a real hunger” for information about what’s in the bill, said John Arensmeyer, CEO of Small Business Majority, an organization that supported the legislation. Arensmeyer’s organization has created a tax credit calculator that businesses can use to determine how much money—if any—they can save through the tax credits.

Read more: http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/2010/04/19/businesses-seek-answers-on-health-reform-tax-credit#ixzz0laBXx72m

Comments Off on Small Hotel And Hospitality Companies Can Qualify For Tax Credit Portion Of Health Insurance Bill

Filed under Health, Insurance

Tagged as , , ,