5/20/2009

On October 9 of this year a new federal law—called Michelle's Law—regarding who's entitled to health benefits will go into effect. The law is named for Michelle Morse, a New Hampshire college student with cancer who continued with a full course load against her doctor's advice in order to maintain health benefits under her parents' health plan. The parents' employer-sponsored group health plan only covered dependent children who were enrolled in school on a full-time basis, and would have discontinued coverage if Michelle had taken a medical leave of absence from school in order to undergo treatment.

Michelle's Law, which will apply in California, requires all group health plans to continue health coverage of children of employees if:

1. The child qualifies as a dependent under the plan's terms, and;



2. The child is enrolled in the plan on the basis of attending a postsecondary educational institution before the first day that the medically necessary leave is needed.

In addition, the child's leave of absence must:

• commence while the child is suffering from serious illness or injury;



• Be medically necessary, as certified by the child's treating physician, and;



• Cause the child to lose student status for purposes of coverage under the terms of the plan or coverage.

Health plans and insurers must provide notice of the right to continued coverage for medically necessary school leaves of absence, including instructions on what's required to qualify for the coverage continuation, along with any notice that addresses certification of student status. This means that employers should amend plan documents, summary plan descriptions, and other employee communications to ensure notice of and compliance with the new law.

Clear Benefits Communication Can Boost Employee Moral in a Tough Economy

Despite the current recession, many California employers have pinched pennies and bent over backwards to preserve their employee benefits programs while times are tough. Here's the kicker, though: Your workers may not understand—or appreciate—what you're doing for them!

In nationwide surveys, employees report that they're routinely confused by the literature from benefits vendors and that they find it hard to get straight answers from toll-free benefits lines and Web site (or from their HR departments!). They don't understand the true value of what you're spending week after week, month after month, to keep their benefits in place while the economy has gone south. And, you may find yourself spending lots of time every day fielding the same benefits questions over and over.

Join us on May 28 for this practical 90-minute audio conference, as our expert speaker shares proven strategies for communicating the value of your employee benefits programs in your workplace, increasing utilization rates, and cutting down on HR time and overhead in the process.

YOU AND YOUR COLLEAGUES WILL LEARN:

• The most common reasons California employees say they're confused about their benefits, from coverage levels to enrollment procedures



• Best practices for teaching your workers the basics of their benefits—from health insurance to retirement programs



• How you can place a real dollar value on your benefits programs, so that workers understand how much you're investing in them during the current recession



• What communications techniques—from Web sites and emails to employee benefits packets and in-person meetings—work best to help workers understand their benefits



• Which times and days make the most sense in scheduling employee benefits education



• How you can work with benefits vendors to answer questions from your employees



• The most effective ways to teach brand-new employees what they must do (and when) to take advantage of your benefits programs

Register now

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