my employer terminated my health coverage without any notification, what are my options?
Total Comments: 28
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:52 pm Post Subject:
Is that the case with few more employees or you are the only to suffer this problem? Did you get any clarifications from HR department? Most group insurance coverages are renewed every year. There can be a case due to insufficient funds or else reasons, they were not able to continue? Generally management has some stands in difficult situations. Also, check with your employment offer letter, you will get the clues.
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 03:01 pm Post Subject:
I'm guessing that there was notification. If so, they should have also offered you COBRA. basically, you'd be paying 100% of the premium cost but you'd need to do it within a short amount of time. These premiums can be quite high.
You could quit and find another job that offers health insurance. Probably your best bet if you need it. Also consider that health insurance was part of your compensation. If they stopped paying for it, they are paying you far less money now.
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 05:44 am Post Subject:
hey guest....... employer dnt control what coverage u get......it is the company's policy......plz check whether ur company provide health coverage or not .....if yes ....then demand for it.......and if no then nothing can be done......its not a matter of insurance.....it is just related to ur company's policy......chao
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 09:31 am Post Subject:
During this period of recession, many employers have stopped offering health coverage to the employees as a method of cost cutting. Since the benefits of group health coverage are no longer available you may seek health insurance in the private market. if you are in considerable good health, you wouldn’t find it difficult to manage health coverage with a private insurer.
Remember, that COBRA would allow to stay with the current plan for the tenure of eighteen months and as Tcope has pointed out the cost of the coverage would increase by 100%. So, it’d be wise to begin your search for new insurer before COBRA wears out.
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 09:34 am Post Subject:
Well, Superagent, it seems that the OP has had health coverage through the employer, which got terminated. Can you illuminate us on what ground a group health plan can get terminated at the middle of the term?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 12:42 pm Post Subject:
Rupert .... even i am working in a company and trust me they hold all powers.....and nowadays the insurance plans are so flexible anything is possible...any change is possible with any effective date u want.... and also in this case the policy is not getting terminated any 1 coverage is getting dropped............and at present company's have a very good reason "RECESSION" to do any change to ur policy........may be its wriiten in the contract "POLICY IS SUBJECTED TO CHANGE WITHOUT ANY PRIOR NOTICE"........................................and also rupert may be its the renewal time of the policy when this coverage is dropped....guest never mentioned any date......cocverage can be dropped at the time of renewal if not in the middle of the term
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 04:54 am Post Subject:
I think you have a point SAgent…we really don’t know whether its done on renewal or not. But it really sounds scary…. the employers holding all the powers to make any changes in your coverage at any point of time. You may realize at the time of need that you don’t have coverage for a certain condition.
How the employees would come to know if there is any change in their coverage? Who would inform them? Whose responsibility is it to keep track of the changes in coverage?
Thanks,
Rupert
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 05:30 am Post Subject:
As I see it, the concern of the OP is that he received no notification of the termination:
my employer terminated my health coverage without any notification, what are my options?
This comment threw me a little:
hey guest....... employer dnt control what coverage u get......it is the company's policy......plz check whether ur company provide health coverage or not .....if yes ....then demand for it.......and if no then nothing can be done......its not a matter of insurance.....it is just related to ur company's policy......chao
First off, the employer is the company, and they absolutely control what coverage you get. :? As well, it's obvious that the company provided health coverage...the OP is complaining that it was taken away without notification! The employee "demanding" that the company is an interesting thought, but is of little consequence.
Here's the deal. Every state has rules that regulate group medical expense plans, except for self-insured plans which are under a different set of rules. It is rare that a carrier can discontinue a group plan without notification, and almost impossible that your employer was not aware of the impending termination if in fact the coverage has actually been terminated and there's not some miscommunication. Termination of group plans is normally due to:
* Non-payment of the group premium. If your employer deducted wages from you and did not pay for the insurance- this is in violation of law.
* The employer discontinued group plans for all employees within the allowances of your state laws and rules. This would absolutely require notification to employees.
* The group carrier ceased offering group plans in the state. Again, this would require notice under law to all affected.
* Misuse of the provider network. This is rare.
Assuming your employer followed rule and law, you should have been notified of any impending termination of your coverage. If you weren't, you'll have to look to your state for clarification on law.
If you were covered by a self-insured plan, the rules are different as you are covered under federal ERISA law with certain state exceptions. For you to be eligible for coverage under COBRA, the group plan must still be in effect and your employer must have had at least 20 employees covered under the plan. If this isn't/wasn't present, you may have options for guaranteed coverage under your state's portability laws.
Can you give us more info?
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 08:51 am Post Subject:
Hi InsTeacher,
Assuming your employer followed rule and law,
you should have been notified of any impending
termination of your coverage.
What happens if the employer notifies in time but the employee misses it for some reason? I hope then it's the employee's responsibility to stay updated.
If your employer deducted wages from you and did not pay for the insurance- this is in violation of law.
Did you come across such instances as a professional? Please share with us any of such experiences..I'm sure it would help widen our views.
Steven
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:10 pm Post Subject:
The OP pm'd me and here's the advice I would have:
What you're looking at is violation of a court order. This is something you're, unfortunately, going to have to take up with the courts if she refuses to place your coverage back into force. Sounds like there's more to the issue than is posted here given your pm to me. You could also run into problems with actually getting back into the group plan depending on the requirements for enrollment into the plan.
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 12:52 pm Post Subject:
Is that the case with few more employees or you are the only to suffer this problem? Did you get any clarifications from HR department? Most group insurance coverages are renewed every year. There can be a case due to insufficient funds or else reasons, they were not able to continue? Generally management has some stands in difficult situations. Also, check with your employment offer letter, you will get the clues.
Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2009 03:01 pm Post Subject:
I'm guessing that there was notification. If so, they should have also offered you COBRA. basically, you'd be paying 100% of the premium cost but you'd need to do it within a short amount of time. These premiums can be quite high.
You could quit and find another job that offers health insurance. Probably your best bet if you need it. Also consider that health insurance was part of your compensation. If they stopped paying for it, they are paying you far less money now.
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 05:44 am Post Subject:
hey guest....... employer dnt control what coverage u get......it is the company's policy......plz check whether ur company provide health coverage or not .....if yes ....then demand for it.......and if no then nothing can be done......its not a matter of insurance.....it is just related to ur company's policy......chao
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 09:31 am Post Subject:
During this period of recession, many employers have stopped offering health coverage to the employees as a method of cost cutting. Since the benefits of group health coverage are no longer available you may seek health insurance in the private market. if you are in considerable good health, you wouldn’t find it difficult to manage health coverage with a private insurer.
Remember, that COBRA would allow to stay with the current plan for the tenure of eighteen months and as Tcope has pointed out the cost of the coverage would increase by 100%. So, it’d be wise to begin your search for new insurer before COBRA wears out.
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 09:34 am Post Subject:
Well, Superagent, it seems that the OP has had health coverage through the employer, which got terminated. Can you illuminate us on what ground a group health plan can get terminated at the middle of the term?
Posted: Mon Apr 13, 2009 12:42 pm Post Subject:
Rupert .... even i am working in a company and trust me they hold all powers.....and nowadays the insurance plans are so flexible anything is possible...any change is possible with any effective date u want.... and also in this case the policy is not getting terminated any 1 coverage is getting dropped............and at present company's have a very good reason "RECESSION" to do any change to ur policy........may be its wriiten in the contract "POLICY IS SUBJECTED TO CHANGE WITHOUT ANY PRIOR NOTICE"........................................and also rupert may be its the renewal time of the policy when this coverage is dropped....guest never mentioned any date......cocverage can be dropped at the time of renewal if not in the middle of the term
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 04:54 am Post Subject:
I think you have a point SAgent…we really don’t know whether its done on renewal or not. But it really sounds scary…. the employers holding all the powers to make any changes in your coverage at any point of time. You may realize at the time of need that you don’t have coverage for a certain condition.
How the employees would come to know if there is any change in their coverage? Who would inform them? Whose responsibility is it to keep track of the changes in coverage?
Thanks,
Rupert
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 05:30 am Post Subject:
As I see it, the concern of the OP is that he received no notification of the termination:
my employer terminated my health coverage without any notification, what are my options?
This comment threw me a little:
hey guest....... employer dnt control what coverage u get......it is the company's policy......plz check whether ur company provide health coverage or not .....if yes ....then demand for it.......and if no then nothing can be done......its not a matter of insurance.....it is just related to ur company's policy......chao
First off, the employer is the company, and they absolutely control what coverage you get. :? As well, it's obvious that the company provided health coverage...the OP is complaining that it was taken away without notification! The employee "demanding" that the company is an interesting thought, but is of little consequence.
Here's the deal. Every state has rules that regulate group medical expense plans, except for self-insured plans which are under a different set of rules. It is rare that a carrier can discontinue a group plan without notification, and almost impossible that your employer was not aware of the impending termination if in fact the coverage has actually been terminated and there's not some miscommunication. Termination of group plans is normally due to:
* Non-payment of the group premium. If your employer deducted wages from you and did not pay for the insurance- this is in violation of law.
* The employer discontinued group plans for all employees within the allowances of your state laws and rules. This would absolutely require notification to employees.
* The group carrier ceased offering group plans in the state. Again, this would require notice under law to all affected.
* Misuse of the provider network. This is rare.
Assuming your employer followed rule and law, you should have been notified of any impending termination of your coverage. If you weren't, you'll have to look to your state for clarification on law.
If you were covered by a self-insured plan, the rules are different as you are covered under federal ERISA law with certain state exceptions. For you to be eligible for coverage under COBRA, the group plan must still be in effect and your employer must have had at least 20 employees covered under the plan. If this isn't/wasn't present, you may have options for guaranteed coverage under your state's portability laws.
Can you give us more info?
InsTeacher 8)
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 08:51 am Post Subject:
Hi InsTeacher,
Assuming your employer followed rule and law,
you should have been notified of any impending
termination of your coverage.
What happens if the employer notifies in time but the employee misses it for some reason? I hope then it's the employee's responsibility to stay updated.
If your employer deducted wages from you and did not pay for the insurance- this is in violation of law.
Did you come across such instances as a professional? Please share with us any of such experiences..I'm sure it would help widen our views.
Steven
Posted: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:10 pm Post Subject:
The OP pm'd me and here's the advice I would have:
What you're looking at is violation of a court order. This is something you're, unfortunately, going to have to take up with the courts if she refuses to place your coverage back into force. Sounds like there's more to the issue than is posted here given your pm to me. You could also run into problems with actually getting back into the group plan depending on the requirements for enrollment into the plan.
What does your lawyer have to say about this???
InsTeacher 8)
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