Health Reform and Senate Bill 7 Presentation for the Michigan Municipal League
Mindi Johnson and Nicole Stratton, two members of the Foster Swift Health Care Practice Group, recently presented a seminar on Health Reform - Impact and Compliance at the Public Law Employment Seminar for the Michigan Municipal League. The seminar was part of an all day event at the Michigan Municipal League's Lansing office on topics that ranged from "Do's and Don'ts for Independent Contractors" to "Social Media and New Technology Use," the latter of which was presented by Foster Swift's Melissa Jackson and Samuel Frederick.
The Health Reform Seminar focused on the following Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ("PPACA") items:
- the new requirements for health plans;
- the individual mandate and the legal challenges surrounding it;
- the exchange;
- tax provisions; and
- other provisions impacting employers.
In addition to discussing PPACA, Mindi and Nicole also discussed the Publicly Funded Health Insurance Contribution Act (also known as "Senate Bill 7"). Senate Bill 7 is a Michigan act designed to limit the amount that public employers may pay toward employee medical benefit plans beginning on January 1, 2012. Under Senate Bill 7, employers are given three options to choose from:
- a set dollar amount or hard cap on spending;
- an 80 /20 split, with the employer paying 80 percent of costs; and
- opting out with a 2/3 vote of the board.
Given that Senate Bill 7 passed in late September of this year, there were many questions on its impact and requirements.
If you have any questions regarding Senate Bill 7 or health care reform in general, please let us know at 616-726-2252 (Mindi) or 517-371-8140 (Nicole).