Benefit News Clips, Week of May 14th

California OSHA Issues Frequently Asked Questions to Clarify Guidance for Vaccinated Employees

On May 5, 2021, California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (Cal/OSHA) issued answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) t...

Friday's Benefit and Compliance Clips

Compliance Blue Cross Blue Shield Settlement : “If your company had an administrative services agreement with a Blue Cross Blue Shield (B...

Pandemic Brain Fog: How Life's Repetition, Uncertainty and Isolation Impact Our Minds and Memory

This is a fascinating read on the poor cognitive function or the "brain fog" people may feel during the pandemic.  From the Guardi...

Stupid Budget Tricks - Government Healthcare Edition

If you think the federal budget situation in the United States is bad, and it is, you needn’t look any further than the asinine, ineffici...

The Final 12 States That Refused to Expand Medicaid Now Face Additional Federal Enticements

This hardly comes as a surprise. Medicaid was originally passed to cover the lowest 2% of American earners. It now covers 23%; and 1 in 3 ba...

Who Will Really Pay for the Proposed Corporate Income Tax Hike?

 From Dr. John Goodman writing at Forbes :    If there is one thing that virtually all economists are united about, it is this: corporation...

The One Itty-Bitty, Teeny-Weeny Problem with the Plan to Expand Medicare

From Merrill Matthews writing at The Hill :   It will be very expensive. All workers have deducted from their paychecks a 2.9 percent Me...

In the Name of COVID Relief: People Making $350,000 a Year Can Now Claim $20,000 from Taxpayers to Buy a PPACA Exchange Plan (with Armstrong & Getty)

Skip to 20:05 in the podcast.    People who make $350k can now get $20k from taxpayers so they can afford a $51k exchange plan. That look...

Hospitals Using Computer Coding Tricks to Evade Transparency Rules: WSJ Investigation

A new January 1, 2021 regulation requires hospitals to disclose price information that they have long kept secret as part of a federal effor...