Understanding Employee Health Insurance Benefits

Part of the administrative schematic of a PEO is the doling out of employee health insurance benefits. This is one of the most crucial and needful of all the aspects of PEO handiwork. There are a fair amount of federal and state laws and regulations a PEO must adhere to (or make sure the company in their care adheres to, rather). The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was passed, for instance, due to the bureaucratic protocols faced with employee disability, health, employment status and fair compensation issues.

Although the ADA does not require an employer to provide additional insurance benefits to an individual with a disability, an employer may not deny health insurance coverage completely to an individual based upon that person's diagnosis or disability absent an actuarial justification. For example, a blind person may not be denied coverage based on blindness independent of actuarial risk classification. Also, an employee who is addicted to drugs, but not a current user, may not be excluded from receiving health care benefits simply because of the person's addiction. Similarly, an employer may not deny a qualified applicant a job because the employer's current insurance plan does not cover the person's disability or because of the increased cost of insurance. An employer also may not terminate an employee so as to avoid paying the increased costs of the employee's medical benefits or those of a family member with a disability.

A PEO can also help set up an employee incentive program for your company. Select one from our directory of effective PEOs today, and see what a difference it can make.