Archive for the ‘California’ Category

In a decision that could set the stage for a test of the supremacy of a longstanding federal labor law, a panel of federal judges found Tuesday that San Francisco had the right to charge employers to help pay for its universal health care plan, the first in the nation.

The ruling, by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, affirms a January decision by the same panel that required all but the smallest businesses in the city to contribute to employees’ health care costs or pay a fee to help the city provide care.  San Francisco officials hailed the decision as a major victory for its plan, called Healthy San Francisco, to provide health care for some 73,000 uninsured residents. Read more

In the matter of Sgro v. Danone Waters of North America, Inc., 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 13973 (9th Cir. Jul. 2, 2008), an employee - Mitchell Sgro - applied for benefits from his employer’s ERISA Plan.  He incurred $412.00 in copying fees, in the process of supplying documentation and medical records to his employer as part of his claim. Read more

California

The California Assembly Health Committee recently passed a series of bills that will mandate expansion of specific benefits and health services for insurers. Benefits and services include mental health coverage (AB1877), screening and diagnostic test for gynecological cancer (AB1774), HIV testing (AB1894), maternity health care (AB1962), and breast cancer screening (AB 2234).  Insurance plans opposing bills argue that e increasing costs of the proposed mandates would total an estimated $2.7 billion annually and that 85,000 Californians would lose health insurance coverage because of the consequential higher premium costs. Read more

In July of 2006 the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance (”the Ordinance”) allowing the city to mandate employers with more than 50 employees to pay a fee to help cover their employee health care costs was unanimously passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. 

On December 26, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled in favor of The Golden Gate Restaurant Association’s (GGRA) application, contending that ERISA preempted the Ordinance.  Read more