Through combating medical insurance fraud and providing medical coverage to those currently not enrolled in any plan, the healthcare overhaul looks to reduce federal deficits and provide quality healthcare for a greater number of Americans. In previous posts, we have introduced some of the changes employers in the US must implement as the Healthcare Reform Bill is rolled out. In order to ensure compliance with the law, employers must pay attention to timelines and recommendations pertaining to reform deadlines.

There have been numerous resources created to help employers know what their responsibilities are when it comes to providing employees with medical benefits.

Resources

Factors such as state of residence, number of employees, employee health and wages determine the implications businesses face as new elements of the healthcare reform are introduced. Here is a list of resources employers can consult to remain up-to-date on all issues related to healthcare reform:

1. HealthReform.gov provides a state-by-state overview of the current healthcare conditions and benefits offered by the Healthcare Reform Bill. Breaking the information down by state provides individuals with a stronger understanding of how the reform will affect them.

2. The Society for Human Resource Management has created a section on their website to provide employers with information and up-to-date news regarding developments made in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The SHRM is including sessions related to employer responsibilities under the reform in their upcoming annual conference in San Diego at the end of June.

3. BarackObama.com also offers state-by-state overviews of healthcare reform, as well as a breakdown of state-specific implications for small businesses, seniors, children, women and young adults.

Changes Effective in 2010

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will be implemented in steps beginning now throughout the next decade. Last week in the New York Times article “Employers Urged to Act Now to Expand Health Plans,” it was reported the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, is urging employers to comply with some reforms earlier than required. Sebelius recommends offering health coverage for employee’s children under the age of 26, for little to no additional cost. The article also states:

“Employers will have to offer such coverage under the new health care law, and Ms. Sebelius said they should act sooner, without waiting for the requirement to take effect. At the request of the Obama administration, more than 65 insurers have already agreed to allow young adults to stay on their parents’ policies before the insurers are required to do so, under the new law, later this year or early next year. Relatively few employers, however, have modified their health plans to make this option available to employees.”

Here are some components of the healthcare legislation effective six months after enactment, as outlined by the Democratic Policy Committee in the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Implementation Timeline“:

Children with pre-existing medical conditions cannot be barred from receiving medical coverage.

Access to insurance for individuals previously uninsured due to a pre-existing medical condition- this will end once state Exchanges are in place.

Prohibition of rescissions- Health insurance companies can no longer remove an individual’s existing coverage if they become sick.

Removal of lifetime and annual limits- Beginning September 23rd, 2010, there are to be no limits on all group health plans.

Employers are responsible for providing nursing female employees with appropriate breaks and a private area other than a washroom to release breast milk within the first year of giving birth to their child(ren).

Coverage for preventive services- Providing coverage without a deductible for certain immunizations and other preventive medical visits.

Limit excessive waiting periods to medical care professionals.

Small Business Tax Credit- Initiates the first phase of the small business tax credit for qualified small employers for contributions to purchase health insurance for employees. The credit is up to 35% of the employer’s contribution to provide health insurance for employees. There is also up to a 25% credit for small nonprofit organizations. When Exchanges are in place, tax credits will be up to 50% of premiums.

Reduction in healthcare coverage costs- Health plan providers must annually report the share of premium dollars spent on medical care, as well as provide consumer rebates for excessive medical loss ratios from 2010-2013.

Reinsure early retirees- Temporary insurance program to help offset the cost of health benefits provided by companies to employees retiring early.

Healthcare fraud crackdown- Enhanced screening procedures for health care providers to eliminate fraud and waste in the health care system.

On June 21st, adults with pre-existing conditions will be able to join a “high-risk” pool. This pool is temporary and will be replaced by the healthcare exchange established in each state in 2014.

To see a complete list of healthcare reform implementations and the timeline for complying with the changes, review the full document, ”Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Implementation Timeline,” published by the Democratic Policy Committee.

Many research groups and think tanks have focused on ranking and listing companies to highlight the MOST ethical players in a number of industries. However, later this week in their April/May publication, Corporate Responsibility Magazine plans to introduce their first ever “black list” of the worst companies-  those that demonstrate the  lowest levels of transparency. The post we published this morning, “Going Public With Transparency and Social Responsibility Initiatives“, fits in very well with the news of this new publication, further backing up the fact that transparency and the public knowledge of company practices significantly impacts company reputations- as well as a list of other business elements. In the New York Times article “Magazine to Publish a Corporate Black List“, Dirk Olin, the editor in chief of the Corporate Responsibility Magazine stated:

“We decided to ask ourselves what the bottom of that list would look like, never dreaming for a minute that we would uncover a full 30 corporations where no relevant data at all could be turned up.”

To create the “black list”, the magazine developed a scoring method and applied it to the companies on the Russell 1000 index of large-capitalization stocks. When analyzing the performance of companies on the ”black list” against those on their list of the ”100 Best Corporate Citizens,” those at  Corporate Responsibility Magazine continued to provide evidence to the conclusion that ethical actions and good corporate citizenship really do pay off. The companies on the “best list” had a total return on shareholder value of 2.37 % over 3 years, while the 30 worst had a negative 7.38% return during the same time period.

Stay tuned for more on this list- it will be posted here once it is released!

I came across an article that was published in the New York Times back in May called “A Promise to Be Ethical in an Era of Immortality”. I wanted to share the article and some thoughts about it with you, because it could lead to an interesting activity to make a more concrete commitment to ethics in the workplace.

Article Overview:

In brief, the article talks about the 2009 MBA graduates from the Harvard Business School and a new voluntary oath that has been introduced to students from any school.  It’s called the “MBA Oath” and those taking it are pledging to “serve the greater good as a business manager, promising that graduates will act responsibly, ethically and refrain from advancing their “own narrow ambitions” at the expense of others.”

One of the graduates in the article, Dalia Rahman, was quoted as saying “when you have to make a public vow, it’s a way to commit to uphold principles.” This made me think… what if companies and their employees made public oaths committing to serve the greater good? Many companies are joining or establishing groups designed to make these kinds of pledges, so why shouldn’t you? As Rahman said, when you say something and make it public, it becomes more concrete and you feel far more responsible to uphold that promise.

How Does This Apply to Me?

Your pledge doesn’t necessarily need to be a high profile public statement, it could be something as simple as having to pledge an oath out loud to your peers in the workplace as a group. With more reports of employees holding their peers accountable in the workplace, this could be an opportunity for employees at all levels to work together to maintain the integrity of their company.  Recently, many companies have been dedicating their advertising time on television and other sources to report to the public about how they are remaining committed to safety, ethics, quality and a variety of other issues.

These efforts could be seen as their forms of “pledging” to the public, attempting to strengthen the positive image tied to their brand. Once again, going public with these commitments means that stronger efforts will need to be made in order to uphold these commitments, because the public and your employees are now aware of where you stand, and if the actions do not coincide with your statements, they will want answers.

Workplace Application and Benefits:

For those of you who are involved in compliance and human resource departments, adding an element such as an “ethics oath” into ethics training for your staff could be part of a great team building exercise. Oaths could be created so that there’s a unique one for each level of management in the company, or all staff could take the same oath. How you carry out the pledging process and what is included in your oath will be unique to your business and its goals, but the general concept can be applied to businesses across all industries.

Here are a few ways that an “ethics oath” could help bring your workplace together and have a more profound effect on the workplace quest for ethics:

• Positive Brand Value - According to this article about brand value on Ethisphere, making your commitment to ethics public means that you are showing an investment in your brand value. When businesses are perceived as committed to ethics, safety or another area of consumer importance, many consumers will disregard the cost of your service or product based on the fact that they feel they are buying the best.
• Increase in Commitment From Employees - When employees work for a company with a strong brand value, they are more likely to want to remain in as a part of your workplace and will usually end up promoting and endorsing the brand they work for because they truly believe in what their company offers.
• Perception + Expectation= Reality - Mistakes are sometimes unavoidable and when a company addresses an error head on, the perception and expectations set for that particular company now become a reality. When all both external and internal stakeholders in your company actually follow through on their commitments, the public develops even more respect for your brand image.
• EVERYONE is Accountable - Reinforcing the “tone from the top” concept- when lower level employees are with their bosses and managers standing in the same area and making the same commitment to ethics, employees at all levels are more likely to adopt and commit to making an ethical change because speaking the words of the pledge with everyone in their workplace has a much greater impact than a sign posted on the wall.

Here’s the MBA Oath:

We thought you might be able to use this as a starting point for your own Ethics Oath.

MBA OATH – SHORT VERSION
As a manager, my purpose is to serve the greater good by bringing people and resources together to create value that no single individual can build alone. Therefore I will seek a course that enhances the value my enterprise can create for society over the long term. I recognize my decisions can have far-reaching consequences that affect the well-being of individuals inside and outside my enterprise, today and in the future. As I reconcile the interests of different constituencies, I will face difficult choices.

Therefore, I promise:

• I will act with utmost integrity and pursue my work in an ethical manner.
• I will safeguard the interests of my shareholders, co-workers, customers, and the society in which we operate.
• I will manage my enterprise in good faith, guarding against decisions and behavior that advance my own narrow ambitions but harm the enterprise and the societies it serves.
• I will understand and uphold, both in letter and in spirit, the laws and contracts governing my own conduct and that of my enterprise.
• I will take responsibility for my actions, and I will represent the performance and risks of my enterprise accurately and honestly.
• I will develop both myself and other managers under my supervision so that the profession continues to grow and contribute to the well-being of society.
• I will strive to create sustainable economic, social, and environmental prosperity worldwide.
• I will be accountable to my peers and they will be accountable to me for living by this oath.

This oath I make freely, and upon my honor.

According to this article from MP Magazine regarding the 6th Annual Fulbright & Jaworski Litigation Trends Survey, 53% of respondents said their total annual litigation spend now exceeds $1 million USD. The number of disputes filed annually are also on the rise with labour and employment related lawsuits making up majority of these cases.

Some claim that this is the result of tighter regulations over certain industries and an increase in both external and internal workplace audits. However, now more than ever before, businesses are actually being held accountable for their actions by their own employees and the public.  

With more cases being reported now than ever before, how are human resource and employee relations departments going to react? Is there an easier way to manage growing case loads? Effectively managing your cases and reports means that fewer cases end up going to trial and less severe cases are handled before they have the chance to escalate. Through earlier detection of issues, investigation systems such as i-Sight assist you in minimizing your exposure to risk, keeping your brand away from “bad press” and out of the courtroom.

Big Spenders:

These 5 businesses have spent big money on cases that probably could have been avoided had they implemented  investigation software for hr & employee relations, followed basic labour codes and held themselves accountable for their actions. Here are some dollar figures for their more recent lawsuits:

Pharmaceuticals: A recent article in the New York Times reports that in September 2009, Pfizer paid $2.3 billion dollars in criminal and civil charges to settle a case claiming they had illegally marketed an anti-inflammatory drug and other products.

Energy: Another recent New York Times Article reports on a case that could cost a large group of energy companies, including Shell and ExxonMobil, up to $400 million dollars. Kivalina, a small town in Alaska, is suing the group of energy companies over their contribution to climate change, which has been believed to speed up the erosion of the island.

Finance: Today the New York Times published an article stating that the Bank of America is to pay $150 million dollars into “Fair Funds” to be distributed to shareholders at the time of its December 2008 acquisition of Merrill Lynch. During the acquisition, B of A did not adequately disclose information to its shareholders regarding the financial state of Merrill Lynch in order to get the board to approve the acquisition.

Workplace Malpractices: The New York Times reports the settlement of $500 000 that will be paid by Landwin Management Inc. to employees in the case of discrimination and harassments reports that were filed in 2007. The company is also being forced to make policy changes, as the complaints filed were regarding sexual harassment and ethnic discrimination during the hiring process. An article in the Washington Post states that a past employee of the Smithsonian Museum will receive $233 000 and health insurance from the museum after falling ill due to the extended exposure to asbestos in the workplace. The Smithsonian also has to update and improve their procedures for handling asbestos and developing better training for staff.

Staying Off the List:

As the director or manager of human resources or employee relations, you want to be proactive and use tools that will save you and your business both time and money. Investigation systems can provide a substantial return on investment. Investigations systems such as i-Sight allow you to:

• Streamline and integrate the internal investigative process into one database.
• Increase transparency and visibility of investigations while limiting access to sensitive information to the appropriate individuals.
• Lower the cost of internal investigative departments by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of investigators and other organizational resources.
• Automation of much of the process, eliminating the need for double entry and creating a detailed audit trail of every action performed on a case.
• A fully integrated, industry leading analytical reporting tool that allows users to analyze and trend information easily.
  • Drill through reporting to analyze the real issues.
  • Advanced search functionality to detect and link related cases.
  • Alerts automatically notify management of high risk exposure events.

These tools ensure that cases do not fall through the cracks, allows for proper reporting of the case and makes it easier for you and your team to manage case workflow. Depending on your role within you company, here are some benefits of using i-Sight Investigation Systems: