Michael Stoop is the president of Metropolitan Risk Advisory. He leads a team of smart & proactive risk advisors whose acumen and protocols yield a substantive outcome for their customers. The goal is to achieve a cost efficiency and cost consistency that better positions them for growth and continuity in their native markets. Michael has been in the industry for over 20 years.
Unequal health care in the U.S. is no big surprise. However, we are witnessing unbelievable amounts of rationing. Doctor compensation relies on Medicare, Medicaid, or Private Insurance. Medicare is a well financed program for the aged, who vote and are involved in politics. Medicaid is a less financed program, a fraction paid by state governments, for the poorer citizens who vote less and have less political influence. The demand is increasing as the population ages. A new law will give millions of Americans coverage via private insurance or Medicaid. But, The Association of Medical Colleges predicts that in the next 15 years, the US will face a lack of 15,000 doctors. The health care bill will still favor private insurance and offer new benefits, causing employers to eliminate employee health benefits and governors reducing their Medicaid obligations. The federal medical care budget will be heavily strained. Business insurance quotes, business general liability coverage, New York business insurance, General liability insurance in New York, Workers compensation insurance Queens, Brooklyn business liability insurance, agencies for workers compensation insurance, and business insurance agencies will be affected.
One solution to the health care issue is to force down private insurance payments. Many will have low reimbursement costs and will face long lines and poor service. Nevertheless, the wealthy will pay more to cut the line and receive better services. Another answer is providing vouches for a flat rate number of insurance coverage. But, these vouchers can deplete or must be paid for in advance. The US can look to Singapore’s system where the government takes 10-12 percent of patient income to pay for medical care. The government covers additional expenses. Their operation has a a great account for accessibility and cost control. The only problem the US faces with this system is the willingness of people to allocate a percentage of their income for health care.
The only solution now is to control or raise medicare reimbursement costs, greatly increase taxes, and face the fact that Medicaid patients will have increasingly less health care access.
Worker’s comp insurance was created over 100 years ago to provide medical care and financial aid to injured workers and to evade pricey and prolonged lawsuits. The constant changes to New York’s worker’s insurance policy has made it the most opposed system in the United States.
The typical injured worker belongs in the lower end of the socioeconomic bracket. These workers are overwhelmed with delays and the inability to sustain themselves and/or their family with minimal benefits. Compensation premiums greatly reduce a company’s profits and employers are being forced to decrease injury incidents. However, the system does not do a great job catching many fraudulent reports. Many employers are violating OSHA laws of filing claims and providing documentation as well as decreasing hazards and injuries; intimidating the injured from filing a report.
In 2007, a reform plan to challenge the problems increased the max. weekly salary replacement benefit, placing a ten year ceiling on the length workers with disabilities can accept weekly benefits, decrease the delay and settlement process, provide workers with better rehabilitation programs, and provide more accurate protocol for doctors to asses worker injuries. Unfortunately, these goals have not been attained.
If you’re business in with in New York state and are located in Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, Staten Island, Brooklyn, Westchester, or Hudson, it may be a good idea to view the New York Worker’s Insurance policy.
Overwhelming Insurance Costs Forces Employers to Switch Plans and Delay Hiring
Insurers have been increasing insurance premiums each year for the past few years to the point where it has become a burden to employers and employees. It is getting too expensive; jumping from 50% to 74% in the span of one year for one small business located in New York City. The 2011 rates will be the highest increase since 2003, at about 8.7%. The sudden increase in rates will protect insurance companies from the slowed profits they have been experiencing. Health insurance rate increases are predicted to reduce by 2014. By that time, small businesses and the self employed can acquire insurance. Until then, expect unfavorable rate increases.
The increase is unfair for those who are self employed and for small businesses. Large employers are better prepared for this insurance hike because they self insure. Small businesses are dependent on insurance companies. Premiums are increasing quicker than self insurance. Small businesses may file few claims yet they pay the price for other businesses who file many claims. These small businesses must put the burden on their employees or change insurance companies. Many small firms are below the state’s community rating system; small businesses with 50 or less employees in certain locations must pay the same rate. To mitigate the effect of rising rates, small businesses had to halt hiring and expanding, which does not help the city’s unemployment crisis.
If your located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Staten Island, Queens, Westchester, Hudson, or Union County, the NYC Health Insurance Link will be useful to assist the self employed and small businesses evaluate alternate health plans. The Consumer Guide to Health Insurers includes extensive information about insurance products in New York, testimonials, complaints, and ranks insurers.
Some interesting, or more like pretty upsetting statistics:
New York City health care expenses per employee: 2007- $7,582; 2008- $8,245; 2009- $8,810; 2010- $9,520; (predicted) 2011- $10,352
Home Depot is Charged with Occupational Safety and Health Violations
Home Depot is a large and very well known company. It is very surprising to discover one of it’s sites to fail OSHA inspection. It is critical that large as well as small companies and employers abide by the workers safety and health measures to avoid heavy fines and injury, the risk of increasing your NY Workers Compensation Experience Modification Factor; and or your NJ Workers Compensation Experience Modification factor. The NY Experience modification factor and the NJ experience modification factor also effect on your NY Workers Compensation Insurance premium and your NJ Workers Compensation premium. Your business may have to deal with Manhattan commercial general liability insurance, Queens Commercial General Liability Insurance, Bronx General Liability Insurance, Brooklyn commercial general liability insurance, Staten Island commercial general liability insurance, Hudson County, NJ Commercial General Liability Insurance, or Union County NJ Commercial General Liability Insurance issues if your company is sited.
The Department of Labor is penalizing Home Depot in San Antonio for disregarding serious worker safety and health laws several times. Home Depot, San Antonio was found to have insufficient protective equipment and poor injury documentation. Home Depot is fined $70,500 for ineffective training regarding proper safety procedures and the use of safety equipment as well as neglecting to collect important health information from the company’s employees.
This particular Home Depot had several violations for the misuse of eye protection, lack of sufficient eye wash and quick rinsing amenities, inadequate record keeping, and incorrect recognition of the form.
CDHP: Consumer Driven Health Care; A Benefit for Both Employers and Their Employees
Many employers are switching or may be thinking about switching employee health plans to the consumer driven health plan which decreases expenses of presenting health benefits. The appeal to consumer driven health plans is smaller premiums. However, it is still important to list the pro’s and con’s between the expenditures and advantages of the CDHP and conventional health insurance programs.
If you’re an employer who purchases NY Health Insurance or NJ Health Insurance and in the Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Staten Island, Westchester, Hudson County, or Union County areas, listen up!
Since March of 1999, the cost of employee health insurance for employers has increased from $1.03 per hour worked to $2.00 per hour worked in March 2009. A one dollar per hour worked for each employee is a substantial amount the employer has to pay. That’s close to a 2% increase of total compensation!
Employers are not the only ones paying more for their employee’s health insurance, the employees themselves have a price to pay as well. The National Compensation Survey have affirmed that the common medical plan monthly fixed rate premium private industry employees with a single and family plan pay, has risen from approximately $68-single coverage and $265-family coverage in 2004 to $92-single coverage and $350-family coverage in 2009. Although both the employer and employee have an increased health insurance cost, the relative amount of cost has proven to be similar from 2003 to 2009. The employer was responsible for 82% of the premium for single coverage and the employee share was 18% in 2003. The employer was responsible for 80% of single coverage, whereas the employee paid 20%. Family coverage for both 2003 and 2009 were 70%-employer and 30% employee.
How can employers and employees reduce their costs? Which plan is most reasonable? Even though coverage rates have been stable in the past few years, employers have eliminated health insurance benefits, employees choose not to participate in the health plan, and when employers closed down as a result of the recession, the employees’ plans were lost. Many employees and their families have no coverage and are in a state of financial jeopardy. The Bureau of Labor Statistics suggests options for employers and employees to help reduce costs: Consumer driven health plans (CDHP), High deductible health plans (HDHP), Health savings accounts (HSA), Archer medical savings accounts (MSA) vs. HSA, Health reimbursement arrangements (HRA) vs HSA, and Flexible spending accounts (FSA) vs. HRA.
Recently, the Division of Labor Standards punished three employers who failed to comply to the labor laws. Total cost in insufficient pay, interest, hardship, and penalties for illegality of min. wage, pay for extra hours of work, compensation, documentation, and further labor laws. Employers have no more than 60 days to address the Orders to Comply to the Industrial Board of Appeals.
The Division of Labor Standards also discovered 8 judgements against employers that totalled over $260,000 in interest, under-compensation, damages and fines. These employers violated various labor laws as well.
The cost for cutting corners will greatly hurt you in the end, not only by the Division of Labor Standards, but also by the following: New York General Liability Insurance, New Jersey General Liability Insurance, New York Commercial General Liability, and New Jersey Commercial General Liability.
The year 2009 marks the lowest level of total recorded work-site injuries and illnesses since 2003. Incident rates declined to 3.6 cases per 100 employees from 3.8 in 2008. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released key findings of the Occupational Injury and Illness Survey. This is great news for Queens NY, Brooklyn NY, Manhattan NY Workers Compensation Insurance carriers , and those who purchase Workers Compensation Insurance on the surface at least.
What the insurance carriers and the Department of Labor are noticing though is that businesses who purchase NY & NJ Workers Compensation Insurance are under reporting their claims which calls into question the results noted about. Listening to Peter Rothbart speak at a Workers Compensation conference in Chicago this fall he revealed that the workers compensation system in general has created a huge financial biased for businesses not to report many small injuries that may have been reported in prior years. The bias occurs because businesses don’t want their DART Incident Rate adversely effected , nor their NY Workers Compensation Experience modification factor to rise because of a small, inconsequential injury.
Thus although the reported injury numbers may be down, overall the claims experience , and loss results for those carriers who write NY Workers Compensation Insurance , and NJ Workers Compensation Insurance has not followed suit. It’s the claims results by individual carriers that ultimately dictates price.
The Occupation Safety and Health Administration provides advising to small and medium sized businesses free of charge! Its focus is on high hazard sites where a workplace injury may occur which then ultimately drives up the cost of your NY Workers Compensation Insurance, or your NJ Workers Compensation Insurance cost. Your business can be located anywhere in the country, or even local New York counties such as Manhattan , Bronx , Brooklyn, Staten Island, Hudson , Westchester, Suffolk, Nassau, or neighboring New Jersey Counties such as Hudson , Bergen, Passaic, or Union Counties to name a few.
This offer does NOT include any penalties and OSHA will not blacklist your company if any safety issues are found. The consultation program will assist the company to locate work site hazards and offer advice to prevent incidents and bring the workplace up to OSHA standards. The cost of a serious worksite injury could wipe a whole years profit away in one incident. Take advantage of this FREE program to make your worksite safer for you and your most critical asset, your employees.
10 Most Common Occupational Safety and Health Measures for 2010
The Federal United States Department of Labor (OSHA) lists the 10 most common reported work site/occupational safety and health standards discovered after inspection. There are detrimental consequences; such as Net Income Loss that can damage your company if any of the following risks happen to just one of your employees. You also put at significant risk your NY Workers Compensation Experience Modification Factor; and or your NJ Workers Compensation Experience Modification factor. As you are well aware the NY Experience modification factor, and the NJ experience modification factor have a significant effect on your NY Workers Compensation Insurance premium, and your NJ Workers Compensation premium. Your business may have to deal with the headache of Plaintiff attorneys, insurance carriers, Manhattan commercial general liability insurance, Queens Commercial General Liability Insurance, Bronx General Liability Insurance, Brooklyn commercial general liability insurance, Staten Island commercial general liability insurance, Hudson County, NJ Commercial General Liability Insurance, or Union County NJ Commercial General Liability Insurance issues if your company is sited. We have clearly seen a trend where NJ Commercial General Liability Insurance Carriers , and NY Commercial General Liability Insurance carriers are going on line and accessing the OSHA Inspection Results By Establishment, which they are then using as a tool to either raise or lower premiums, or as a test fro product eligibility contingent on their findings.
Bottom line, Santa is the only one keeping a good and bad list!
Below is the list of the 10 Most Sited OSHA VIOLATIONS :
This list is created to prevent your business from these dangers and hazards before it’s too late!
