Benefits April 13, 2005

Colorado Bill Would Publish List of Employers Who Don't Provide Health Insurance

April 13, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - A bill introduced in the Colorado Legislature would allow the state to publish a list of employers that provide little or no health insurance to their employees.
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Under the proposal – H.B. 1245 – the state would reveal how much any uncompensated care provided to employed individuals is costing the state’s Medicaid program. However, it would not bill employers for uncompensated care, a move that is being considered in Massachusetts.

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The Massachusetts bill – the “Free Rider Surcharge” bill, introduced last Thursday by Senate President Robert Travaglini – would also charge individuals who choose to be uninsured, but who can afford to purchase their own coverage, for uncompensated care they receive on the state’s tab.

The Bay State has also considered other methods of inducing health care payments from employers, going as far as to introduce a bill that would require employers to provide insurance to workers (See MA Lawmaker Puts Forward Mandatory Employer Health Coverage Bill ).

Benefits April 12, 2005

Rewards Programs Only Work for Top-Performing Employees

April 12, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Almost 50% of human resource professionals say that monetary rewards programs are "very effective" at motivating top-performing employees, according to a survey from the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
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It seems, however, that underperforming employees are not affected by such programs. According to SHRM, HR professionals surveyed said that both non-monetary and monetaryaward programs are “very effective” at improving employee morale;however, HR professionals said that neither was effective at motivatingunder-performing employees to improve.

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The 2005 Rewards Programs and Incentive Compensation Survey, released Tuesday by SHRM, also found that different levels of employees are rewarded for goals stretching over different timelines. It was found that managers are the most likely employees to be rewarded for reaching long-term goals. These could include incentive compensation, year-end bonus, and profit sharing, according to the company.

Non-managerial employees are the most likely to be eligible for new hire referral bonuses and spot bonuses, which are usually associated with short-term goals.

The survey also found that such programs should be reviewedin order toreflect an organization’s change in strategicdirection. Overall, 44% of HR professionals said that their rewards programsare reviewed once a year.

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