Group Health Plans

mamhradm

Where is a good source to find information concerning group health plans? I've been informed that it is illegal to have two group health plans. Can an employer have a group health plan for a 'defined group' and another group health plan with another carrier for other employees?

Theresa Gegen TX

Is is not illegal to have different group health plans for different groups of employees. This is commonly done in union settings, where the employee's covered by the union have negotiated a specific group health plan, and the employees not covered by the union may have a different plan or benefits. Also, some large employees offer different group plans and let the employees chose which one to participate in.

However, an employer could run into trouble IF there is no clear basis for determining which employees fall under which plan or IF one of the plans is discriminatory (for example in favor of highly compensated individuals -- that could have negative tax consequenses).

Good Luck!

Lori B

Nothing illegal here...happens a lot with union or multi-state emploeyrs. The carriers hate it. You need to negotiate going in so that carriers know other plans exist and how they will coexist. Otherwise, most insurance carrier contracts specically state that no other plans can be offered simultaneously.