medical care

A Retirement Journey: Health Insurance Issues

Over the past two weeks, we’ve focused on the story of Bob, a recent retiree. We’ve gone over his pre-retirement experience and his journey through the processing of his retirement application. This week, we’ll look at his health insurance choices.

Bob has an ongoing dilemma when it comes to health insurance. He arguably doesn’t really need Federal Employees Health Benefits coverage or Medicare, because he is a veteran with a service-connected disability. That means all of his medical needs (service-connected and otherwise) are provided by the Veterans Health Administration, at no charge. VHA does bill private insurers (including those in FEHB) for the non-service connected care it provides.

Nevertheless, Bob enrolled in FEHB during his civilian service at the Federal Aviation Administration for a couple of reasons: in case he should need it for a future spouse, should he remarry, and in order to meet the requirement of

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Group Health Plans and Abortion: Implications of Supreme Court Decision | Baker Donelson

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, employers are questioning what impact, if any, this decision will have on their group health plans. In the Dobbs decision, the Supreme Court reversed 50 years of precedent by ruling that the Constitution does not provide for a right to abortion and therefore that states have the Constitutional right to legislate abortion. How, then, does this ruling impact employer-sponsored group health plans? In this alert we address four items of immediate concern and expect to supplement this analysis as this drastic change in the law develops.

1. Must a Group Health Plan Provide Coverage for Abortions?

There are no federal laws or regulations that require an employer-sponsored group health plan to provide coverage for elective abortions. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended (ACA), set forth standards that require coverage

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