Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
GM Contract Would Improve Newer Workers' Health Coverage, Could Raise Employee Spending
UAW negotiators bargained significantly better health care coverage for about 11,000 General Motors workers hired since October 2007 and the automaker will pay for most of it. But if a majority of 52,700 workers ratify the tentative agreement reached last weekend, they could face more out-of-pocket expenses, if the company gets hit by a new tax, dubbed the "Cadillac Tax," that looms in 2018 if lobbyists lose their efforts to have it repealed. (Gardner, 10/29)
Meanwhile, the federal government is announcing an expansion of coverage to domestic partners.
Opposite-sex domestic partners would gain the right to apply for a long-term care insurance program for federal employees under the same terms now applying to same-sex partners, under a policy change to be published Friday. Rules from the Office of Personnel Management represent another step in the evolution of eligibility for benefits associated with federal employment in recent years, some driven by the Obama administration and others by court rulings. (Yoder, 10/29)
