Q. I work for a health care organization and have been called to military active duty for the reserves. I will be deploying to Afghanistan in a few weeks. I talked to the HR assistant in my office, and he tells me he thinks they can discontinue my health insurance while I'm gone. Can my boss do that?
A. No, not if you request continuation of your health insurance.
An employer must continue health insurance for an employee on military duty, if requested, according to the US Department of Labor. The entitlement is for up to 18 months from the date the absence from employment begins.
But, for periods of service in excess of 30 days, the employee may be required to pay up to 102 percent of the total cost of the insurance.
Ms. Ryan, What is the physician's role in FMLA paperwork? Can I charge to fill it out? If the employer is requiring the paperwork to be completed shouldn't they be held financially responsible for it? Some physicians charge up to $60 for completion. Am I governed by law to complete the form?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. For informational purposes, here's a recent article written by Lydell C. Bridgeford for companies about doctors who charge fees to their employees for FMLA forms(you should be able to cut and paste the address to your browser):
ReplyDeleteSome Doctors Charge Steep Fees for FMLA forms -
http://eba.benefitnews.com/news/Some-doctors-charge-steep-fees-for-FMLA-forms-2671723-1.html
Here's the address to Baby Center Community, where you can see how patients react to the charges.
http://community.babycenter.com/talk/a6619655/fee_for_filling_out_fmla_form?cpg=1
Apparently some doctors charge, and some don't. Some patients are shocked by the charges, and some love their doctors for not charging them.
Whether doctors legally can charge for the forms varies state by state, so you would need to retain the services of a health care attorney in your state for specific advice.