health insurance

[kdaglio]

it has recently been revealed to me that our employee health insurance is mixed up. i have been told that through our group plan that we are paying for people's health insurance who don't even work here. the company is matching our contribution but the contribution is so much higher because we are insuring these non employees. is this a legal practice? why should we be penalized and have to pay these peoples insurance. the total cost for a single person is somewhere around 43$ a week. our company is located in connecticut. also i think there getting some kind of kickback.

ken

 

[cbg]

Federal law requires that employees who leave the company be offered the opportunity to keep their health coverage. It's called COBRA. In addition, many states have similar laws.

Although for the most part the premiums are paid by the former employees themselves, there are occasions when for one reason or another the company agrees to pay the premiums for a particular length of time. This is perfectly legal and might even be required by employment or union contract.

Even if the premiums are being paid entirely by the former employee, these people are included when the premium is being set by the insurance carrier.

Your company is doing what they are required to by law.

 

[kdaglio]

i should have been a little more to the point. these people are family members of the owner, of the owners son an so on and so forth. we have accountants who fall under this also. some of these people were never employees and are not the immediate family of the people who work here. if the are allowed to have the insurance shouldn't they be paying for it like everyone else. doesn' 43$ a week sound just a bit ridiculous.

thanks for your input, this situation is bothering me quite abit

 

[cbg]

I grant you that puts a different spin on it, but even so it's hard to say for certain that anything illegal is happening without more knowledge of the specifics of the situation.

For example, are any of these people working as consultants or contractors for the company? If so, this might be part of their compensation. You don't mention what your position in the company is - are in in a position to say for CERTAIN that they are not making payment somehow? Do any of them have contracts with the company that this might have been negotiated as a portion?

With the additional information you've provided, I agree it sounds suspicious but it's still not enough to say for certain that anything illegal is happening.