I have to pay Mandatory Health Insurance?

[elljay]

Is it lawful for a healthcare company in Pennsylvania to force employees to have health insurance, in which payments are taken out of the employee's paycheck.

Employees are forced to sign papers stating they accept the company's health insurance. If an employee does not sign the papers, the employee's paycheck is withheld.

 

[cbg]

Couple of issues here.

I have not been able to determine yet if PA permits mandatory participation in a contributory plan. There's no question that mandatory participation in a non-contributory plan is legal; a contrib plan may be different. On the other hand, I know that some carriers, particularly but not exclusively for smaller groups, require that there be 100% participation as part of the terms of the insurance contract.

However, your employer may not hold your paycheck hostage to your signing up for insurance. Even if we eventually determine that mandatory participation is okay (and it may well be) they cannot hold your check as a way of ensuring your cooperation.

Do you have other health insurance and if so, can you prove it? I know some companies and carriers will waive mandatory insurance upon proof of other coverage.