Neither proposal looks promising for printers, as both contain a list of managed care mandates that will severely drive up the cost health insurance and provisions that would make employers legally liable for decisions made by health plan administrators. The House is likely to pass a bill that includes employer liability. However, the bill passed by the Senate in July does not include a liability provision. Therefore, the House and Senate will have to work out the differences on the proposals before sending anything to the President. PIA will continue to lobby against any proposal that will add new government mandates or make employers liable for malpractice.
Pension reform takes hold . . .
True pension reform, important to printers of all sizes, is finally coming to the forefront. Because many believe that Social Security won't be available in the future, so personal retirement security is becoming more important. On the administrative side, reduced fees and simplified reporting are included. This last provision will be problematic for some employers, but is a compromise for the other reforms in the package. We expect action this year on some version of the pension plan.