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July 01, 2014 at 09:28 AM
Disability insurers are working with key members of Congress to win support for legislation that would allow auto enrollment in private disability insurance plans. The provision the industry is seeking would facilitate arrangements where employers enroll employees into coverage, unless they opt out, according to industry officials.
The disability insurers, led by Unum, point out that two-thirds of American workers do not have access to employer-provided disability income insurance. They also cite a survey indicating that 85% of disability beneficiaries agree that employers should automatically enroll new employees in disability insurance, allowing them to opt out of this coverage if they do not want it.
The provision would clarify existing law, according to Marty McGuinness, Unum vice president of government affairs. Besides disability insurers, the American Council of Life Insurers and the America’s Health Insurance Plans are also supporting the proposal, they said.
They have established a website, ProtectingYourIncome.org, and are seeking support from a number of members of Congress, including the founders of the Congressional Income Protection Caucus: Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., a member of the Senate Banking Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, and Sen. Mark Kirk, R-Ill, who is recovering from a stroke. Meanwhile, Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, chairman of the HELP Committee, is also sympathetic to the idea.
It is unclear what vehicle would be used to attach such a provision and whether there is enough support in Congress to push it through this year. However, McGuinness noted that the trend is for employers to share the cost of benefit plans to employees. And it comes at an opportune time.
