The Health Care Reform Legislation recently passed in Washington DC will significantly impact our clients.  By October 1, 2010, Insurance Carriers will be required to offer insurance coverage for dependents up to age 26.  So, your children will now be eligible to stay on your insurance until they are 26.  No longer do your children need to stay in school to be covered. Coverage now is based upon solely on age. It is also important to note that marriage is not a factor that would exclude your children from your policy. As long as your child is under age 26, they can be covered on your health plan, whether they are married or not. The spouse of your child would not be eligible for coverage.

For our younger clients who do not have health insurance, it is important to discuss coverage options with your parents. Changes to the Workers’ Compensation Laws have made it difficult to get much needed medical care on a timely basis. Sometimes coverage through private health insurance is necessary to obtain treatment. The Health Care Reform Legislation may make a difference.

Lisa E. Ivancich

When an applicant is incarcerated after suffering an injury prior to being sent to jail, what happens to any temporary disability (TD) and/or permanent disability (PD) benefits that the applicant is entitled to? Labor Code Section 3370 addresses the area of state penal or correctional inmates and the treatment of such benefits. Subdivision (a) paragraph (2) says that no inmate shall be entitled to TD indemnity benefits while incarcerated in state prison. Paragraph (3) tells us that no benefits are to be paid to an inmate while they are incarcerated and that the benefits shall commence upon release. It goes on to point out that if the person is released and begins to receive benefits and is subsequently reincarcerated in a city or county jail or state penal or correctional facility, those benefits will immediately cease and will not be paid for the duration of the reincarceration.

Subdivision (d) of Section 3370 says that the above paragraphs of subdivision (a) are applicable to inmates of state penal or correctional institutions who are otherwise entitled to workers’ compensation benefits based on an injury prior to their incarceration. However, if the inmate has dependents, the TD and/or PD that the inmate would be entitled to if not for being incarcerated is paid to them. If the inmate has no dependents, then the TD goes to the State Treasury to the credit of the Uninsured Employers Fund and any PD is held in trust for the inmate while he is incarcerated by the Department of Corrections.