Category Archives: Uncategorized

Monday Morning Quarterback: May 21, 2012

Posted on by
Reply

05/21/2012 – The Monday Morning Quarterback is a publication detailing the important issues facing the prevailing wage construction industry. It is created each week by the San Diego chapter of the Association of General Contractors, or AGC, one of the construction trusts West Coast Group Benefits works with.

West Coast will provide a link to the publication each week, preceeded by a short summary of the contents. Past editions will be available in PDF format as they become available.

This week in the Monday Morning Quarterback:

  • YES on Prop A
  • YES on Prop D
  • San Diego Unified’s PSA Study a Farce
  • Baseball Bash Mixer – June 19th
  • AGC Constructor – Spring Issue
  • SDSU Graduates
  • Affiliate Day Golf
  • Free Seminar – CHST
  • AGC Classes
  • Committee Meetings

PPACA Showdown: Day Two

Posted on by
1

Day two of the three day Supreme Court hearing has now concluded and any hopes of a clear-cut decision is still miles away. There will be a final day of hearings tomorrow, Wednesday, regarding Medicaid expansion however today was where the meat of the arguments lie: the individual mandate. For those who don’t already know, the individual mandate is a part of the healthcare law that will, starting in 2014, require Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. The debate concerns itself with the reach (or overreach) of the U.S. Congress.

In the hearing, the government, represented by Donald Verrilli, has touted the law as a regulation of a market, since they say everyone represents a risk and must be somehow accounted for (which they have yet to demonstrate). The challengers retort however that the cost shift/risk, which is the reason given by the government as the need for this law, is caused not by un-insureds but rather by those who default on their payments. If this logic is accepted, then the law appears much more to be the government forcing its judgment of what is best, rather than controlling for the market.

A point further flushed out by today’s statements is the need for statutory limits on the powers of Congress. Whether the Supreme Court decides to uphold the PPACA or strike it down, the decision will be accompanied by some sort of definition of what is allowed of Congress. The government has claimed that the power to create an individual mandate rests in one of three broad, mostly ambiguous constitutional statements: the Commerce Clause, the levying of taxes clause, and the ability to regulate markets. If the law is upheld, the government will need to demonstrate the limits of Congress requiring other types of purchases in the future. On the other hand, if the law is struck down, the Supreme Court will need to define what products Congress can and cannot force citizens to purchase.

Tomorrow the discussion will continue with Medicaid expansion as the primary topic. It will certainly be interesting to hear the questions asked by the Supreme Court Justices to Mr. Verrilli and even more so his responses, considering it is an election year.

The entire transcript for day two can be found here.

PPACA Showdown: Day One

Posted on by
Reply

Today, March 26th, is the first of three days during which both opponents and proponents of the new healthcare law (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010) will speak to the United States Supreme Court about the legality of the legislation. In a move not seen in the U.S. since before 1960, the Supreme Court allotted three days for hearings concerning the law.

One of the first points made was concerning whether the case can actually be heard before 2014, which is when the law takes effect. A very important point for both sides within this consideration is the categorization of the penalty that would be paid if individuals fail to comply with the “individual mandate”. Some of the discussion in the early hours was whether the money would be viewed as a tax or as a penalty, which is important in the case because Congress has much broader ability to levy taxes, but not revenue-generating penalties.

Tomorrow’s arguments promise to flush out this point in full. The case is being heard by 9 justices and the resulting decision, assuming that they choose to hear the case, will likely be divided among political lines. In order to strike the law down the challengers, led by Paul Clement, will need to convince 5 of the justices of their opinion. It is highly likely that 4 of the justices will vote to uphold the law, as their briefings have already hinted at their positions, so it will certainly be an uphill battle for the challengers.

The full transcript from day one can be found here.

[Source: The Wall Street Journal]

SDUSD’s PSA: Who does it hurt?

Posted on by
Reply

In a fantastic article featured in this week’s Monday Morning Quarterback, the executive vice president of the San Diego AGC points out how San Diego Unified School District’s PSA hurts the taxpayers and the construction workers of San Diego:

San Diego Unified’s PSA does it Again….$9,756,000 Contract…..32 Out of Town Contractors!!!!
By Jim Ryan, Executive Vice President

Some of you may think that it would be difficult to come up with an article for MMQB each week….but it really isn’t….not when I have San Diego Unified’s union-only Project Stabilization Agreement (PSA) to write about. On March 2, 2012, SDUSD accepted bids for a project called Construct New Classroom Building at The Language Academy. I assume the budget was somewhere between $8,000,000-$12,000,000…..since the District has adopted the union-only PSA, they are purposely vague about the budget for their projects. They tend to move the budget to the bid in order to make sure everything comes in at or under budget!! So no question that this one was “in budget.”

Anyway…as we all know, our friends Lorena Gonzalez, head of the AFL-CIO, and Tom Lemmon, head of the San Diego Building and Construction Trades Council, promised that this wonderful union-only PSA would provide local contractors with the contracts, and local craft workers with the construction jobs on the SDUSD projects. Well, it is not working out that way.

The Language Academy project is one of the largest projects bid under the union only PSA. It attracted 6 responsive general contractor bidders….3 from San Diego and 3 from the Los Angeles area. The low bidder ended up being a construction firm from Los Angeles. The General Contractor listed 32 subcontractors (per the listing law), and we have identified that 31 of those subcontractors are from the 11 county Los Angeles area. We were unable to find the location of one of the subcontractors, but since no one in our office recognizes the firm’s name, I assume this contractor was not from San Diego…..oh, and the number of listed subcontractors from San Diego County……..0!!!!! NONE!!!!

Wow!!!

So if you are keeping score….that is 32 contractors (1 GC and 31 subcontractors) on this project from the Los Angeles area, and 1 probably from the Los Angeles area, and 0 from San Diego. Now Lorena and Tom… it appears that the PSA is not working on the local worker issue. We all know that very few craft workers will be hired locally…the L.A. contractors will bring their own employees to the project. Yes, yes, I know you both admire Los Angeles and how things work up there, so I guess you have decided that eliminating local contractors/workers and opening up the PSA projects to your friends in L.A. was the thing to do!!!

The reason this happened is that most contractors that build schools in San Diego have no intention of signing the PSA. The result is that one of the largest contracts in the program is going to be completed by a firm from outside the area. The L.A. contractor has every right to bid projects in San Diego. The problem here is that a public entity with its partners, the AFL-CIO and the Building Trades in San Diego, have established bid conditions that do not “fit” the San Diego construction industry. The conditions they have imposed through their union-only PSA are a better “fit” for contractors in Los Angeles. Amazing!

I know MMQB has a very large readership among public officials in San Diego County. Keep this article in your file and when Lorena and Tom come around selling their PSA/PLA local contractor/worker “snake oil,” show them this article. They will probably tell you that they have arranged with their friends in the State Legislature to annex San Diego into L.A. ….so technically the 32 contractors on this project are “local” in their minds.

Maybe Laurel and Hardy Consulting should do another study of how the PSA is meeting the School Board’s objectives. I’m sure they will come up with a “clever” answer…..right Trustee Barnett???

Monday Morning Quarterback: March 19, 2012

Posted on by
Reply

03/19/2012 – The Monday Morning Quarterback is a publication detailing the important issues facing the construction industry. It is created each week by the San Diego chapter of the Association of General Contractors, or AGC, one of the construction trusts West Coast Group Benefits works with.

West Coast will provide a link to the publication each week, preceeded by a short summary of the contents. Past editions will be available in PDF format as they become available.

This week in the Monday Morning Quarterback:

  • AGCA Convention Update
  • SD Unified’s PSA does it Again!
  • Business “as usual” at the State Capitol
  • 44th Annual Spring Conference
  • HR Seminar- New Date
  • Sponsorship Available- Spring Golf
  • Calendar of Classes
  • AGC Committee Meetings

 

 

Monday Morning Quarterback: March 12, 2012

Posted on by
2

03/12/2012 – The Monday Morning Quarterback is a publication detailing the important issues facing the construction industry. It is created each week by the San Diego chapter of the Association of General Contractors, or AGC, one of the construction trusts West Coast Group Benefits works with.

West Coast will provide a link to the publication each week, preceeded by a short summary of the contents. Past editions will be available in PDF format as they become available.

This week in the Monday Morning Quarterback:

  • African American Contractors
  • CLC Committee Tours Palomar Hospital
  • HR Seminar- New Date
  • 44th Annual Spring Conference
  • Sponsorship Available- Spring Golf
  • BIM
  • Calendar of Classes
  • AGC Committee Meetings

 

COBRA: What does it mean?

Posted on by
1

In such uncertain economic times, employment can come and go in the blink of an eye. But what happens to your health insurance if you lose your job? The Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act, or COBRA, allows you to continue coverage under your employer’s plan after losing your job. A notice will be mailed to you around the end of your employment which will tell you that under COBRA, you can pay the full premium for the plan and continue coverage. It is sometimes a less expensive option to maintain coverage by paying the premium than going without any health insurance at all.

Let’s look at a situation where this would be true. John Smith is laid off from his current job. He receives a COBRA notice in the mail and decides that he will go without coverage until he finds a new job, or in other words declines COBRA coverage. Two weeks later, John trips and falls down a flight of stairs and is hospitalized. His hospital bills amount to nearly $20,000. In this same instance, if John would have accepted COBRA coverage and paid his $400 per month premium, he would have saved a LOT of money!

You can find more information on COBRA on the Department of Labor’s website by clicking here.

 

[Source: U.S. Department of Labor]

 

Do you know when to change your insurance?

Posted on by
3

As your family grows, the time will come to add dependents on to your health plan. Do you know how long you have to add a newborn to your health insurance? These life-changing events are called qualifying events, and will usually entitle you to a special enrollment period outside of the normal open enrollment. Other types of qualifying events include: marriage, adoption, or a child reaching age 26 (the rest can be found here). Most qualifying events have an expiration following the event, so be sure to know when and how to change your insurance when one occurs.

The law that gives you these rights is called the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. A throrough explanation of the law and the rights it provides can be found on the Department of Labor’s website.

What happens if your spouse’s employer also offers a health plan? Coordination of care can be a good way to maximize the benefits you can receive. Make sure you contact your HR manager if you have questions about coordinating your plan with your spouse’s.

 

Monday Morning Quarterback: March 5, 2012

Posted on by
Reply

03/05/2012 – The Monday Morning Quarterback is a publication detailing the important issues facing the construction industry. It is created each week by the San Diego chapter of the Association of General Contractors, or AGC, one of the construction trusts West Coast Group Benefits works with.

West Coast will provide a link to the publication each week, preceeded by a short summary of the contents. Past editions will be available in PDF format as they become available.

This week in the Monday Morning Quarterback:

  • CEM Gala a Success
  • City Leaders Tackle an $898 Million Deferred Capitol Backlog
  • CARB- sponsored Workshop
  • Safety – A Zero Industry Culture
  • HR Seminar
  • Advertise Opportunity in AGC’s Constructor Magazine
  • BIM
  • 44th Annual Spring Conference
  • Sponsorship Available – Spring Golf
  • Calendar of Classes
  • AGC Committee Meetings
  • Industry Insider

 

Do you know what SPD stands for?

Posted on by
Reply

If you don’t know that SPD stands for summary plan description, then you probably haven’t followed the advice in the first or second of the blog posts in this series!  The summary plan description is a document that summarizes the benefits and rights under your current plan. If you need a copy of your SPD, contact your health plan administrator.

One of the most important pieces of information contained in the SPD are your rights under ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act). ERISA is a piece of legislation that will inform you about everything from covering your dependents to which services can require a copay.

A more detailed explanation about what ERISA is can be found on the Department of Labor’s website, here, but we’ve laid out some key points:

    • Sets minimum standards for employer sponsored retirement plans
    • Requires plans to inform the participants regularly
    • Funding rules requiring adequate funding by plan sponsors
    • Defines accountability for plan fiduciaries (fund managers, consultants, etc…)
    • Gives participants ability to take legal action against fiduciaries who are not doing their jobs