At Will Employment – What is It?

In modern employment situations, many employees lack formal employment contracts detailing the length of their employment, salary, and other pertinent details. What has developed over the years is the concept known as “at-will” employment. This concept provides much more flexibility to both parties but also a degree of uncertainty.At-will employment is a doctrine of law that developed in the United States. It defines an employment relationship in which both parties have the ability to end the employment relationship without liability, provided that an express contract for a definite term does not exist. Under this employment law doctrine, “any hiring is presumed to be ‘at will.’” The employer is able to fire or lay off an individual for good cause, no cause, or bad cause. The employee, at the same, is able to quite, to go on strike, or stop work for whatever reason as well.While this doctrine appears to give the employer carte blanche for firing an employee, there are a number of exceptions to the rule. One of the biggest exceptions to the rule of at-will employment applies if there is suspected or evident discrimination involved in the termination of an employee or a group of employees. In the event that there is discrimination involved in the firing, the employee may be able to make the employer liable for the damages that were imposed due to the loss of the job.Compliments Horace G. Wood’s 1877 treatise on master-servant relations, the at-will employment rule was born. As true authority for the rule, Wood cited four different United States cases. These cases lent a number of holdings and legal rules to employment. For starters, it was decided that when a hiring was indefinite, the burden of proof was on the servant (or employee) to prove that an indefinite employment term was for one year.Some courts over the years have viewed the rule as imposing a requirement on the employee to prove that there was an express contract for a definite term in order to maintain any action based on termination of employment. This rule, which came to be known as the at-will employment rule, was adopted by all of the states and not modified by any court until 1959.In the half century since the first exception was created by a court, there have been several common law and statutory exceptions added to the general rule. One such exception prohibits an employer from firing an employee for refusing an order to do something that is either illegal or immoral. The burden of proof that this was the reason for discharge rests with the former employee in almost all states.As in all situations, at-will employment is constantly being challenged in the courts across the country.

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Texas HIPAA Health Insurance – How to Find a Texas Portability Health Insurance Plan

The Texas HIPAA health insurance laws, also known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, were established in 1996 by Congress to protect workers and their families’ health insurance coverage and to establish standards for insurance providers and employers. The HIPAA consists of two parts, Title I and Title II. Title I protects workers if they switch jobs or get laid off from a current job. The protection also extends to the workers family members. Title II covers a different aspect of the health insurance laws, requiring health care facilities, employees, and health insurance providers to abide by nationally established standards. Title II is also known as the Administrative Simplification (AS) provisions, which make use of electronic data systems in Texas and throughout the U.S. to make health care matters much more efficient than in the past.Title I of the HIPAA’s main objective was to amend the Public Health Service Act and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Under Title I, health insurance providers in Texas and throughout the U.S. cannot deem workers eligible or ineligible simply based on disabilities, genetics, or their medical history. Health insurance companies in Texas and other states used to be able to place restrictions on health insurance plans for workers who had preexisting conditions. However, Title I limits these restrictions that the insurance providers are allowed to put on benefits for workers who fall in this category. Further, Title I also prohibits health insurance providers from placing restrictions on or denying coverage to workers with preexisting conditions.Title II of HIPPA was created first for its Administrative Simplification rules, which require the Department of Health and Human Services to assist in advancing the efficiency and effectiveness of the health care system in Texas and all other states. Another aspect of Title II is its programs to monitor abuse and fraud within the health insurance and health care industries. Title II also sets both criminal and civil penalties for those who violate the laws. The Department of Health and Human Services established five main rules: the Security, Privacy, Enforcement, Unique Identifiers, and Transactions and Code Sets Rules.The Security Rule consists of three sections: administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. The administrative safeguards provide guidelines for the health care field to abide by, especially relating to security issues. The Privacy Rule expands on this, placing restrictions on disclosing information regarding an individual’s health care status. The Enforcement Rule sets penalties, mainly civil fines and violations for those who violated HIPAA laws. The Unique Identifiers Rule assigns a ten digit National Provider Identifier number to any entity such as hospitals or doctors in order to promote the efficiency of the health care system in Texas and throughout the U.S. Lastly, the Transactions and Code Sets Rules relate to many aspects of health care such as inquiries about eligibility and benefits and the transmission of health care information.The HIPAA laws initially charged health care facilities a cost in order to get “in compliance” with the HIPAA laws. Since its establishment, the HIPAA laws have had effects on both research and clinical care. Because HIPAA laws call for a lot of details on the forms, some patients complain that a lot of things are extremely user-unfriendly. Other studies suggest that HIPAA privacy rules may have negative effects on the costs and results of health care research. The implemental of the HIPAA laws also had effects on clinical care as well. Some research shows that health care facilities are often unsure of their privacy restrictions, so it may come across to patients as an extremely hesitant approach to disclosing individual information.One of the most important areas of the HIPAA laws for people withe pre-existing conditions is the mandated coverage requirements in Title I. Title I forces Texas individual health insurance companies to offer guaranteed issue Texas HIPAA health insurance portability plans to TX residents that meet certain criteria. If you have major pre-existing conditions and feel that you may be eligible for a TX HIPAA health insurance plan then be sure and speak with a licensed Texas health insurance agent to verify your eligibility.Overall, the HIPAA laws have had an enormous effect on the health care industry in Texas and all states in the U.S. The main benefits of the HIPAA laws have been increased effectiveness and efficiency of information systems. Negative aspects of the HIPAA laws are increasing costs for the health care industry, especially in terms of research procedures, as well as patients’ difficulty in obtaining information from their health care providers due to their extremely guarded approach.

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Health Insurance Helps Protect You From High Medical Costs

Health insurance helps protect you from high medical care costs. It is designed to cover treatment for curable, short-term illness or injury ( commonly known as acute conditions).HealthHealth insurance is also not cheap and it can’t be because doctor bills are so high. It is so expensive nowadays because for one, there have been big gains on medical science over the past few years. Health policy is protection against the possible health problems that could happen in the future, and you have absolutely no way of knowing what those might be.The accident, to be covered, must have occurred while the beneficiary was covered under this exact same health insurance contract. Many people in the United States get a health insurance policy through their employers. These plans contract with health care providers and medical facilities to provide care for members at reduced costs. You can also purchase health insurance on your own. People who meet certain requirements can qualify for government insurance, such as Medicare and Medicaid. You can count on your policy to cover you for a hospital stay. Most policies cover doctor visits, but benefits for mental health, prescription drugs and dental care are strictly optional. A growing number of public and private sources compile information on the track records of individual doctors, hospitals, and health plans. State and federal regulations protect you from losing your health coverage in the event you lose your job. If you and your spouse both get health insurance at work, you must sort out whether it makes more sense to have two policies or for one of you to cover the other. The health care system is changing and so is health care within the United States which has resulted in more families participating in heath insurance.PolicyEven if you do receive coverage through an employer-sponsored health plan, you should consider the cost-saving benefits of switching to a family health insurance policy or moving some of your family members off of your group policy into a family plan. Since small business health insurance offers guaranteed coverage to all employees in a given company, it can be difficult and time consuming for a small business owner to find the best policy. Each health insurer will give you a policy summary or “key facts” document and a full policy document either before or immediately after you sign the contract of insurance. The summary or “key facts” document will set out any significant and unusual limits of your policy. Health care reform is a top priority for voters, and the presidential candidates continue to present an array of policy initiatives that could transform the nation’s health care system. Before choosing the health insurance policy, it is advised that the customer compares the health insurance quotes of different companies. When choosing, the customer has to check it up and make sure that the policy does not come with an indemnity style policy of has calendar year limits. The cheapest policy is too expensive if it leaves you exposed. The difference is that a whole life insurance policy builds equity and a term life insurance policy is mainly used to take care of debts for your family and for your self if you perish prematurely. Make sure that your medical care policy is doing the business you set it out to do. All you need to do is compare coverage and pick which policy is the best for you.Health insurance [http://www.thealarmssystem.com/healthinsurance.htm] is important to you and your family giving you peace of mind into the future whether it’s a quick visit to the doctor or a family medical emergency that you face.

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