Securitas Blames Obamacare for Dropping Rhode Island Healthcare

Friday, November 01, 2013

GoLocalProv News Team

An international security firm with offices in Rhode Island has informed employees it will be dropping certain health coverage options effective January 2014 -- due to Obamacare.

Securitas, which has offices in Warwick and offers security guard services to large businesses throughout the state, sent employees a letter dated October 18, which states the following:

"Here is your Benefits Open Enrollment Material -- it's very important to read it this year. This is because we can no longer offer the SRC plan. The Affordable Care Act (ACA or Health Care Reform) doesn't permit plans like Protection as of January 2014. Based on your work location, the Company won't be offering medical insurance to you in 2014."

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See Letter Here

The letter continues, "Instead, we can offer you a choice of dental, vision, and other plans. Please see the attached flyer for information on how to enroll in these plans. Due to the Affordable Care Act, there's a new way to get Medical insurance in 2014. The flyer has information about other sources of medical insurance. One option is the new Health Insurance Marketplaces or Exchanges. Please ask your branch supervisor or Branch HR if you have questions."

Dara Chadwick with the Health Benefits Exchange said, "At first glance, it seems like what was offered in this scenario was a limited benefits plan, which would not count as "minimum essential coverage."

Chadwick continued, "It sounds like [this company] decided to stop offering a limited benefits plan and not offer coverage of any kind. We have not heard of any other Rhode Island companies doing this."

Employee benefits advisor and GoLocal contributor Amy Gallagher said the coverage drop was the "first she or colleagues had heard of in Rhode Island."

"Given the industry, it isn't surprising to me," said Gallagher of the security guard company.

National Firms -- Blaming Obamacare?

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Securitas was mentioned in an article that appeared recently in USA Today, which began by saying, "A handful of big-name firms and many small ones are making major changes to their health care plans this fall, and while some big companies are blaming the Affordable Care Act, insurance and economic experts call those claims an exaggeration."

Named along with Securitas were Home Depot, Sears, and UPS as companies pointing to the ACA for the drop in coverage.

A representative with Securitas headquarters in Warwick referred questions to national headquarters in California, who did not respond to request for comment.

Related Slideshow: Check Out The Grades: Rhode Island Hospitals Report Card

A recent survey released by The Leapfrog Group assigns a Hospital Safety Score, using the report card system of A to F to each of the hospitals in Rhode Island. These grades are based on expert analysis of injuries, infections and errors that cause harm or death during a hospital stay.

Let's see how each of Rhode Island's hospitals were graded from highest to lowest:

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South County Hospital

Wakefield, RI

Fall 2013 Grade: A

Spring 2013 Grade: A

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Kent County Memorial Hospital

Warwick, RI

Fall 2013 Grade: B

Spring 2013 Grade: C

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Memorial Hospital of RI

Pawtucket, RI

Fall 2013 Grade: B

Fall 2013 Grade: Not Graded*

Spring 2013 Grade: Not Graded*

*Not graded due to lack of publicly available data

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Women & Infants Hospital of RI

Providence, RI

Fall 2013 Grade: Not Graded*

Spring 2013 Grade: Not Graded*

*Not graded due to lack of publicly available data

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Westerly Hospital

Westerly, RI

Fall 2013 Grade: Not Graded*

Spring 2013 Grade: Not Graded*

*Not graded due to lack of publicly available data

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