Affordable Care Act (ACA)


Looking for an Alternative to a Group Health Plan?

Cardinal Services Now Offers a QSEHRA Plan Oregon employers now have another option to assist employees in paying for health coverage and other medical expenses. This new coverage option is called a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement. The catchy acronym, QSEHRA, is sometimes pronounced by saying the letter Q followed up with the name Sarah. While the original plan was rolled out at the national level in 2016, it took Oregon some time to […]


Legislative Alert: Employer Penalty for Employees Enrolled in Oregon Health Plan

The Oregon House of Representatives recently introduced House Bill 4105 which would require employers to pay a monetary penalty if an employee enrolls in the Oregon Health Plan (OHP). The OHP extends Medicare to more people than the federal law requires; this is a legacy of a former governor trying to be innovative in delivering better health care to more of those in need. The OHP is a significant portion of the Oregon’s budget—a budget […]


Ask HR: Does PTO cover Sick & Vacation leave?

Dear HR, This new sick time law is still so confusing! My company offers 40 hours of PTO to our employees every year on January 1st. PTO can be used for vacation days, personal time, or any qualifying sick time reason.  One of my employees used his 40 hours of PTO in February to go on vacation. Now they want to use 8 hours of sick time for an absence last Monday when he was home […]


The Affordable Care Act and the Future of Health Insurance

Cardinal’s Bird’s Eye View In November we looked at What Employers Need to Know – Choosing a Health Plan, the price of health insurance, compared small and individual market plans and costs—and made some predictions. It was not a stretch to predict that health insurance carriers who were not making a profit would continue to raise rates. Predicting what the Trump Administration and Congress will do now is more problematic.