Healthcare

Medical expenses remain out of control in the U.S., where Americans have an “unsustainable attitude” that ignores the increasing cost of health care, the chief executive officer of insurer Aetna Inc. said.

CMS accelerated $90 million deal, rather than go through normal one-year bidding process, as it did not believe current contractor could complete work on ‘urgently needed’ functionalities.

Health care exchanges and other issues related to the Affordable Care Act have garnered a great deal of attention. However, additional and less well-known ACA regulations went into effect on January 1. One of these impacts wellness programs, including the myriad initiatives employers have put in place to encourage employees to exercise, lose weight and otherwise improve their health to prevent illness, disability and its costs.

Target Corp. said it will end health insurance for part-time employees, joining Trader Joe’s Co., Home Depot Inc. and other retailers that have scaled back benefits in response to changes from Obamacare.

Small-group employers are still particularly perplexed about their ACA options. Here are four options to leverage with these clients.

The hotly contested issue of workplace flexibility and its inherent benefits have swayed a new group of managers, according to the National Workplace Flexibility Study.

Employers and human resource professionals looking to get ahead of the benefits and health care reform game should take a note of a new free survey in the works by McGraw Wentworth.

From actual call center data glitches to hard-to-define input, brokers across the country on both the state and federal exchanges expect to be shorted for their work enrolling participants during the Affordable Care Act’s first open enrollment period.

The plaintiffs who lost a recent lawsuit trying to prevent the federal government from providing tax credits to purchase health insurance on federal exchanges have filed for an expedited appeal in the case.

Outcomes tracking and easy access are contributing to the rise of the employee assistance program. But your clients need you to spread the word.