Healthcare

Health insurance premiums may double for some small businesses and individual buyers in the U.S. when the Affordable Care Act’s major provisions start in 2014, Aetna’s chief executive officer said.

The Department of Health and Human Services says six states – all led by Democrats – have earned conditional approval to begin enrolling members in their health-insurance exchanges.

With the cost of a private nursing home room running $90,000 a year, many retirees are considering giving all their money to their children in order to qualify for Medicaid. Aside from being a serious financial risk, it shines a bright light on the lack of awareness of long-term care insurance.

While adoption of consumer-driven health plans by employers continues to increase, the perceived risk of CDHP’s high deductibles still makes employees hesitant to switch from the traditional PPO. However, such fears may be unfounded, according to Change Healthcare.

Under health care exchanges, many employees will be selecting benefits previously decided by an employer — providing a chance for brokers and consultants to show their true value, said a panel of experts at the Workplace Benefits Transitions conference December 5.

Buck Consultants estimates the average salary increase in 2013 will be 3%, and two-thirds of surveyed companies plan to focus on retention, not hiring.

Before the election last month, 59% of employers surveyed were in “wait and see” mode regarding post-2014 health care plans. Now, 84% are very likely to or definitely will offer health insurance after state exchanges open.

The Department of Health and Human Services has laid out 10 categories of benefits that must be included in health insurance plans offered through an exchange.

A report published this week claims there’s no such thing as resistance to aspirin, and that expensive prescription blood thinners may be overused.

A majority of high-deductible health plan enrollees misunderstand what types of care are applied to their deductible, leading some to avoid preventive physician visits and tests unneccesarily.