Bruce Shutan

With open enrollment officially over, suggestions are emerging from industry experts on how to tweak the next round of ACA sign-ups.

The number of American adults with health insurance coverage from September 2013 to mid-March 2014 increased by 9.3 million – shaving the uninsured rolls to 15.8% from 20.5%, according to a new RAND survey. At least one skeptic, however, says the numbers are skewed and defy conventional wisdom.

While all eyes had been on HIX enrollment numbers during the ACA’s first open-enrollment period, millions of Americans also chose health insurance options off the exchange. What does this mean for adverse selection and future premium pricing?

State-run exchange flaws have sparked talk of extending the open enrollment deadline beyond March 31 in states where residents could not complete applications through their respective online marketplaces.

Months after becoming the first state to offer health care coverage to lower-income residents through a “private option” rather than Medicaid expansion under the ACA, Arkansas finally agreed to extend this closely watched political compromise.

Benefits and risk management consulting firm Laurus Strategies launches a private exchange consulting practice to help employers identify vendors and determine the feasibility of moving to a private exchange.

With the Affordable Care Act looming large, employers turn to benefit outsourcing to keep their plans compliant.

Much has been made about how the exchanges are playing in Peoria, but what about Portugal, Poland or Peru?

The operator of a private HIX platform for small and large employers has teamed up with a global leader in entertainment payroll, residuals and other integrated production management solutions to fill health care coverage gaps in an industry known more for who is appearing in front of the camera.

As Healthcare.gov procrastinators gear up for the nail-biting final weeks of 2014 enrollment, some lucky part-time or seasonal workers will be able to ride the coattails of their employer’s customized portal for assistance.

A potential loophole in the Affordable Care Act could spell trouble for the HIX marketplace if enough group health plans are able to steer sicker employee populations to public exchanges while holding onto healthier lives.

Republicans' alternative to the ACA, the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act, would do away with exchanges and include a cap on employer-provided health insurance that working Americans could exclude from their taxable income.

It’s never too early for employers to examine ways they can minimize their exposure to the 40% excise tax slated to take effect in 2018 on so-called Cadillac-style health plans under the Affordable Care Act.

For millions of low-income Americans, the road to health care reform in 2014 could prove to be a jagged line as they bounce between public exchanges and Medicaid as their income fluctuates over the year.

In a sign of just how difficult it is to rein in out-of-pocket costs, 35% of 2014 bronze-level plans in the Small Business Health Options Program exchange had deductibles that exceeded suggested annual caps under the Affordable Care Act.

Accounting for barely 1% of enrollment in all employer-sponsored benefits plans, private exchanges are currently a dimly lit bulb on the radar for group health insurance delivery. But there’s little doubt that number will rise.

The ACA has been roundly criticized for its lack of cost-containment provisions But one Princeton University academic maintains that cost-containment cannot be implemented simultaneously with universal-coverage measures.

A leading private exchange operator’s satisfaction survey shows that employees who shopped online for their health insurance in 2013 have a surprisingly high understanding of, and appreciation for, the value of this new sophisticated marketplace.

In hoping for expanded access to health insurance, proponents of the emerging HIX marketplace have had to make a few Faustian deals along the way to realizing their objectives. One such tradeoff under the Affordable Care Act involves narrower provider networks – an old strategy used to rein in runaway costs that’s rooted in the managed care era.

Time may not be on the side of carriers in their quest to set appropriate rates for 2015 if the 2014 enrollments take longer than expected because of further online technical delays, public apathy or both.