Employer Strategies

Rules for the six state insurance exchanges that won conditional approval from the Obama administration Dec. 10 are split evenly between those with strict criteria for companies that want to participate and states that have opened their exchanges to all comers, a scenario supported by the insurance industry. A high bar for inclusion could limit the number of insurers offering health plans in some states.

Many states led by Republican governors have already said they won’t build their own insurance exchanges. That puts the onus on the Obama administration.

Accurately tallying up employees, all the more important in light of PPACA, is not as easy as it may seem for those in businesses under partial or total common control with others.

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.

As the Supreme Court looks at same-sex marriage cases next year, one legal expert says “there are, arguably, more complications for plan sponsors if DOMA goes away.”

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.

The world’s largest computer-services provider will only match defined contributions on Dec. 15 of each year — workers who leave or are fired before that date get nothing. The move could lead to significant savings, but it’s already led to criticism.

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.