Exchanges

America’s biggest health insurers are about to get even bigger, driven into a wave of consolidation by the Affordable Care Act’s new regulations and markets.

The public has until July 21 to submit comments on the proposal that would expand the fiduciary standard to thousands of brokers and advisers who provide retirement investment advice.

In the eight states that have announced their 2016 proposed rates for purchasing coverage on the public health care exchanges, the average increase for a silver plan is 5.8%.

Most of the 13 state-run public health insurance have collectively spent $4.8 billion in federal funding during their first 17 months of operations and face serious cash-flow problems.

Private exchange enrollment numbers depend on how one defines a private exchange. For some, a private exchange is simply tech-enabled choice — which most employers are embracing — while others define it as more than technology. Despite the definition, most consultancies agree by 2018, the numbers will be huge.

The EEOC has proposed rules addressing the extent to which employers may offer incentives to promote participation in wellness programs without violating the ADA.

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants was a long time user of Liazon’s private exchange software, but this week launched its own exchange, developed in partnership with Hodges-Mace. Chris Duncan, EPIC’s chief growth officer, discusses the move and why exchanges may not be for everyone.

A legislation proposal by 32 Republicans that would temporarily preserve federal premium subsidies for Healthcare.gov enrollees through August 2017 if the Supreme Court rules them unconstitutional in King v. Burwell would simply bandage a festering wound. That’s the conclusion of a recent American Academy of Actuaries analysis.

Ending the Cadillac tax, simplifying the reporting process and eliminating the automatic enrollment requirement are a few of the legislative recommendations the American Benefits Council is urging Congress to act on.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ internal controls did not effectively ensure the accuracy of nearly $2.8 billion in financial assistance payments to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act during the first four months that the payments were made, according to a new government report.