Exchanges

A strong relationship will lead to a better health care system and more informed consumers, HHS secretary says.

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Inspector General intends to focus its investigations in fiscal year 2015 on the public health care exchanges, adding 5-10 reviews over the course of the year.

Despite predictions that private exchange enrollment will hit 30 million in 2017, employers remain cautious about them, including those early adopters who say they had little choice but to move to one.

Rather than drop benefits in the Americas, which Hilton says would hurt not only its employees but hotel guests too, the company decided to move to a private exchange. During that process, one of the biggest critics of the move was the company’s vice president of benefits.

Commentary: The Supreme Court justices were very active in questioning both parties, although the most probing questions were aimed at the plaintiffs — plus one often overlooked consequence should the court decide in the plaintiffs' favor.

Private exchanges present an opportunity to engage employees in their health plans year-round, not just during open enrollment.

A Supreme Court decision in favor of the petitioner in King v. Burwell could trigger the end of the employer mandate, legal experts say, but it’s far from certain how the court will decide.

The Multi-State Plan program created under the Affordable Care Act may actually lead to further consolidation of the health insurance industry rather than increase competition through the public exchanges.

Industry analysts praise one-stop shopping tools as a positive reason why many employers are moving to private exchanges. At Xerox’s Buck Consultants, 100% of employees enrolling through the company’s exchange engaged with its technology — and made an average of 11.5 return visits, says Sherri Brockhorst, leader of the RightOpt exchange at Buck.

With the Supreme Court set to hear King v. Burwell today, subsidies in the federal health care exchange could be eliminated for millions of enrollees. Leading up to this, Employee Benefit Adviser and Employee Benefit News have covered the story from all angles. Here is a roundup of our coverage in the case.