Healthcare

Private industry employers spent, on average, $29.63 per hour worked for total employee compensation in December 2013, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Wages and salaries averaged $20.76 per hour worked and accounted for 70.1% of that cost, while benefits averaged $8.87 and accounted for the remaining 29.9%.

Like it or not, limited plan options seem here to stay. Brokers and employers discuss their strategies for navigating through them.

President Barack Obama’s health care law is becoming more entrenched, with 64% of Americans now supporting it outright or backing small changes.

In Maine, the insurer that has enrolled the most Obamacare customers isn’t the state’s well-established Blue Cross Blue Shield plan, owned by WellPoint Inc. It’s WellPoint’s only rival.

More and more employers are looking to wellness programs to help relieve the expected burden of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on their high-cost plans. While 35% have already taken action to add or improve these supplemental programs, approximately 47% say they are considering this option, according to a new employer survey from Mercer.

As employer-sponsored retirement plans are expected to see premium increases from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation this year, along with a possibility of an unsteady market economy and longevity issues, retirement officials are urging plan sponsors to consider de-risking techniques.

Four of five U.S. companies have raised deductibles or are considering doing so as health costs increase, according to a Mercer survey of more than 700 employers.

Rising health care costs are driving employers to audit their covered dependents to eliminate working spouses.

When it comes to helping young adults avoid serious health problems later in life, assessing their personalities during routine medical exams could prove as useful as recording their family medical histories and smoking habits, according to new research published by the American Psychological Association.

About 4.2 million people signed up for Obamacare health plans through February as the administration tries to focus the attention of consumers on the March 31 deadline for Americans to enroll.