Benefit plan design - Latest News | Page 55 of 58

Benefits Think Driving your CDHP off the lot and creating satisfied customers

For most employers, annual enrollment for this year is in the rear-view mirror. That means that you’re done with the emails, the newsletter, the guide, the meetings, the reminder postcard, the online enrollment system, and other communications, right? Not if you’ve implemented a new Consumer Driven Health Plan. Not if you want to avoid disruption from confused employees who are using a CDHP for the first time. Not if you want your employees to get the

November 15

Healthcare plans

Consumers taking charge of their health care costs with health savings accounts

Employers and employees alike have found a more affordable health care option in health savings accounts, according to two national surveys released last week.

By Lisa V. Gillespie

Writer

November 14

Healthcare reform

HHS previews insurance exchange application process

States and territories seeking to establish a health insurance exchange, funded under the Affordable Care Act, will be required to submit an application for approval during the fall of 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services has announced.

By Joseph Goedert

Senior Editor

Health Data Management

November 9

Healthcare reform

U.S. appeals court backs Obama health care law

President Barack Obama's signature health care law got a boost on Tuesday when a U.S. appeals court agreed with a lower court that dismissed a challenge and found the law's minimum coverage requirement was constitutional.

By Lisa Lambert

November 9

Healthcare reform

Wal-Mart trims some U.S. health coverage

Wal-Mart Stores Inc will no longer offer health insurance to new part-time U.S. employees who work fewer than 24 hours a week and will charge workers who use tobacco more for coverage as health care costs rise, the company said on Friday.

By Jessica Wohl

October 25

Benefit plan design

Obama administration pulls part of health care law

The Obama administration is pulling the plug on a long-term, home-care program included in the 2010 health care reform law that Republicans have derided as a budget trick.

By Donna Smith

Executive Director of Business Development

FAIR Health, Inc.

October 18

Benefit plan design

U.S. advisers: Keep health benefits affordable

An advisory group urged U.S. officials to formulate a set of essential health benefits under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul that is in line with cost of insurance in a typical small employer plan.

By Alina Selyukh

October 11

Healthcare reform

Average annual premiums for family benefits top $15,000, up 9%

After several years of relatively modest premium increases, annual premiums for employer-sponsored family health coverage increased to $15,073 this year, up 9% from last year. On average, workers pay $4,129 and employers pay $10,944 toward those annual premiums.

By Lisa V. Gillespie

Writer

October 3

Benefit plan design

Access to data on health care providers improves with PPACA

Do you have a personal physician? How did you choose your doctor?

By Leanne Fosbre

October 1

Healthcare reform

Appeals process mandated by health reform don’t help workers, onerous for employers

Let me begin with a two-part confession: First, I do not claim to be a health reform expert. I have not read through the massive regulation and rely heavily on the interpretation of other, smarter people. Second, I am fairly apolitical. I don't find politics at the local, national and state levels particularly engaging.

By Cindy Bucher

October 1

Healthcare reform

US health benefits recommendations coming October 7

A key recommendation for medical coverage standards under president Barack Obama's health care overhaul will be released on October 7, according to the organization preparing the report.

By Alina Selyukh

September 30

Healthcare reform

Obama’s health care law appealed to Supreme Court

The Obama administration on Wednesday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to back the centerpiece of Barack Obama's sweeping healthcare overhaul the requirement that all Americans have health insurance.

By James Vicini

September 30

Healthcare reform

HHS extends comment period on insurance exchanges

The Department of Health and Human Services has extended public comment on two proposed rules published on July 15 to establish state insurance exchanges and implement standards related to reinsurance and risk adjustment.

By Joseph Goedert

Senior Editor

Health Data Management

September 29

Benefit plan design

Patient protection reform could mean higher health care costs

Of the endlessly debated provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the requirements for Medical Loss Ratios stand out for insurance companies because the requirements are designed to dictate how those companies pay their bills. A new study sheds light on the MLR rule; read as experts weigh in.

By Reuters

September 19

Healthcare reform

Part of WellPoint decision-making will go to Watson

If youre a customer of WellPoint, Inc., your employees records soon will come under the guidance of a computer. Granted, a very smart computer, but a computer nonetheless.

By Lisa V. Gillespie

Writer

September 19

Benefits Think A renewal season like none other

Well, its been quite an interesting renewal/marketing season already, hasnt it? Trend factors are lower than theyve been in years. Some carriers are out there offering premium holidays for new clients who sign up before January 1. And whens the last time you saw a carrier offer a double-digit rate decrease right out of the chute?

September 12

Benefits Think The rate of ineligible dependents increases with health care reform

One of the first (and most popular) changes brought on by health care reform was the mandatory extension of health plan eligibility to adult children up to age 26 regardless of student status or dependence upon the employee. Most people predicted that the rate of ineligible dependents would decrease after this provision took effect. Based upon a study my firm recently completed, comparing similar populations before and after the implementation of this provision, we can

September 8

Healthcare reform

Customer service vs. cost

For all the discussion about lowering the cost of health care and providing health benefits, is there a more important arbiter of employer satisfaction with a health plan than holding down cost trends? Maybe so, according to the results of the latest survey from J.D. Power and Associates.

By Brian M. Kalish

Online Managing Editor, Health Care Group

SourceMedia

September 1

Healthcare reform

Child-only plans decline

Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee, released a report recently showing access to child-only health insurance plans has declined significantly since passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

By Lisa V. Gillespie

Writer

September 1

Healthcare reform

Previewing technology’s role in health exchanges

The clock is ticking. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges are targeted to come online in 2014, which means open enrollment must begin in the fall of 2013. Every state is determining its approach, and everyone in the industry is strategizing on how to tap into a projected market of 25 million enrollees by 2016. The states will take different approaches, but the common denominator is technology. This month we'll look at how technology will be utilized in exchanges and identify other corresponding services that will be necessary to make the exchanges a success.

By John Lamb

VP and Group Head

EBIX

September 1