Benefit plan design

Medical records that patients can access online may encourage more people to get recommended screening tests and immunizations, a new study suggests.

While insurers have a couple more years to prepare for the individual mandate and health exchanges, according to a new Gallup poll, effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on 18- to-25-year-olds can already be seen.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said on Monday his state will not implement a health insurance exchange or Medicaid expansion, two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) law upheld last month by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Most employers waited for the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision upholding health care reform before developing a strategy on provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA,) slated to take effect in 2014 and beyond, according to a new Mercer survey.

When Barack Obama was a candidate for president, he endorsed universal health insurance, but opposed forcing individuals to buy their own insurance. As president, he signed into law a bill that violates both of these promises.

Florida will not implement two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act involving creation of a private insurance exchange and an expansion of Medicaid for the poor, according to Governor Rick Scott.

To help employers forecast potential penalties resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as well as make proactive changes to their benefits lineup prior to 2014, the New Jersey Hospital Association has launched the Reform Insurance Penalty Estimator.

Voter support for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has increased following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling upholding it, although majorities still oppose it, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday showed.

While things were a bit murky at first, what emerged from the Supreme Court was some much-needed clarity on how providers can move forward with accountable care initiatives and other efforts fueled by health reform, according to two hospital CIOs asked for their first impressions on the ruling.

Despite the differing reactions among business sectors in the U.S. to last week’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Supreme Court ruling, 77% of surveyed organizations are very likely to provide health coverage in 2014, according to a recent survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans.

Now that the high court has upheld all Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provisions pertaining to employers, the focus shifts to numerous compliance obligations and possible economic implications of fully implementing the health care reform law.

The wait is over as the Supreme Court today upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, paving the way for employers to continue meeting the health care reform provisions that come into effect this year and beyond.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with the individual mandate being upheld under the Congressional power of taxation.

A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

At 2 p.m. EST tomorrow experts will provide insight on the fate of the mandate for individuals to purchase health coverage, and the finding on the constitutionality of PPACA as a whole. Sign up for the web seminar which will be held hours after the decision is released.

There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to the future of health insurance in the United States. And, opinions were readily shared this week at America’s Health Insurance Plans Institute 2012 in Salt Lake City. Connecture Inc., a sales automation technology provider in the health insurance space, conducted a survey of the health insurance executives at the conference, and made a number of conclusions, including:

Private and public health care exchanges can bring tremendous value to the marketplace if they follow certain examples, said a speaker at the NAHU annual convention in Las Vegas Monday.

There is a lot riding on the Supreme Court’s health reform decision for all stakeholders. Brokers and consultants need to be prepared to advise their clients, says EBA Advisory Board member Mark Gaunya, who highlights what you should be thinking about while we wait for the decision.

As if the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act didn’t give employers enough to worry about, a PPACA-related regulatory headache may be taking hold for small firms.

Investors could be excused for avoiding health insurance and hospital stocks as a U.S. Supreme Court decision nears on President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law — an outcome that could send the companies' shares down 10% or more.