Benefit plan design

The breakdown of states running their own health insurance exchanges versus those using the federally facilitated marketplace will change in due time – but exactly how it will change is still up in the air, said a speaker at Wednesday’s National Health Insurance Exchange Summit, held in Washington, D.C.

The concept of limiting coverage of spouses through the implementation of a surcharge or waiver program has been talked about for years. This is a microcosm of the employee benefits environment where employers are considering every possible cost-control strategy.

Insurer groups this week shared ACA reform ideas with Congress, including the creation of a copper plan.

Knowing how many companies your client owns is critical to meeting ACA compliance. Here’s what you need to know about your clients that own more than one company under a controlled group.

Members of Congress came out swinging Wednesday at a committee hearing with top insurers called as witnesses to determine whom of the more than 8 million Obamacare enrollees have paid their first month’s premium.

Employers remain unclear about the benefits and drawbacks of switching their health plans to a private exchange, but the majority of those that will evaluate exchange vendors in the future plan to seek guidance from a benefit adviser.

Obamacare reduced the percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance to its lowest point since 2008 even as the law remains unpopular with the public, separate surveys showed.

This insurance rule, referring to the grouping of companies owned by the same person, hasn’t applied to medical coverage until now. One broker is concerned that benefit advisers and small business owners alike aren’t up to speed on this requirement and could be vulnerable to liabilities via penalties and lawsuits.

Many employers have yet to update their work policies to reflect the 90-day waiting period rule, a possible landmine for employee confusion and lawsuits.

Higher consumer spending on health services, increased prescriptions for costly medications and more elective surgeries suggests Americans are using the insurance they gained under Obamacare.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a NAHU-backed bill exempting expatriate health plans from the ACA.

One thing is certain as Cover Oregon switches over to Healthcare.gov, more work for brokers.

New research provides a glimpse into just how dire of a situation employers are in as they face rising health care costs and the desire to continue offering a competitive benefits package.

CMS has reset all Healthcare.gov user passwords in response to the Heartbleed internet security bug, causing frustration for consumers and brokers, alike.

A program for sick Americans who were previously denied insurance coverage has been further extended, with individuals now given until the end of June to purchase coverage.

Only a little over half of small businesses understand and are prepared for the changes required by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new survey.

Effective in 2015, the Affordable Care Act requires that employers report information about the health coverage they offer to employees. As you plan for ACA compliance, be reminded that you have this reporting obligation, not just to the Internal Revenue Service but to employees as well.

When the public exchanges were first envisioned, some industry analysts thought most employers eventually would head for the exits on financing health benefits and simply steer their employees into the nascent online marketplace. That hasn’t happened, of course, and it’s far too early in the HIX rollout to expect any meaningful change to occur.

While no public exchange was without troubles during the first ACA open-enrollment period, one state in particular put unique efforts into its SHOP component and saw results.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is in the early stages of looking at new vendors to potentially take over operation of Healthcare.gov, when Accenture’s contract expires in January 2015.