Benefit plan design

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.

Employees are craving voluntary benefits to offset high deductible plans, yet many say they haven’t been offered any new options since the ACA became law.

With open enrollment officially over, suggestions are emerging from industry experts on how to tweak the next round of ACA sign-ups.

The Affordable Care Act’s ongoing rollout continues to plague employers as many look for alternative benefit structures to help with rising costs. The defined contribution benefit model – touted as a way to lower costs for employers and increase choice for employees – is generating lots of discussion but are employers ready to take the plunge?

Tuesday was the last day of a two-week health law extension for hundreds of thousands of people who couldn’t finish their enrollment by March 31, the official deadline to sign up for a federally subsidized insurance plan in 2014.

As employers begin to look at private exchanges as a means to provide health care benefits to their active employee population questions are being raised about potential conflicts of interest for consulting firms that also act as exchange purveyors.

Advisers say employers are increasingly purchasing voluntary dental plans as an effort to cut costs, meet new ACA requirements and retain employees.

The number of American adults with health insurance coverage from September 2013 to mid-March 2014 increased by 9.3 million – shaving the uninsured rolls to 15.8% from 20.5%, according to a new RAND survey. At least one skeptic, however, says the numbers are skewed and defy conventional wisdom.

Legal analysis: Are employees hired through a staffing firm or professional employer organization considered full-time employees under the ACA? Answering this question wrong could cost your clients a great deal.

Engaging and empowering employees to make better health and health care decisions, evaluating health exchanges and dealing with the lack of health care price transparency are three of the biggest challenges for Texas employers, finds a recent survey by the Texas Business Group on Health.

While all eyes had been on HIX enrollment numbers during the ACA’s first open-enrollment period, millions of Americans also chose health insurance options off the exchange. What does this mean for adverse selection and future premium pricing?