Benefit plan design

Legal experts weigh in on the IRS guidance making ACA’s employer mandate delay official.

Benefits broker and advisory firm Prescott Pailet sees the delay as an opportunity to give many of its clients room to breathe – especially those in the restaurant and hospitality industries, who would be most impacted by potential penalties.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. says it will more than double payments to physicians tied to quality and cost efficiency within five years, in the latest sign of transformation in the American medical system.

Walgreen Co., the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, agreed to join with the largest federation of health insurers to promote the Affordable Care Act, lending a hand as the Obama administration strains to win over the public.

The Affordable Care Act is seen as the regulatory issue with the most pull on the workplace in the next year, with 57% saying it will have a significant impact.

Perhaps even more so than expanded coverage, the 2018 excise tax is driving plan change.

Industry insiders are beginning to find holes in the Affordable Care Act employer mandate delay announced last week by the Obama administration and U.S. Department of Treasury.

Starting next year, the health care reform act holds that a qualified individual cannot be denied coverage by a plan for related services from an approved clinical trial.

Benefits industry reacts to Obama administration's announcement of employer mandate delay until 2015.

Benefits industry reacts to Obama administration's announcement of employer mandate delay until 2015.

The Obama administration will delay a crucial provision of its signature health care law, giving businesses an extra year to comply with a requirement that they provide their workers with insurance.

With fewer employees getting vision care, major diseases are missed early on, leading to higher overall health costs

A new report suggests young and low-wage workers will face the greatest challenges in terms of health care eligibility and cost. Among employees under age 30, only half participated in their employer’s health benefits program in 2013, compared to 70% of employees age 40 and older, according to the 2013 ADP Annual Health Benefits Report.

Nearly half of employers are considering making changes to their total rewards program as a result of the Affordable Care Act, yet most do not anticipate making changes that could negatively affect employees.

In wellness programs, disincentives may have a place but experts caution to tread carefully when using this tactic.

Computer systems to help Americans gain coverage on the Affordable Care Act’s insurance exchanges may not be ready on time, and training for the people who will assist consumers is behind schedule, a government report found.

As plan sponsors continue to work through Affordable Care Act compliance, there has been some confusion about what types of plans are being sponsored. Here’s a look at the basics of these plans.

Many employers are considering making changes to their total rewards programs as a result of the Affordable Care Act, yet most do not anticipate making changes that could negatively affect employees, such as discontinuing health coverage, asking full-time workers to switch to part-time work or increasing the use of contract workers, according to a survey released last Thursday.

Forty-nine percent of organizations feel that new grads lack basic skills and knowledge of writing in English, 18% worry about math proficiency and 13% believe graduates lack English speaking skills.

In a new Mercer survey of nearly 900 employers, 9% of respondents say ACA will have little or no cost impact on their bottom line (adding less than 1%), down significantly from the 25% who thought so in 2011.