Benefit plan design

In a Midwest Business Group on Health webinar, representatives from three private health insurance exchanges offered insight into what employers, employees and the overall market can gain from the emerging model.

In his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Obama said that “already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs.” Is it? EBN asked one health care expert to help fact-check the claim.

The number of Americans projected to gain insurance from the U.S. health care law is eroding, by at least 5 million people, as the Obama administration struggles to implement the $1.3 trillion overhaul amid Republican opposition.

As many as 8 million people will lose health care plans now offered through their employers, the Congressional Budget Office now estimates, up from a previous estimate of 5 million.

Lawmakers from Michigan and Wisconsin were among those who called PPACA a good “first step” toward health care coverage for all Americans at a Families USA conference in Washington.

The number of Americans projected to gain insurance from the U.S. health care law is eroding, by at least 5 million people, as the Obama administration struggles to implement the $1.3 trillion overhaul amid Republican opposition.

The government said the rules announced last week would broaden the types of organizations eligible for an exemption from the birth-control mandate and make it easier for them to escape it.

Payments from drugmakers and medical device companies to doctors must be disclosed to the U.S. government beginning next March, regulators said.

The death of employer-sponsored health care coverage is largely exaggerated, says Robert Galvin, CEO of Equity Healthcare.

Mercer has launched a private benefit exchange. Called Mercer Marketplace and developed by Benefitfocus, the exchange is available to employers with at least 100 employees. It will provide access to a broad array of benefits - both traditional and voluntary - from multiple insurance providers. Additional education tools and support will help employees customize their choices to better fit their needs, according to the company.

John Lamb on helping employees that have reached the tipping point on health care spending.

Third biggest U.S. health insurer says the share of health care premiums it spends on patient care rose to 84.1% from 80.7% a year earlier. The insurer finished 2012 with 18.2 million members in its medical plans, an increase of 64,000 over the third quarter.

The IRS and HHS released new regulations Wednesday for the individual mandate portion of PPACA. The proposed regulations shed new light on the process the agencies will take in determining which individuals are subject to the mandate or whether they’re exempt, and whether their insurance coverage is sufficient.

Oklahoma opposed a request by the U.S. that a judge dismiss the state’s lawsuit challenging President Obama’s 2010 health-care reform legislation.

Howard County, Md., will become the first municipality to establish a nonprofit, member-run health co-op to sell individual and small group plans through the insurance exchanges — a move some say could undercut competitors by 30%.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. and other U.S. health insurers will soon have company in Maryland: a nonprofit started by a county government that plans to sell coverage at rates as much as 30% lower than competitors.

With the 113th Congress up and running and the president’s policy schedule filling up by the day, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health polled Americans last week on what they would like the government to set as top health care priorities for the year.

As the health insurance exchange marketplace continues to expand, industry trailblazers and benefits experts are weighing in on what it takes for employers to succeed within this relatively new health care model.

Consulting firm announced Thursday the launch of a private benefits exchange developed by Benefitfocus, available to employers with at least 100 employees.

Mercer announced Thursday that it has launched a private benefits exchange developed by Benefitfocus and available to employers with at least 100 employees.