Benefit plan design

The surprise vote by Chief Justice John Roberts to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the end of June really was a bold decision that redefined the Commerce Clause. In an era when ego, power and politics rule, Roberts made the brave decision not to use judicial power to overrule the democratic process. He actually gave us an early Independence Day gift by not letting the Supreme Court define the future of…

Private retiree Medicare exchanges provide a glimpse of what public and private health insurance exchanges could look like.

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan acknowledged late last week that his proposed health care reforms rely on many of the same spending reductions for which he has criticized President Barack Obama, something that could undercut a central message of the Republican campaign.

Encouraged by Rep. Paul Ryan’s focus on fiscal responsibility, many brokers and advisers remain satisfied a week after Gov. Mitt Romney announced his vice presidential pick, saying the seven-term Wisconsin congressman brings a fresh perspective to the presidential election.

Working Americans would receive a set of capped tax credits to cover their health care costs under a proposal by Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, who believes excluding employer-provided coverage from federal taxes provides an unfair advantage.

PPACA compliance is expected to hit employers with large part-time employee populations hardest, while some firms may need to think twice about low-paid workers qualifying for Medicaid.

Walmart Stores Inc, the largest private employer, endorsed a new Democratic proposal for controlling health care spending that would seek to keep the rising cost of medical services in line with wage growth.

With the cost of employer-provided health care benefits at large U.S. employers expected to rise another 7% next year, a new survey by the National Business Group on Health suggests employers are eyeing a variety of cost-control measures but also sharply boosting financial rewards to engage workers in healthy lifestyles.

Forty-seven million women will now have access to eight new prevention-related health care services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Wednesday.

Want to disseminate summary of benefits and coverage materials as required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on a mobile device?

Are you pessimistic or are you optimistic about the Supreme Court's June decision to basically uphold all of PPACA? What is your plan in this sea of personal and corporate uncertainty?

Last September, after the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act gave the Department of Health and Human Services authority to review premium rates in states that didn't have strong enough review programs, the agency began handing down decrees of "unreasonable" premium rates for insurers that proposed increasing rates by an average of 10% or more - meaning HHS can publically shame an insurer.

The Obama administration on Friday said it is on track to set up federal health insurance exchanges by 2014 in U.S. states that fail to establish their own regulated insurance markets as required by the U.S. health care reform law.

Last month's Supreme Court ruling that upheld President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law could save the U.S. government some $84 billion over 11 years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced on Tuesday that its employee benefit consulting operation, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., has launched a private insurance exchange platform.

As California goes, so goes the nation, according to an old axiom. But will optimism about relief from pending health insurance rate hikes for tens of thousands of small businesses in the Golden State spill into other states or be buoyed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)?

Federal health care reform legislation and the desire of employers to limit their health insurance costs are likely to fuel interest in “defined contribution” (DC) health benefits and private health insurance exchanges, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Employers must be prepared to field employee questions and take appropriate action in the event that health insurance carriers fail to comply with the Medical Loss Ratio threshold under PPACA and must issue “rebates” beginning next month.

Several leading health care advocacy groups are helping advance the use of outcomes-based incentives in worksite wellness or health management programs that are encouraged by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Alaska will not set up a program allowing residents to buy health insurance across state lines as envisioned under the Obama administration's new health care law, leaving that task to the U.S. government, Gov. Sean Parnell announced Tuesday.