Employee benefits

Is now the time to offer accident or critical insurance along with other traditional benefit enrollments? With the uncertainty facing the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate and the high costs associated with these medical claims, new research from MetLife finds that communication of these voluntary benefits will help with employee productivity and cost savings.

As the dust settles over the Affordable Care Act and employees get used to operating in the post-ACA world, plan sponsors find themselves in somewhat of a holding pattern with regards to their pharmacy benefits. But strategic decisions are still in play about whether or not employers are going to provide traditional benefit plans once the employer mandate goes into effect in 2015 or send workers to public or private exchanges.

Health plans allowed to continue in 2014 though they don’t comply with new Obamacare rules may be extended for as long as three years, Aetna Inc. Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini told investors.

As Cigna this week became one of the first insurers to announce its own online marketplace — amid countless others created by brokers, consultants and tech firms — some say the definition of this concept has become muddied.

By ending the sale of tobacco products in its 7,600 pharmacies, CVS Caremark Corp. is redefining itself as a health-care provider in an environment in which millions of newly insured Americans will be looking for quick and convenient medical care.

Health insurers under pressure to keep premiums low are eliminating some hospitals from coverage in a cost-cutting strategy that threatens to freeze out centers that provide specialized care, limiting patient options.

A handful of recent guidance items that the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Treasury have issued make some important changes related to the regulation of “excepted benefits.” These changes are driven in large part by the insurance market reforms and other provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). For the most part, these changes should be welcomed by both employers and employees as they endeavor to comply with the ACA.

Health care plan sponsors planning to get in the front of costly services this year may want to consider increasing employee communication, particularly if they have high deductible health plans. New data from Change Healthcare shows wide price variability among some common medical procedures.

Some 403(b) plan sponsors believe that if they are exempt from ERISA, they cannot be held accountable as an acting-fiduciary. This is a misconception.

Long a provider of backend technology solutions to other private exchanges and employers, bswift announced today the launch of its own private health insurance exchange, Springboard Marketplace.

Insurers participating in Obamacare may have to expand their plans to include more federally funded health clinics, safety-net hospitals and other medical providers used by low-income people, under a U.S. proposal.

Proactive vision care has been linked to early detection of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. However, a new study from HCMS Group finds that stand-alone vision benefits can equate to nearly $100,000 in health care cost savings for large employers over a four-year span.

After losing two colleagues in a short period of time (one in a car accident caused by an undetermined medical issue and one from a heart attack) Joe Mina, a captain in the criminal investigations division with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in Bel Air, Md., increased his efforts to implement a more comprehensive health screening program for employees.

Poll suggests employees are looking to employers to help them keep their healthy New Year's resolutions.

When gauging whether employers need health management programs, the focus should be less on medical cost savings and more on the benefits for increased productivity and risk reduction, says new research from Optum.

Blogger Vinnie Daboul on how to get clients to seek you out for advice — not just to place a transaction.

A recent Federal Court decision turned back a potentially debilitating challenge to the Affordable Care Act’s rules governing premium subsidies. The decision, Halbig v. Sebelius, has consequences for large employers, i.e., those that are subject to the Act’s employer shared responsibility or “pay-or-play” rules.

Coming just on the heels of President Obama’s unveiling of the new MyRA proposal, Senator Tom Harkin announced Thursday the finalized details for his Universal, Secure, Adaptable Retirement Funds Act – legislation he hopes will provide a stable and financially solid mechanism for the 75 million Americans without access to workplace retirement plans.

Premiums for health plans on new state exchanges under the Affordable Care Act are comparable to – and in some cases lower than – those being offered by employers with similar levels of coverage, according to a study released Thursday by PricewaterhouseCooper’s Health Research Institute.

In this commentary, one retirement plan adviser says government efforts and taxpayer funds would be better directed to educating employees on the importance of contributing to their 401(k) accounts and providing additional tax incentives for those few employers that have not already established a 401(k) plan.