Health and wellness

Assurant announced June 10 it will exit the health insurance market and sell some small group business lines to insurance holding company National General Holdings.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the plaintiff in King v. Burwell would most affect Florida exchange subsides, although the impact would be far reaching, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds.

Prompted by industry questions and concerns, the IRS has issued updated guidance to clarify ACA reporting requirements for applicable large employers, particularly those with special circumstances.

The countdown is on for the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the Affordable Care Act and the legality of subsidies – with a decision that could have looming political implications leading into a heated primary election cycle.

House Republicans yesterday introduced a plan to repeal the ACA and replace key pieces of it with high-risk health pools and tax credits that benefit industry experts oppose, saying it would undermine the employer-sponsored health care system in place today.

Chiropractors and other ancillary health care providers are breathing a sigh of relief following an about-face by federal regulators with respect to Affordable Care Act’s coverage of their services.

Commentary: Employers should be vigilant when developing strategies which can run afoul of new rules. The penalties are severe.

CMS says agent fees and commission cannot be excluded from issuer MLR reporting requirements — unless these very specific criteria are met.

The clock is ticking for various state legislatures that are pondering a change in the way their residents enroll in public health insurance exchanges ahead of the widely anticipated June ruling in King v. Burwell on whether federal subsidies will be scrapped in 34 states that rely on Healthcare.gov for signups.

The proposals for Healthcare.gov plans are subject to a review process before the final rates are published by Nov. 1.

Benefits decision-makers continue to struggle with the notion of financially justifying their wellness dollars, as wellness ROI is still exceptionally elusive.

Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released some new proposed regulations on wellness programs, employers are still grappling with how to incorporate new health technologies into their programs.

Commentary: Recent guidance issued jointly by the U.S. Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and the Treasury clarifies how the Affordable Care Act's requirement to provide cost-free coverage for preventive care applies to several types of products and services.

The federal government has erased any residual doubt about how out-of-pocket limits set by the Affordable Care Act will govern family members covered under a group plan.

Employers looking for good news on patient safety got a mixed bag of recent news – especially the discouraging report that nearly half of American hospitals fall short in nursing standards.

Questions from industry stakeholders have prompted the Obama administration to clarify annual limits on cost sharing under the ACA and how they apply to individuals, families, and self-funded and large group health plans.

The ACA’s mandated expansion of the definition of the small group market would limit employers’ health plan options and lead to premium increases, according to employer groups that are urging the repeal of the mandate before it takes effect in 2016.

The Affordable Care Act is here to stay until at least the next presidential inauguration, but there are some fixes that can be made to make the law work better today, the former head of the Massachusetts Health Connector, often called the template for the ACA, says.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling in the Burwell v Hobby Lobby Stores case addressed in broad terms how exceptions to the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for contraceptive benefits coverage can be granted in the private sector, it left some unresolved questions both in the for-profit and in the nonprofit world.

A win for King would have economic benefits for both individuals and employers, according to one think tank.