Health and wellness

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.

Commentary: The midpoint of the tax year is almost upon us, and many still have work to do to prepare for the new IRS 1094-C and 1095-C filings.

For 22 years, she has ‘worked tirelessly on our behalf with acumen that is unmatched.’

Brokers need to change the conversations they are having with clients away from the Affordable Care Act and toward other topics, including voluntary, since little will change with the law until the next presidential inauguration, a carrier rep says.

Health care consumers in some parts of the U.S. may face higher premiums next year if some insurers struggle to cover their costs and Congress continues to require that the risk-corridors program established under the ACA be self-sustaining.

Commentary: Expatriate health plans are — here are key definitions and relief as well as the recent IRS guidance on calculations for the 2014 and 2015 fee years.

They're more common than ever, but some company initiatives don’t have the intended effect.

Brokers not only need to determine which clients might be subjected to the tax, but should also engage with various levels of government if they wish to have an impact on its future.

Covered California’s Small Employer Health Options Program (SHOP) is growing, but a private-sector competitor to the state-run HIX is growing even faster.

Commentary: While an employee assistance program may be promoted to employees when it’s launched, it quickly becomes lost in the collection of employee benefits and is rarely utilized. To maximize its value, ask whether your prospective vendor includes some of the following services.