The doctor will see you…sooner? Virtual care cuts down specialist wait times
Summus' virtual specialist care platform quickly connects members to leading medical experts nationwide.
Health insurance
Benefits Think Why price transparency rules won’t fix healthcare
If you don't understand how and why a hospital bill is what it is, blame our healthcare financing system — not the hospital.
Joe Markland
Nfor1
Benefits Think Leave health insurance to the professionals
Individuals will lose the bulk purchasing power they enjoy under the employer-sponsored status quo if they're forced to seek out coverage on their own.
Janet Trautwein
National Association of Health Underwriters
Global healthcare benefit costs expected to jump 10% in 2023
A new survey of global medical insurers, conducted by WTW, found that nearly 80% are expecting higher increases in the next three years.
Benefits Think Looking upstream to see how inflation may affect healthcare costs
Increased costs are on the way in the healthcare industry. Here's how employers and employees can prepare.
Mike Ott
MOBE
Benefits Think Replacing group health with individual-market plans benefits everyone
Two years after a change that gave the individual-market health plans the same tax advantage as group insurance, they're a cheaper option that will only get better each year.
Mike Markland
ATMA
Benefits Think During open enrollment, embrace voluntary benefits as the ‘opening act’
Medical will be the main event, but don't short-change policies that complement the headliner.
Eric Silverman
Voluntary Benefits
CVS to buy Signify Health in deal pushing beyond retail
The acquisition ranks among the biggest for CVS as it has broadened its healthcare footprint.
Benefits Think Single-payer health insurance could be right around the corner
Advisers need to brace for the possibility that if increased premium tax credits are extended, this single-payer environment could be a permanent change.
Ben Conner
Conner Insurance
5 ways the Inflation Reduction Act could change life for retirees
American seniors lose much of their income to medical expenses. A new law aims to change that.
Benefits Think Time to update our healthcare communications to motivate and educate employees
Advisers need to provide sufficient communication prompts so that the employee populations they serve will know what to do when they need care.
Allison De Paoli
Altiqe
5 reasons Americans are retiring later in life
For a century, Americans were retiring younger and younger. Then, in the 1990s, the average retirement age started to shoot back up. What happened?
Benefits Think Most bankruptcies are caused by medical debt. As benefit advisers, we can change financial outcomes
By helping reduce copays, deductibles and the cost of prescription drugs, we can save millions of working Americans from financial ruin.
Lester J. Morales
Next Impact
Advisers in conversation: This father-son duo predicts a shift to healthcare consumerism
Joe and Mike Markland see ICHRAs as a remedy for the root cause of escalating health insurance costs.
Benefits Think The case for HSAs: How these accounts work overtime to improve health and wealth
HSAs help cover out-of-pocket medical costs in current and future years, fund Medicare, finance long-term care insurance premiums, and provide for retirement income and survivor benefits.
Christine Cooper
aequum
Clinically integrated networks could improve healthcare quality and costs for employers
The CEO and chief medical officer at Embright discuss why clinically integrated networks are the future of value-based care.
UnitedHealth inflated drug costs, Louisiana attorney general alleges in suit
The company was accused of inflating prescription drug charges in the state’s Medicaid program by billions of dollars.
Insurers refuse to pick up bill for billions in opioid claims
Opioid companies agreed to pay more than $32 billion to help cover costs related to opioid addiction, which has killed an estimated 500,000 Americans over two decades.
Long story short: How technology continues to move healthcare innovations forward
Healthcare continues to be influenced by digital innovations that are helping bring more care and better outcomes to employees.
Business Group on Health CEO discusses the pros and cons of the telehealth explosion
Employers should feel empowered to change how healthcare and benefits are utilized.
