Amazon hasn’t figured out drugstores yet. But it will have to
Jeff Bezos has eyed the pharmacy business for years without plunging in. The upside may be too big to ignore.
Healthcare benefits
ACA mandate undone in GOP tax accord, threatening law
Mitch McConnell says the compromise tax bill from House and Senate negotiators will end the health law’s requirement that all individuals buy insurance or pay a fine.
Benefits Think 2018 predictions: Insurance mergers, healthcare consolidation and new pharmacy rules
The new year will see a continuation of the trends from 2017 that have affected employers — but with a sharp focus on insurance company acquisitions and opioid regulations.
Benefits Think A silent, life-threatening epidemic that needs to be on clients’ radar
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is on the rise among younger generations, and can have astronomical cost effects for both employees and firms.
Barbara Rutkowski
Advanced Plan for Health
Executive Moves: New hires inside BAN, HUB, Lockton and other leading employee benefit firms
The last month of the year saw a bevy of new hires and promotions inside companies that operate in the employee benefit arena.
Pharma lobby group sues to bar California’s drug price law
The U.S. drug industry’s main lobbying group said it filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a California law meant to make drug prices more transparent.
Benefits Think A silent, life-threatening epidemic that needs to be on employers’ radar
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is on the rise among younger generations, and can have astronomical cost effects for both employees and firms.
Barbara Rutkowski
Advanced Plan for Health
Call for nominations: EBA Rising Stars in Advising 2018
Submit yourself or a fellow top-notch benefit adviser under age 35 to be considered for this award recognizing young leaders.
UnitedHealth’s splish beats CVS-Aetna’s megadeal splash
The $214 billion company announced on Wednesday that it's buying DaVita Inc.'s physician-network business for $4.9 billion. It's just the latest step in UnitedHealth's push to diversify its revenue.
Top benefit trends of 2017
In the last year, employers embraced telemedicine, onsite care and financial wellness programs.
The biggest benefit business moves of 2017
Overall growth was modest, but more than 150 mergers and acquisitions, such as the formation of Alera Group, proved it’s a dynamic market.
Benefits Think 3 key steps to help mitigate pain in the workplace
Employers should educate employees about self-care options, give them access to conservative therapies and address psychological factors to avoid the danger of addiction.
Denee Choice
American Specialty Health
Top benefit trends of 2017
Employers moved to self-funded models, brokers embraced performance-based compensation and care delivery was increasingly tied to referenced-based pricing.
Houston rebuffed by Supreme Court on same-sex benefits policy
The U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a clash over Houston’s practice of providing benefits to the same-sex spouses of city employees, leaving intact a Texas Supreme Court decision that calls the city’s policy into question.
How the Senate bill affects employee benefit taxes
There are several provisions in the upper chamber’s text that alter existing tax treatment, and experts predict those elements will win out in final law.
American Benefits Council: With no individual mandate, Congress must remove employer reporting requirements
ABC president Jim Klein says legislators should act immediately to eliminate the ‘challenging’ compliance provision, and then repeal the ACA’s Cadillac tax.
UnitedHealthcare launches Healthy Pregnancy mobile app
Employees can schedule appointments and contact nurses when they’re expecting.
CVS to buy Aetna for $67.5 billion
The deal is among the biggest healthcare mergers of the past decade, combining the largest U.S. drugstore chain with the third-biggest health insurer.
Benefits Think Facility fees: An alarming billing trend
In addition to a charge for doctor’s services, patients are frequently asked to cover use of the hospital-owned clinic.
Craig Hasday
Frenkel Benefits