Healthcare benefits

The ongoing escalation of complex regulations for health insurance plans has made it extremely difficult for just about every employer to comply. More than five years after passage of the Affordable Care Act, the compliance requirements not only continue to add up, but also to shift around.

Analytics are driving benefit design to ensure compliance with ACA requirements and determine potential liability under the Cadillac tax.

Commentary: Executives are starting to acknowledge that engagement alone won’t drive long-term results.

Even when price, quality and relevant health information is available to employees, they must be prompted to get engaged with the information, which requires some heavy lifting by employers.

A new company founded by two former Munich Re Stop Loss executives is selling stop-loss insurance directly to self-insured employers, aiming to eliminate brokers from the equation altogether.

Anywhere from 4% to 8% of dependents enrolled in group employee health insurance are not eligible to be in the plan. How it happens and what you can do about it.

Commentary: Risk adjustment programs were intended to be self-supporting and clearly this has not been the case, says adviser Craig Hasday.

Employers using health apps as part of their wellness programs may want to pay attention to what is being called the most in-depth analysis to date of health-related app use in the United States.

Commentary: Employers can reduce turmoil by taking a phased approach to Cadillac tax avoidance.

Commentary: It may ultimately be a greater risk to remain fully insured and continue treating annual health care spend as an expense rather than an investment.

As private exchanges continue to evolve, industry insiders say the integration of accountable care organizations could be the ‘next big thing' in the exchange world; one that could be a big win for employers.

As employers face growing challenges trying to balance employees’ well-being with containing benefits-related company costs, many are seeking guidance on how to manage the administrative and compliance requirements of the Affordable Care Act.

The U.S. is “drowning” in over-diagnosis and over-treatment and workplace wellness programs are partly to blame, said a wellness industry expert during a debate at the Population Health Alliance conference in Washington, D.C.

Bolstered by the Affordable Care Act, 79% of employer groups now have some type of wellness program, according to a survey by the National Business Group on Health. Along with the opportunities, however, come some regulatory pitfalls.

The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission is issuing a proposed rule today, aiming to clarify how wellness incentives apply to the health information of a spouse participating in an employer-sponsored wellness program.

Commentary: Most large employers screen applicants for substance abuse and randomly screen existing employees — testing that’s cost-prohibitive for most small businesses.

A more competitive health insurance market is favorable, but not always possible. Brokers operating in a market controlled by only a few carriers need to offer a wide variety of services in order to retain clients and increase sales.

Just four years after exiting the pharmacy benefit management business, Walgreens is getting back into it with the acquisition of pharmacy retail chain Rite-Aid.

The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 will repeal the Affordable Care Act’s provision requiring employers with more than 200 employees to automatically enroll full-time workers in a health plan if coverage isn't voluntarily chosen or declined by the employee.

Commentary: Employers who move most effectively to address stress and improve their employees' resiliency will find themselves at a competitive advantage in employee recruitment, retention and market performance.