Healthcare benefits

If an employer says they don’t have concerns about the Affordable Care Act’s looming excise tax set to go into effect in 2018, they’re probably fibbing.

Zenefits announced today it is offering small and mid-sized employers an ACA compliance tool for free. Some industry experts say the offering raises the bar again for competing benefit brokers, but others claim it is too little, too late.

Commentary: Although in their infancy, private exchanges have not yet met predicted adoption rates. Wells Fargo’s Dan Gowen shares why this may be the case.

Commentary: The employer community has made its voice clear on the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax. Legislators seem to have heard. Will it make a difference?

Commentary: The “teachable moment” remains one of the most important potential benefits of a health assessment. Well-designed assessment tools provide a catalyst for lifestyle change by creating receptivity to health-related information and recommendations.

Fitness device maker Fitbit now will enter into HIPAA business associate agreements with corporations, health plans and self-insured employers that want to offer its wellness platform to employees.

Commentary: Data breaches, cost transparency and telehealth rank among the Health Research Institute’s top trends plan sponsors need to pay attention to.

The public employees responsible for overseeing $600 million in contracts to build Healthcare.gov were inadequately trained, kept sloppy records, and failed to identify delays and problems that contributed to millions in cost overruns, a new government report finds.

Is the U.S. health care system overrated and overpriced?

Measuring wellness results with credible data is a laudable goal, but it’s an incredibly tricky endeavor.

A potential plan to pool the health care purchasing power of Detroit’s Big Three automakers in the form of a CO-OP or similar entity sounds intriguing to industry insiders, but they also caution that it wouldn’t be an easy road.

Sun Life Financial’s acquisition of the employee benefits unit of Assurant is just the latest move in the insurer’s growth strategy for the U.S. market.

The recently announced mergers of four of the nation’s largest health insurance companies threatens to decrease competition in multiple markets, a threat the American Medical Association says will exceed federal antitrust guidelines and warrants regulatory review. Experts agree brokers will need to work with employer clients to find creative solutions to work with limited plan choices and keep premium costs down.

Insurers are projecting significant jumps in pharmacy expenses this year, driven primarily by specialty drugs.

Despite the regulatory uncertainty about how the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax will apply to employer-sponsored care offered through onsite clinics, employers appear committed to the concept.

About 9.9 million people got health insurance coverage through the marketplaces set up by the ACA as of June 30, a decline from earlier in the year though still higher than the White House administration’s target.

This year’s co-located Benefits Forum Expo and Workplace Benefits Summit in Orlando, Fla., Sept. 30-Oct. 2, aims to lend a helping hand to employers and brokers working in this challenging benefits environment.

Commentary: A broker whose perception of wellness is limited to seasonal flu shots and employee assistance policies is at a competitive disadvantage compared to a broker who understands the power of connecting health risk assessment and biometric data with claims data.

Commentary: Many brokers underestimate the impact a comprehensive disability management philosophy can have on the total cost of an employee benefits program.

Ford Motor Co. executive chairman Bill Ford said the company is considering a health-care co-op, an issue the United Auto Workers union has raised in negotiations on a new contract.