Healthcare plans

Expenses associated with the routine birth of a child can differ by more than $20,000, a Castlight Health study finds.

The company’s new “Preferred Partnership” arrangement with a select network of local providers aims for cost savings and a superior patient experience.

Although we are only halfway through 2016, three trends have notably emerged and taken the front seat in the employee benefits world.

Employers can harness the power of technology when encouraging employees to make healthier decisions.

The first ACA reporting season was traumatic for many employers. But the hard-learned lessons should lead to a much better process for the 2016 plan year.

Employers can harness the power of technology when encouraging employees to make healthier decisions.

The move is part of a broader effort to raise productivity by reducing employee time spent traveling to and waiting for care.

Even as eligibility rates rise, limited workforce participation and smaller premium increases have kept the employer health benefits landscape stable.

hCentive’s CEO Sanjay Singh discusses his own frustrations as an employer and how multi-carrier benefit platforms can help mitigate rising costs and limited healthplan options.

Employers are lowering their own premiums through coinsurance and high deductibles. But efforts to help workers control their spending through smarter healthcare decisions have met with less success.

The move is part of a broader effort to raise productivity by reducing employee time spent traveling to and waiting for care.

Brokers are trying to help employers control costs, but are seeing little success, says HR Technology Advisors’ Joe Markland.

It’s not as mysterious as it’s often made out to be. New findings clearly show that people are more confident about purchasing health plans when they can address their questions to another person.

The first ACA reporting season was traumatic for many employers. But the hard-learned lessons should lead to a much better process for the 2016 plan year.

By quickly collecting and presenting employee health data, these custom risk engines provide dynamic insights into your employee population with just a few clicks.

Depending on factors like demographics, geography, environment, and heredity, the healthcare-needs profile of an employee base can vary widely, even between companies in the same industry, says AdminaHealth’s Arthur Jonokuchi.

The healthcare industry is focused on utilization prediction and cost transparency tools, but something quite basic is missing: Teaching people basic terms that they need to know to make informed decisions, says Airbo’s Vlad Gyster.

Depending on factors like demographics, geography, environment, and heredity, the healthcare-needs profile of an employee base can vary widely, even between companies in the same industry, says AdminaHealth’s Arthur Jonokuchi.

With the market condensing to a few big carriers, such as Anthem, adviser Vinnie Daboul predicts the health insurance system is entering a new phase.

Though widespread adoption of the marketplaces was predicted, many organizations continue to take a wait-and-see approach.