Healthcare plans

With 24 Republican senators up for reelection in November 2016, not to mention the presidential election, there is so much set to change for both public and private exchanges.

About 6.6 million U.S. taxpayers paid a penalty imposed for the first time this year for not having health insurance, about 10% more than the Obama administration had estimated – though a portion didn’t need to.

The $34.1 billion blockbuster deal between Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. is seen as complementary to both health insurers in terms of helping grow their involvement in private and public health insurance exchanges.

In the constantly changing health insurance business, the only way to stay ahead of the competition is to reinvest in your company, your employees and your technology. That’s what Sparks, Md.-based Kelly & Associates Insurance Group has been doing. What can smaller firms learn from Kelly and why is the continual reinvestment so important?

President Barack Obama asked the U.S. Senate to confirm Andy Slavitt as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Commentary: Waiting for the results of the 2016 presidential election before doing any Cadillac tax planning is not a good benefits strategy.

To stay abreast of private exchange trends, advisers, employers, insurers and other legal and industry experts will share their insights about private exchanges at this year’s EBA/EBN Private Healthcare Exchanges conference in downtown Chicago, July 23-24.

Employers are becoming more proactive in asking hospitals to participate in The Leapfrog Group’s surveys.

Commentary: Insurance is complex and relying on technology alone for employee education isn’t realistic.

It’s no surprise that health care costs are continuing to rise and while employers remain committed to providing benefits, many are re-evaluating their benefit strategies.

Pent-up demand for various medical services has been identified among newer public exchange enrollees who deferred or avoided treatment because of financial constraints resulting from a lack of health insurance, notes the first in a series of research papers on so called preference-sensitive services.

Commentary: Disruption is the word of the day in the evolving health insurance industry.

A group of lawmakers has introduced legislation to roll back guidance from the Treasury Department that prohibits employers from using stand-alone health reimbursement arrangements to reimburse employees for health care-related expenses.

Commentary: The ACA’s Cadillac tax is like a patient, powerful hurricane moving across the Atlantic. If it makes landfall, the impact will be dramatic.

Commentary: It’s natural to fear that fewer insurance companies will mean less choice in health plans and less differentiation and innovation. But there is good news.

Consolidation in the health insurance industry holds both positives and negatives for employer-sponsored health plans, but employers shouldn’t expect to see any major savings resulting from the Aetna-Humana merger until at least 2017, say industry experts.

Doctors think insurance cards in Texas that identify HIX enrollees could serve as a reminder to pay their monthly premiums and reduce the number of unpaid bills. Critics, however, counter that they are akin to a Scarlet letter and could be used to deny treatment.

With Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. pairing off, pressure is mounting on other major health insurers to make their own deals.

Aetna Inc. agrees to buy Humana Inc., in a deal poised to be the biggest ever in the health-insurance industry.

Commentary: Big financial moves such as the merger between Willis and Towers Watson announced this week can be quite interesting; and if you study them they may actually tell a story about where these firms think the market is going.