Healthcare plans

Commentary: Pharmacy benefit managers and benefit brokers keep a watchful eye for profit-seekers looking to take advantage of loopholes in the health care delivery system.

Benefit advisers working with small to mid-size employers to boost benefit participation can focus on cost-saving measures and enrollment and education activities that larger companies are more inclined or able to invest in.

Benefit advisers hoping to stay ahead of the trend of employers transferring some of the burden of increased health care costs to their employees, should be prepared to discuss a variety of new and old cost-sharing strategies, as well as additional cost-saving tools.

Commentary: Benefit advisers and their employer clients continue to have questions about private exchanges. Blogger Dan Garlitz shares some recent FAQs fielded by exchange administrator bswift.

The IRS released draft forms for employers to use to report health coverage offerings to employees, unveiling a glimpse of the administrative onus in store for benefit advisers and their employer clients working to comply with the health law.

The move to a private exchange could be difficult for employees who generally are not accustomed to making benefits plan decisions for themselves, or who balk at the potential of an increased out-of-pocket burden. It’s incumbent upon employers to guide them through the transition to help them accept the idea that having more power and choice is a good trade-off to taking on more risk.

Employees are increasingly dissatisfied with their benefits, and therefore dissatisfied with their employers, but new research shows better benefits education can help.

Two court rulings issued this week taking opposing views on the legality of subsidies granted to individuals who enroll in the public health care exchanges have the potential to further delay the employer mandate, say some legal experts.

As some brokers continue to wait for their payments, it seems no one carrier is better or worse at this issue across the U.S. What is clear is that advisers who previously worked in group need to learn a new system to track and monitor commissions.

In another blow to President Barack Obama’s signature legislation, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the plaintiff, declaring the law’s premium subsidies are invalid in more than two dozen states due to the law’s specific language.

Employers say the Affordable Care Act is driving the costs of their medical plans higher, according to a new survey by accounting firm Cherry Bekaert’s benefits consulting unit.

Commentary: Blogger Cyndy Nayer discusses how to ensure the efficacy of true patient-centered care and what’s needed for value-based decisions to succeed.

The DOL says employers reacting to the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling by canceling contraceptive coverage will be required to notify their employees of the change, an important administrative note for benefit advisers working with employers electing to do so.

Commentary: Columnist Jerry Kalish discusses the ins and outs of cafeteria plans, which may be seeing a rise in interest due to the ACA.

With health care costs continuing to rise, it’s no surprise to benefit advisers that their employer clients continue to seek benefit solutions that shift some of the cost burden to their employees — and new data reveals that trend shows no signs of stopping.

Early adopters to the private exchanges say they've experienced major issues with helping workers better understand the complexities - and do-it-yourself aspects - of the new world of health care.

A boom in private exchanges and a changing distribution system for health care will create a new landscape for benefits managers and advisers, with more emphasis on consumer-directed health care.

A proposal up for vote in the most populous state would give the insurance commissioner veto power over health insurance rates, among other things, and has brokers fearful of the trend spreading to other states.

The Senate Wednesday failed to get enough support for its reversal plan of the recent Supreme Court Hobby Lobby ruling that will allow some employers to decline providing insurance coverage for some forms of birth control based on religious grounds.

Few small business employees say they are satisfied with their company’s benefit offerings — revealing a need for benefit advisers to work with employers to create more comprehensive benefit packages with employee needs in mind.