Healthcare plans

Commentary: Guest blogger Rich Fahn, a small business-focused benefit broker, gives advice for the challenging conversations brokers will have to have with many small groups as premium hikes are mounting.

Helping employers with benefits education is often cited as a key advantage of private health care exchanges, and while educating employees on their benefit choices was noted as a top challenge in a recent employer survey, only 2% of those surveyed have opted for a private exchange.

Commentary: Columnist Jack Kwicien notes that the future for benefits brokerages is unpredictable and tough, so one survival strategy might just be the private exchange.

The self-insurance option for small businesses doesn’t seem to be as popular for managing ACA costs and mandates as some in the industry once thought.

Higher consumer spending on health services, increased prescriptions for costly medications and more elective surgeries suggests Americans are using the insurance they gained under Obamacare.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a NAHU-backed bill exempting expatriate health plans from the ACA.

A multi-generational and increasingly diverse workplace, coupled with the ongoing adjustments of the ACA, has led more and more employers to consider the benefits of defined contribution health care models.

Unbeknownst to your clients, prescription drugs are likely costing them a great deal. As their trusted adviser, here’s how you can help.

While benefit brokers applaud HHS efforts to hold ACA exchange navigators to licensing and certification standards, many worry federal regulation will undermine state efforts already in place.

Benefit advisers should be familiar with certain grace periods when employers can avoid penalties.

Topping the recent California rate of 39%, brokers on this state-run exchange completed more than 36,000 of the private health plan enrollments. Their record with SHOP enrollments, however, was a different story.

IRS issues annual health spending account contribution limits and out-of-pocket maximums.

Industry musings about how fast this employee benefit selection tool will grow and in what format are plentiful.

While no public exchange was without troubles during the first ACA open-enrollment period, one state in particular put unique efforts into its SHOP component and saw results.

Employees are craving voluntary benefits to offset high deductible plans, yet many say they haven’t been offered any new options since the ACA became law.

Nearly half of newly insured Americans signed up for coverage off the ACA’s public marketplaces and benefit advisers have several theories as to why.

Consumer spending climbed by $20.4 billion at an annualized rate adjusted for inflation in February, and $13 billion of the increase came from outlays on health services spurred by the ACA, according to Commerce Department data.

Taking an entirely generic approach to health plan communications is no longer a winning strategy. Personalized communications that offer a holistic look at plan benefits will do more to engage participants.

The Affordable Care Act’s ongoing rollout continues to plague employers as many look for alternative benefit structures to help with rising costs. The defined contribution benefit model – touted as a way to lower costs for employers and increase choice for employees – is generating lots of discussion but are employers ready to take the plunge?

As employers begin to look at private exchanges as a means to provide health care benefits to their active employee population questions are being raised about potential conflicts of interest for consulting firms that also act as exchange purveyors.