Healthcare plans

Health insurers participating in the Medicare Advantage program, including Humana Inc. and UnitedHealth Group Inc., face a base payment cut of about 3.55% next year, the U.S. government said. The ACA could bring cuts up another few percentage points.

LIMRA survey finds 70% of advisers predict the ACA will slash group medical sales, with many saying health care reform will drive employers out of the market altogether.

Last year, Miami Children’s Hospital shifted its wellness focus from participation to accountability and partnered with Interactive Health to offer a new biometric screenings initiative. For the program’s first year of implementation, the hospital encouraged employees and spouses to receive a blood draw for metrics across six areas, including blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose and tobacco use.

A contribution strategy is the foundation of a benefits program and is a major factor in determining plan satisfaction. Therefore, it’s imperative that the benefits administrator and their insurance broker develop a sustainable contribution strategy that makes sense for the employer and workforce.

It’s never too early for employers to examine ways they can minimize their exposure to the 40% excise tax slated to take effect in 2018 on so-called Cadillac-style health plans under the Affordable Care Act.

Over the next three to five years, the Affordable Care Act will likely have little impact on the health of the employed population as employers report they will continue to offer health care benefits. However, a large share will find ways to reduce costs through new approaches for the retiree population, according to a new survey from Aon Hewitt.

Despite its reputation for money management, financial giant BlackRock, Inc. recognized that its own employees still needed help making the right decisions about retirement and health care savings.

The world is getting smaller and smaller by the day. And as a result, brokers’ potential to work with clients from other towns, other states and maybe even other countries is getting bigger and bigger.

A survey found U.S. employers are increasingly looking at this option, following the lead of companies like Walgreen Co. seeking to reduce costs..

The president of the NBGH, who is retiring this spring, shares her thoughts about health reform and the future of employer-sponsored health coverage.

In a sign of just how difficult it is to rein in out-of-pocket costs, 35% of 2014 bronze-level plans in the Small Business Health Options Program exchange had deductibles that exceeded suggested annual caps under the Affordable Care Act.

Copayments and co-insurance fees have increased on average 34% compared with those of the pre-Affordable Care Act individual insurance market, according to the results of a new HealthPocket study released Thursday.

A group of Republican representatives on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are demanding answers from the U.S. Treasury about the decision-making process behind the latest delay to the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate.

From ignoring chronic disease to failing to align vendor and employer goals, defined-contribution health strategies through private exchanges are not right for every employer.

Commentary: Top lessons from retail that brokers and consultants can leverage to engage employees in benefits selection and produce a positive experience with benefits shopping.

Republicans were trying to dismantle the ACA’s risk corridor premium stabilization program as recently as this week but several factors, possibly including the insurance industry itself, took them off course.

The Department of Health and Human Services has yet to release any data on the number of small businesses that have enrolled in the Affordable Care Act’s Small Business Health Options Program, angering lawmakers who have been prodding the agency for answers.

Fewer people are getting their primary health insurance coverage through their employers, according to a Gallup Poll released Wednesday, which also reported the number of uninsured Americans has reached a five-year low.

The number of employers contributing to their employees’ HSA or HRA continues to grow, reaching a record high in 2013, according to a new Employee Benefit Research Institute report. However, the dollar amount of employer and employee contributions is slipping.

Accounting for barely 1% of enrollment in all employer-sponsored benefits plans, private exchanges are currently a dimly lit bulb on the radar for group health insurance delivery. But there’s little doubt that number will rise.