Healthcare plans

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.

After more private exchange launches last week, and one of the first by a carrier, EBA continues the conversation with brokers and insurance companies alike.

The adoption of tax-sheltered benefits accounts – including, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Health Savings Accounts, and Flexible Spending Accounts – are predicted to reach nearly 90 million accounts by 2017.

As the dust settles over the Affordable Care Act and employees get used to operating in the post-ACA world, plan sponsors find themselves in somewhat of a holding pattern with regards to their pharmacy benefits. But strategic decisions are still in play about whether or not employers are going to provide traditional benefit plans once the employer mandate goes into effect in 2015 or send workers to public or private exchanges.

As Cigna this week became one of the first insurers to announce its own online marketplace — amid countless others created by brokers, consultants and tech firms — some say the definition of this concept has become muddied.

By ending the sale of tobacco products in its 7,600 pharmacies, CVS Caremark Corp. is redefining itself as a health-care provider in an environment in which millions of newly insured Americans will be looking for quick and convenient medical care.

Health insurers under pressure to keep premiums low are eliminating some hospitals from coverage in a cost-cutting strategy that threatens to freeze out centers that provide specialized care, limiting patient options.

Long a provider of backend technology solutions to other private exchanges and employers, bswift announced today the launch of its own private health insurance exchange, Springboard Marketplace.

Proactive vision care has been linked to early detection of chronic diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. However, a new study from HCMS Group finds that stand-alone vision benefits can equate to nearly $100,000 in health care cost savings for large employers over a four-year span.

After losing two colleagues in a short period of time (one in a car accident caused by an undetermined medical issue and one from a heart attack) Joe Mina, a captain in the criminal investigations division with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office in Bel Air, Md., increased his efforts to implement a more comprehensive health screening program for employees.

Poll suggests employees are looking to employers to help them keep their healthy New Year's resolutions.