Healthcare plans

Active management of crediting rates on spread-based business, improved fee income driven by growth in assets, ongoing expense management, favorable investment results and selected acquisitions are all driving modest earnings improvement in 2012 for U.S. life insurers, according to Fitch Ratings.

Federal health care reform legislation and the desire of employers to limit their health insurance costs are likely to fuel interest in “defined contribution” (DC) health benefits and private health insurance exchanges, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Employers must be prepared to field employee questions and take appropriate action in the event that health insurance carriers fail to comply with the Medical Loss Ratio threshold under PPACA and must issue “rebates” beginning next month.

Voluntary accidental death and dismemberment coverage received the highest rating (43%) from leading carriers selecting it as a ‘very profitable’ product line, according to The Frontline Report, Worksite/Voluntary Product Trends 2012.

Employers are more likely to implement value-based health care strategies now that the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Affordable Care Act, suggests a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. To help multiemployer and public employer health plans implement VBHC strategies in the workplace, the foundation has released a white paper on the topic. It identifies existing VBHC practices used by multiemployer and public employee health plans and provides a framework for building cultures of health.

Long-term care liability loss rates and claim severity are now at an eight-year high and could grow steadily into next year, according to Aon Global Risk Consulting’s “2012 Long-term care General Liability and Professional Liability Actuarial Analysis,” which was created in partnership with the American Health Care Association.

Insurance is labeled an early adopter of social media in a new report from the International Data Corporation (IDC), titled “2012 U.S. Social Media Trends by Vertical.” The banking industry was cited as being a late adopter.

Medical records that patients can access online may encourage more people to get recommended screening tests and immunizations, a new study suggests.

While insurers have a couple more years to prepare for the individual mandate and health exchanges, according to a new Gallup poll, effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on 18- to-25-year-olds can already be seen.

The health care trust affiliated with the United Auto Workers named a former Stanford University official and Hewlett-Packard Co executive to manage its $54 billion in assets earmarked for retiree medical benefits.

Major changes are afoot for pilots and retirees at one of the world’s largest airlines as it continues to emerge from a November 29, 2011 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Life Insurance CFOs’ primary business concern is the current low interest rate environment, according to Towers Watson’s recent survey. However, according to the survey, they are more optimistic about improvements in their financial results.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a Third Circuit ruling that could have a far reaching impact on how medical reimbursement provisions are used to recoup funds paid out by health plans.

As employee medical benefit costs escalate at double-digit levels worldwide, a new survey finds that wellness programs and health promotion strategies are gaining traction.

Although premenstrual syndrome is a well-known - if not well-understood - women's health condition, premenstrual dysphoric disorder is an even lesser-known related illness. PMDD is marked by many of the same symptoms as PMS - bloating, trouble sleeping and concentrating, irritability, headaches, backaches and food cravings - but to a more intense degree.

Patients who don't take their medication as prescribed is a billion-dollar problem, reports pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts in its 2011 Drug Trend Report. Nonadherence to prescription medication cost the U.S. health care system $317.4 billion in 2011. And that's just for treating medical complications - not the cost of lost productivity - that could have been avoided if patients had taken their medication as prescribed. The report shows that for many therapy classes, less than 50% of patients take their medication as prescribed.

Think about the simple act of driving to work in the morning. It involves perhaps 500 separate decisions, yet when we arrive we are hardly aware that we made a single one.

Leading U.S. organizations are turning to prevention-based employee health benefits to improve workforce health and reduce health care costs. Yet, according to a survey released by Virgin HealthMiles, there's a critical awareness gap threatening that strategy's success.

If you are looking for an idea that can capture the attention of employers, consider helping them provide employees the means to bridge the gaps in their medical plan. I have identified five distinct gaps that, if addressed, can create a huge sales opportunity for group health agents.

Leading insurance carriers have withdrawn from the group long-term care insurance market, prompting employers to think twice about implementing new programs — are we witnessing the death throes of worksite LTC?