Insurance

Commentary: Employer interest in exchanges is high, but adoption rates have lagged behind projections for 2015.

Commentary: Brokers are strategically positioned to encourage employers to commit to a more productive workforce.

The consolidation of two health insurer giants has divided employers into two camps.

As they struggle to become financially stable, state-based health insurance marketplaces are lagging behind the federally-facilitated marketplace and are likely to continue to do so in the near future.

With 24 Republican senators up for reelection in November 2016, not to mention the presidential election, there is so much set to change for both public and private exchanges.

Marilyn Tavenner, who steered the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid agency through the rollout of Obamacare’s federal insurance markets, was named to lead the health-insurance industry’s lobbying group.

About 6.6 million U.S. taxpayers paid a penalty imposed for the first time this year for not having health insurance, about 10% more than the Obama administration had estimated – though a portion didn’t need to.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that more than 77,000 brokers and agents assisted with enrollments on the federally-facilitated marketplace in year two open enrollment, up 46% from the year prior.

Clients are turning to their benefit adviser for technology support — something brokers have to provide. Choosing a partner with the same goals and understanding the entire process are essential.

The $34.1 billion blockbuster deal between Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. is seen as complementary to both health insurers in terms of helping grow their involvement in private and public health insurance exchanges.

More than half of the nation approves of the Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwell that subsides on the federal health care exchange can be legally issued to consumers.

President Barack Obama asked the U.S. Senate to confirm Andy Slavitt as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Commentary: Waiting for the results of the 2016 presidential election before doing any Cadillac tax planning is not a good benefits strategy.

Commentary: The California labor commissioner recently ruled that a San Francisco driver is an employee, not an independent contractor. While the ruling applies to only one driver, it is one of a growing number of decisions that may have far-reaching implications.

To stay abreast of private exchange trends, advisers, employers, insurers and other legal and industry experts will share their insights about private exchanges at this year’s EBA/EBN Private Healthcare Exchanges conference in downtown Chicago, July 23-24.

Commentary: Insurance is complex and relying on technology alone for employee education isn’t realistic.

Pent-up demand for various medical services has been identified among newer public exchange enrollees who deferred or avoided treatment because of financial constraints resulting from a lack of health insurance, notes the first in a series of research papers on so called preference-sensitive services.

Narrow-network restrictions help health insurance carriers participating in public exchanges limit their exposure to adverse selection and better manage the cost of patient care, but they’re also an annoyance for health care exchange enrollees who want unencumbered access to doctors and hospitals.

Commentary: Disruption is the word of the day in the evolving health insurance industry.

Commentary: What should brokers and benefit advisers take away from all the merger and acquisition activity among the medical carriers? The message is crystal clear. Now would be the time to move away from a dependency on medical commissions and take a fee.