Wellness

Pharmaceutical companies, which were spared some of the more sweeping regulations in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, could come under more pressure if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down part or all of the 2010 law.

The average cost of care for a typical family receiving health care through an employer-sponsored PPO plan in 2012 will cost $20,728, a 6.9% increase over 2011. Though this is the lowest rate of increase in 12 years, the $1,335 increase surpasses last year’s record of $1,319. This is according to the Milliman Medical Index.

The Obama administration forged ahead with health care reforms on Wednesday, announcing a November 16 deadline for state governments to submit proposals showing how they intend to operate health insurance exchanges in 2014.

President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law contains a slew of new tax provisions, and their fate is unclear as the Supreme Court weighs the law's constitutionality.

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a total of $181 million in grants to assist six states in establishing health insurance exchanges under authority of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

One broker looks at how his company walks the talk with wellness programs and says how that can work for all your clients.

In a presidential election cycle where job creation is a key issue, 15% of National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors members surveyed recently say President Barack Obama’s health care reform law’s medical loss ratio provision has decreased their commissions enough to cause them to need to lay-off or reduce the hours of support staff in their offices — affecting an average of two employees per agency.

Health insurers are on the hook for an estimated $1.3 billion in rebates by August of this year, if they were not in compliance with the Medical Loss Ratio provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for 2011, according to analysis by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.

Aon Hewitt isn't letting health care reform dictate its business model. If anything, it's the other way around. In addition to publishing an influential report on the implications of health reform for large employers, CEO Kristi Savacool has been to the White House several times in recent months to discuss the company's retiree health care exchange and upcoming active employee exchange model. "We have been on the front line," says Savacool, "really influencing the development of health care reform, influencing our clients with respect to how they put their own health care strategies together."

If businesses were people, most of them would be feeling a bit under the weather these days. A host of nagging issues continue to nip away at their health - the economy, sagging profit margins and rising benefits costs, just to name a few. But many companies are getting some relief now that they've added wellness programs to their benefits offerings. And your clients can, too - with a good benefits communications strategy that helps their program succeed.