The 2017 Employer Health Benefits Survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation shows an increase in the cost of family coverage from $18,142 in 2016 to $18,764 in 2017. While the 3.4% increase is seen as relatively modest compared to previous years, it was also noted that employees paid close to a third of the annual [...]
In at least one big city, a major carrier is providing 100% coverage to public employees for MRIs, CT Scans and other imaging services only when free-standing, non-hospital based facilities are used. What do you know? Independent TPAs have been helping self-funded health plans do things like this for years. Too many people have long [...]
The new year is a good time to look at the benefits larger companies are using to attract and retain good people. According to their 2017 Employee Benefits report, the Society for Human Resource Management tells us that HSAs, wholesale generic drug programs for injectable drugs, standing desks and genetic testing for chronic diseases are [...]
Beginning in April of 2018, employers in Massachusetts will need to provide reasonable accommodations to pregnant employees, including measures to prevent discrimination against those pregnant workers who request an accommodation. Some of these accommodations will include allowing more frequent or longer breaks, modifying seating or other work-related equipment, temporarily transferring pregnant employees to a less [...]
In October, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill that would ease the ACA reporting mandates for employer-sponsored health plans. The bill would roll back the reporting requirements of Section 6056 and replace them with a voluntary reporting system. The bill would also allow payers to transmit employee notices electronically rather than having to [...]
The ACA has required people to have what the government has classified as minimum essential coverage, or else pay a penalty which now amounts to 2.5% of modified adjusted gross income over the income tax filing threshold. While the House version of tax reform did not change the penalty in any way, the Senate version [...]
While hospitals in 34 geographic areas will still be required to participate in the Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Model, hundreds of acute care hospitals in other areas have received a reprieve. In addition to modifying CJR model compliance, CMS recently finalized plans to cancel the Episode Payment and Cardiac Rehabilitation Incentive Payment Models, both [...]
This article was published on February 05, 2018 on Employee Benefit News, written by Liisa Granfors-Hunt. If your medical plan is fully insured, switching to self-funding (and covering catastrophic claims) can be downright intimidating, even with stop-loss insurance. That’s why many employers are sticking a toe in the financial risk pool by self-funding one or [...]
Telemedicine offers a lot of potential for everyone – added convenience for busy families and lower costs than a traditional office visit. But as helpful as this service can be, it will only make a difference if it is used. Low utilization is not unique to telemedicine. It’s a common problem with many new, well [...]
Worksite wellness programs are becoming more popular these days, as companies increase their efforts to attract and keep top talent. A recent article in Employee Benefit News discussed reasons why companies are even starting to take worksite wellness one step further by offering on-site fitness centers. This is a perk that all of us here [...]
