We often hear of professional athletes succeeding under pressure by staying “in the moment” and remaining focused on the things that are within their control. This challenge can be applied to the uncomfortable position all of us find ourselves in today – somewhere between complying with existing laws and anticipating the unknowns coming from Washington. [...]
With time running out on an opportunity for Congress to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and open enrollment season approaching, thousands of small and mid-sized businesses are likely bracing for another round of premium increases. A growing number of employers, however, will choose to avoid the uncertainty plaguing traditional group insurance markets by [...]
Health savings accounts are hot, with nearly two-thirds of respondents to a Plan Sponsor Council of America survey saying they believe that even those without a high deductible health plan should qualify. A benefit often cited by employers and employees alike is that HSAs can be a valuable part of one’s retirement strategy, since healthcare [...]
The article below was published on October 17, 2017 by BenefitsPRO, written by Alan Goforth. Photo source: BenefitsPRO Benefits professionals have been on a roller-coaster ride since the 2016 presidential election. That ride includes the highs of lofty rhetoric, the lows of as-yet unfulfilled promises, and uncertainty about what may lie around the [...]
The article below was published on September 13, 2017 by Employee Benefit News, written by Nick Otto. Photo source: benefitnews.com As healthcare costs continue to rise, more employers are looking at ways to target those costs. One step they are taking is looking at what health conditions are hitting their pocketbooks the hardest. [...]
The article below was published on September 20, 2017 by Employee Benefit News, written by Victoria Finkle. Although the Cadillac tax isn’t set to go into effect until 2020, employers are already adjusting their health plans in an effort to avoid the added expense. The 40% excise tax on high-cost healthcare, which was created to [...]
The article below was published on October 9, 2017 by Plansponsor, written by Rebecca Moore. The youngest employees especially feel unprepared to decide what plan they should choose, according to a survey from Aflac. Benefits enrollment findings from the 2017 Aflac WorkForces Report, a national online survey of 5,000 U.S. workers, found that 67% said [...]
The article below was published on September 27, 2017 by Employee Benefit News, written by John Barkett and Julie Stone. The Affordable Care Act brought some significant changes to employer-sponsored healthcare, which employers factored into their long-term healthcare strategies. Revised plans were built to comply with the law’s many complex requirements, even though employers hoped [...]
To help control rising specialty drug costs, the National Business Group on Health has issued a lengthy report including 5 public policy recommendations they hope will educate the marketplace and encourage effective, strategic partnerships. According to NBGH officials, plan design is the key to managing the use of specialty prescriptions as well as the costs. [...]
Experts agree that a lack of true price transparency has contributed significantly to the inefficiency in healthcare. Several websites compare the costs for certain procedures at varying hospitals, but it’s still very difficult, if not impossible, to make an informed choice when preparing for a non-emergency procedure. As a result, most people still go to [...]
