On January 30th, 2023, President Biden announced that both the public health emergency and the national health emergency declarations due to COVID-19 would expire simultaneously on May 11, 2023. Below outlines the impact to private health insurance once the emergencies expire. THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY (PHE) The PHE was initially declared by the Department of [...]
To help consumers compare the different features of health benefits and coverage, the Affordable Care Act requires all group health plans and health insurance companies to provide individuals a “summary of benefits and coverage” that “accurately describes the benefits and coverage under the plan.” The SBC is a snapshot of a health plan’s costs, benefits, [...]
The Kaiser Family Foundation employee health benefits survey for 2019 shows that the cost of annual premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance plans have reached $20,576. While there are differences between small and large employer groups, costs are rising faster than wages for both and average contributions by employees have reached $1,242 for single coverage and [...]
New Jersey: Health Insurance Mandate In 2018, New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy, signed into law The New Jersey Health Insurance Market Preservation Act. This law requires all New Jersey residents to have health insurance or pay a penalty. Lawmakers in New Jersey drafted this legislation in response to the decision to eliminate the ACA individual mandate with the [...]
The IRS recently published finalized rules easing restrictions on health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) to allow employers to provide their workers with tax-preferred funds to pay for the cost of health insurance coverage they buy in the individual market. The regulation is part of the Trump Administration’s commitment to deliver more health coverage choices to Americans. [...]
This article was published on August 5, 2019 on IFEBP.org written by Lois Gleason, CEBS. More and more employers are seeking cost savings by discouraging or blocking employees from enrolling a spouse in the employer’s health plan. Here’s what you need to know about the growing trend of spousal carve-outs: Image Source: IFEPB.org [...]
This article was published on January 31, 2019 on Employee Benefit News, written by Steve Kelly. Today more than ever before, benefits and human resources professionals are struggling to provide their teams with quality coverage at affordable rates. Costs have skyrocketed for the more than 150 million Americans who receive healthcare coverage through their workplace [...]
This article was published on September 27, 2018 on Employee Benefit News, written by Nelson Griswold. More than six years ago, Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini proclaimed that “the end of insurance companies, the way we’ve run the business in the past, is here.” At the very least, it’s the beginning of the end for these [...]
Yesterday, the House passed two bills that would expand HSA coverage: The Restoring Access to Medication and Modernizing Health Savings Accounts Act of 2018 (HR 6199) This Act would: Allow plans flexibility in providing first dollar coverage up to $250 for a single and $500 for a family for additional services, such as those related [...]
This article was published on July 17, 2018 on Employee Benefit News, written by John Kern. Photo Source: Employee Benefit News. In my 25 years in the insurance business I’ve seen many changes. But there’s always been one constant: Healthcare and pharmacy costs continue to accelerate and no regulatory action has been able to slow [...]
