Headlines about "Health plans - design"
Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
[Official Guidance] Text of IRS/DOL/HHS Request for Information on Sections 101 - 104 of Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008
December 9 deadline for comments. Excerpt: "1. To what extent do group health plans and health insurance issuers currently use genetic information, such as family medical history, and for what purposes? For example, is genetic information currently used for group rating purposes, or for purposes of a wellness program that otherwise complies with HIPAA's nondiscrimination requirements? 2. How do plans and issuers currently obtain genetic information (for example, through health risk assessments, the Medical Information Bureau, or other entities under common control)? 3. Under what circumstances do plans or issuers currently request or require an individual to take a genetic test? 4. Under what circumstances do plans or issuers currently ask for the results of a genetic test in order to make a determination regarding payment of benefits? What is the minimum amount of information necessary for a plan or issuer to make a determination under such circumstances? 5. What types of research do plans or issuers currently conduct or support using genetic tests?" (Internal Revenue Service; Employee Benefits Security Administration; Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)
[Guidance Overview] Employee Benefit Changes Included in Financial Bailout Law
Excerpt: "The massive financial bailout law, H.R. 1424, enacted on October 3, 2008 includes a number of extensions of tax provisions due to expire. Provisions of H.R. 1424 and other new laws affect employee benefits, including an extension and expansion of the mental health parity rules, health coverage for college students on medical leave, and rules for bicycle commuting. The law also has several executive compensation changes targeted at affected financial institutions that will be covered in a separate WorkCite edition." (McGuireWoods LLP)
[Opinion] Tax Credits Would Move People Out of Group Plans and Into Individual Policies Where the Benefits Aren't As Good
Excerpt: "If you think that 'The Market' -- whatever market -- always works for the best, you'll love John McCain's version of health insurance reform. It uses the tax code to shove you toward individual policies (more 'choice!') and away from comprehensive, employer supported plans. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center puts the cost of his proposed subsidies at $1.3 trillion over 10 years." (Jane Bryant Quinn, Newsweek, via Physicians for a National Health Program)
States Use of 'Cafeteria Plans' to Provide Health Insurance
Excerpt: "In the past three years, several states are experimenting with a new use for an old idea, aimed at lowering costs for both employees and their employers. 'Section 125 cafeteria plans' were created by a 1978 federal law which amended the Internal Revenue Code. Designed as an optional feature for employers, cafeteria plans allow employees to pay for a variety of health care expenses without paying any federal tax on those charges. . . . As of mid-2008, at least 12 states had adopted a cafeteria plan approach into state-based health reforms, with a dual goal of keeping coverage available and affordable while expanding the numbers using commercial health insurance. " (National Conference of State Legislatures)
Driving Productivity by Investing in Health 2008: Survey Results
Excerpt: "Hewitt's The Road Ahead: Driving Productivity by Investing in Health 2008 survey found that employers are beginning to develop long-term health and productivity strategies to tackle rising health care costs and improve employees' overall health. Employers are recognizing that their employees' health has a direct impact on the bottom line and it is more than a Benefit/HR issue -- it is a business issue." (Hewitt Associates)
[Guidance Overview] Provisions of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008
Excerpt: "Like current mental health parity rules, the new law does not require group health plans to provide mental health and substance abuse benefits. However, group health plans that provide such benefits must provide parity between mental health and substance abuse benefits and medical/surgical benefits. The [chart on the target page] shows the changes between existing and amended mental health parity law." (Faegre & Benson LLP)
This Open-Enrollment Season, Beware of Out-of-Pocket Costs
Excerpt: "As companies head into open-enrollment season, when they let employees pick their plans for next year, many firms say they are reluctant to boost health-care premiums too sharply at a time when wages are stagnant. Instead, workers can expect to pay significantly more for such out-of-pocket items as deductibles, co-payments and other fees." (The Wall Street Journal)
[Guidance Overview] Financial Bailout Gives Life to Mental Health Parity Law (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt: "The financial bailout bill signed by President Bush includes provisions that will require group health plans to provide greater parity between mental health benefits and benefits for other medical conditions. It also extends these parity requirements to substance abuse benefits." (Buck Consultants)
[Opinion] The Problem With Limited Medical Plans
Excerpt: "Commentary: Some companies are scrapping their traditional plans altogether and replacing them with these limited offerings for full-time employees. That's where I see a long-term problem." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Automakers Not Requesting Additional Delays in Funding Payments to Union's Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations
Excerpt: "United Auto Workers president Ron Gettelfinger said Tuesday, October 7, that he hasn't been approached by the Detroit Three to allow additional delays in funding payments to the union's voluntary employee beneficiary associations. Gettelfinger said in Detroit that the UAW would do nothing to risk the integrity of the funds, promised by the union chief to last at least 80 years. The funds, which are to cover future UAW retiree health care costs, were established as a key part of the UAW's 2007 national contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Group Health Plans Have 1-2 Years to Comply With Expanded Mental Health Parity Act
Excerpt: "The MHPA provisions of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343) require group health plans that offer both medical/surgical and mental health coverage to provide parity between the two in deductibles, copayments, coinsurance, out-of-network coverage and limits on the scope or duration of treatment. HIPAA's original MHPA requirements applied only to annual and lifetime dollar limits on coverage." (Thompson Publishing Group Inc.)
[Guidance Overview] Expansion of Medical Health Parity Requirements
Excerpt: "The new provisions will generally not apply to a group health plan until the first plan year beginning at least one year after the date of the new law's enactment, which was October 3, 2008. For calendar year plans, the new rules will take effect January 1, 2010." (Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP)
President Signs Expanded Parity Rules for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Benefits
Excerpt: "Under the new provisions, a group health plan cannot impose more restrictive cost-sharing requirements (such as deductibles and copays) or treatment limits (including caps on hospital stays or outpatient visits) for mental health and substance abuse coverage than for medical and surgical benefits. The restrictions apply to in- and out-of-network benefits." (Mercer LLC)
[Guidance Overview] Class Action Complaint Sufficient to Meet Twombley Standards
Excerpt: "Cady presents a challenge to denial of health plan benefits based upon an 'investigational' classification in a class action context. The lexicographical bent of this case showed itself ahead of the dispute over what treatments are investigational, however, as the principal defendant began with the parsing of terms descriptive of the 'plan administrator.'" (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
Implementing Small Group Insurance Market Reforms: Lessons from the States (PDF)
23 pages. Excerpt: "The paper provides an overview of the strategies all 50 states have used to increase insurance coverage in the small group market including what is known about the effectiveness of these strategies. It examines in more depth the experiences of three states with different types of health reforms, focusing on two states' efforts to reform the small group market and one state's experience with improving coverage in the individual market. Lessons are gleaned from these states about the processes they used to reform insurance coverage, and how their programs are structured, administrated, financed, and implemented so that other states that are considering reform options, such as New York, can learn from these experiences. The scan of 50 states' small group insurance market policies and the state case studies may be obtained by contacting the Rockefeller Institute of Government or visiting www.rockinst.org/HPRC." (New York State Health Policy Research Center via Rockefeller Institute of Government)
[Guidance Overview] New Mental Health Coverage Requirement
Excerpt: "With respect to mental health or substance-use-disorder coverage, the group health plan may not: require that the participant pay more with respect to co-payments, deductibles, or out-of-pocket expenses; or impose more restrictive limitations as to the number or frequency of visits or days of coverage. In addition, the group health plan must provide the same out-of-network coverage for mental health and substance-use-disorder coverage that is available for out-of-network medical and surgical benefits." (Blank Rome LLP)
[Official Guidance] Text of Advisory Opinion 2008-07A: Bend, Oregon, Chamber of Commerce on Offering Fully Insured Benefits to Employees of Member Employers
Excerpt: "[The DOL was asked w]hether a proposed arrangement offered by the Chamber of Commerce in Bend, Oregon would be a multiple employer welfare arrangement (MEWA) within the meaning of section 3(40) of ERISA, and whether such an arrangement would itself be an employee welfare benefit plan within the meaning of section 3(1) of ERISA." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Health, Financial Incentives and Retirement in Spain
Excerpt: "Unlike previous literature, we find that (i) financial incentives, when measured adequately, exert a greater impact on retirement behaviour than health shocks, and (ii) initial health stock plays a more important role than health shocks in determining retirement decisions. We also perform simulations of a recently enacted reform of pension incentives and show how its expected effects compare to those of health improvements." (Tinbergen Institute via Social Science Research Network)
Bailout Provides More Mental Health Coverage
Excerpt: "[The new law] requires equal coverage of mental and physical illnesses. The requirement, included in the economic bailout bill that President Bush signed on Friday, is the result of 12 years of passionate advocacy by friends and relatives of people with mental illness and addiction disorders. They described the new law as a milestone in the quest for civil rights, an effort to end insurance discrimination and to reduce the stigma of mental illness." (The New York Times; free registration required)
Ruling Invites More Scrutiny of Denial of Health Benefit Claims
Excerpt: "A high court's June decision made it clear that employers and insurers face conflicts of interest in administering health benefit plans because they stand to gain financially by denying a claim. The decision means employers and health insurers would be more vulnerable to lawsuits if they did not adequately address these conflicts." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
Florida Regulators Try To Determine Specifics of New Law That Allows Some Adults To Stay on Parents' Health Policies Up To Age 30
Excerpt: "A chief concern about the law is whether it will increase employers' health insurance costs. According to Becky Cherney, president and CEO of the Orlando-based Florida Health Care Coalition, adding young adults to employer-supplied health plans could further damage businesses that already have financial difficulties. 'More people are liable to drop group coverage (for their workers) than there are between 25 and 30 who need this coverage,' Cherney said. " (Kaiser Family Foundation)
[Guidance Overview] ADA Amendments Act Modifies Definition of Disability and Makes Other Changes
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: . . . . Employers should keep in mind that although having or being regarded as having a disability is a prerequisite to obtaining relief under the ADA, there will be no ADA violation when a group health plan provides benefits equally to individuals with disabilities and individuals without disabilities. Even if there are differences in health benefits, there should be no violation if the differences are not the result of a 'disability-based distinction' or if benefits are provided through a bona fide benefit plan that is not a subterfuge to evade the ADA's purposes." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Small Employers Cut Back Health Coverage in Economic Slowdown, According to Survey
Excerpt: "As business owners scramble to cut expenses In light of the slowing economy, health care coverage has taken a hit, a new American Express OPEN Small Business Monitor has found. A news release found the number of business owners who offer health care benefits to employees has dropped to 54% from 66% this spring and 71% in fall 2007. This comes despite nearly two-thirds of bosses agreeing it is important to offer employee health care coverage - down slightly from 69% in fall 2007." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Abusive Insurance and Retirement Plans
Excerpt: "Single–employer section 419 welfare benefit plans are the latest incarnation in insurance deductions the IRS deems abusive." (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants)
Programs That Target Obesity and Other Employee Behaviors Face Scrutiny, Legal Hurdles
Excerpt: "Employers must consider federal rules when implementing programs aimed at improving employee health. HIPAA, for example, prohibits health plans from discriminating in eligibility or contributions/benefits based on health factors, although there is 'a significant exception' for wellness programs that satisfy specific requirements . . . . But government employers can avoid the HIPAA nondiscrimination requirements entirely by choosing to 'opt out' of those requirements." (AISHealth.com)
Health Benefit Offer Rates and Employee Earnings
Excerpt: "It is well-known that highly-paid workers are more likely to receive employer health insurance offers. Many of the studies available on the salaries and fringe benefits of workers do not show how the salaries of a group of co-workers influence an employer's decision to offer insurance. For example, even if most employees in a firm earn low wages, employers may still decide to offer health benefits if they also employ a few higher-wage workers in the same establishment who value this coverage. This paper addresses this question by showing how the offer of employer health insurance differs depending on the distribution of worker earnings within an establishment." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
House Passes Health Insurance Restrictions and Limitations Clarification Act of 2008
Excerpt: "The bill would require that group health plans disclose to health plan participants any exclusions or limitations on their health coverage in a timely manner. In addition, the bill mandates that health insurance coverage limitations and restrictions be explicit and clear to plan sponsors prior to the time of sale and to participants prior to enrollment." (Hewitt Associates)
[Guidance Overview] Annual Part D Creditable Coverage Notice Due by November 15
Excerpt: "The November 15 deadline is fast approaching for sponsors of group health plans to provide their Medicare-eligible beneficiaries with a notice advising the beneficiaries whether or not the employer coverage for prescription drugs is actuarially equivalent (creditable coverage) to the Medicare Part D drug coverage." (Wolters Kluwer)
Global Impact: Healthcare Planning for an Ageing World
Excerpt: "This article is based on ideas from the 2008 report of the World Economic Forum (the Forum) - The Future of Pensions and Healthcare in a Rapidly Ageing World: Scenarios to 2030. It contains references to scenarios that relate to the Forum report, which explores the effects of a rapidly ageing population and the projected economic and social conditions on pensions and health care under each of the three main scenarios." (Mercer LLC)
[Guidance Overview] Issue Exhaustion and ERISA
Excerpt: "Sticking with my theme of ERISA today, the Ninth Circuit has a decision of first impression concerning issue exhaustion and ERISA in the denial of benefits context. In Vaught v. Scottsdale Healthcare (9th Cir 09/29/2008), the Ninth Circuit declined to impose an 'issue exhaustion' requirement under ERISA." (Workplace Prof Blog)
States Act to Reduce Health Insurance Costs
Excerpt: "In the last two years, at least three states have included health improvement in new programs intended to make health insurance more affordable for small employers. . . . In return for reduced premiums, deductibles and co-payments, participants [in Rhode Island] must select and visit a primary care doctor for a checkup, complete a 15-page health questionnaire and promise to try to adopt healthy behaviors and to abstain from smoking. People with chronic health problems have to agree to follow their doctors' directions on how best to manage the disease." (The New York Times; free registration required)
[Guidance Overview] Personal Injury Attorneys Not Liable to Plan for Disbursement of Recovered Funds
Excerpt: "This decision will likely make the rounds among the plaintiff's bar. In it, the district court dismissed an ERISA plan's claims against personal injury attorneys who had disbursed settlement funds at the behest of their client." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
House and Senate Approve Insurance-Related Measures; House Approves Breast Cancer Protection and Injury Clarification Legislation
Excerpt: "['Michelle's Law'] would amend ERISA, the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require group health plans to continue providing coverage for qualifying dependent college students for one year after the first day of a medically necessary leave of absence or until the date such coverage would otherwise terminate under the plan." (The ERISA Industry Committee)
[Opinion] 9th Circuit Holds San Francisco Ordinance Not Preempted: Is There a Conflict in the Circuits?
Excerpt: "For most of the decision, the unanimous three-judge panel methodically describes and then disposes of all the arguments made by the [Golden Gate Restaurant Association] and its numerous amici (including the Department of Labor) in favor of preemption. The opinion is written as if the court is perfectly aware that its decision is likely to wind up on the steps of the Supreme Court . . . ." (Pension & Benefits Blog)
[Guidance Overview] San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance Not Preempted by ERISA
Excerpt: "In the Golden Gate case, the district court had enjoined the employer spending requirements of the San Francisco Health Care Security Ordinance, holding that ERISA preempted the spending requirement. The Ordinance requires all covered employers to make a certain level of health care expenditures on behalf of their covered employees. However, the Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the Ordinance is not preempted by ERISA." (Attorney B. Janell Grenier via Benefitsblog.com)
Recognizing the Value of Flexible Benefits in Asia
Excerpt: "This empowering aspect of flex helps set it apart from traditional health plans. In a world of diverse employees who value different benefits at different stages of their lives, employees can tailor their benefit packages to suit their individual needs and wants, making benefit choices that fit well with their priorities. For example, college graduates entering the workforce might not value medical insurance as much as educational assistance, a new pair of fashionable eyeglasses or a gym membership, while a new parent might embrace maternity and pediatric benefits. And a 55-year-old employee might value additional medical protection and more savings for retirement." (Mercer LLC)
Global Health Management: Discovering Value and Savings
Excerpt: "Throughout the world, leaders of multinational companies – and their shareholders – are becoming increasingly concerned about rising health care costs and the impact on their companies' futures and fortunes. Their concerns have merit, as total health care costs in developed nations likely will double faster than previously thought. Before a company embarks on a global approach to managing health benefits, it should carefully identify and evaluate the specific issues that will affect outcomes. Without a thorough understanding of the total global picture, companies may incur unnecessary costs, and their solutions may become nothing more than a reactive Band-Aid." (Mercer LLC)
[Guidance Overview] Court Rules That State External Review Law Is Not Preempted by ERISA
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This court's holding with regard to the Washington external review law is no surprise considering that the law is, according to this court, 'virtually indistinguishable' from the state law analyzed by the Supreme Court in Rush. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that the Supreme Court did leave open the possibility that certain external review laws could conflict sufficiently with ERISA to be preempted (for instance, laws creating a new cause of action under state law or laws imposing elaborate and burdensome procedures that might undermine ERISA's civil enforcement procedures)." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Employer Health Plan Mandate on Dependent Coverage During College Medical Leaves of Absence
Excerpt: "Legislation now heading to the president for his signature will require employer health plans to allow employees to continue coverage for a dependent child on a medically necessary leave of absence or who has been reduced to part-time student status due to a severe illness or injury." (Mercer LLC)
[Opinion] What Do We Want Health Insurance To Be?
Excerpt: "Ultimately the comprehensive versus less comprehensive insurance question frames a fundamental tradeoff that is almost never stated clearly in public debate, perhaps because it is regarded as too stark for the public to digest. Do we want and can we afford to provide subsidies to make more expensive comprehensive coverage, from preventive to catastrophic care with more modest out-of-pocket costs, affordable for people who are already struggling from the burden of health care costs?Or should government subsidies and tax policies encourage less comprehensive and somewhat cheaper insurance with higher deductibles, higher out-of-pocket costs for routine care and back-end catastrophic protection?" (Kaiser Family Foundation)
[Official Guidance] Text of Golden Gate Restaurant Association Case from Ninth Circuit Upholding San Francisco Mandatory Healthcare Expenditure Law (PDF)
38 pages. Excerpt: "On April 17, 2008, we heard oral argument on the merits of the City's appeal. We now reverse the judgment of the district court and remand with instructions to enter summary judgment in favor of the City . . . . The Ordinance mandates that covered employers make 'required health care expenditures to or on behalf of' certain employees each quarter. . . . The Ordinance does not require any employer to adopt an ERISA plan or other health plan. Nor does it require any employer to provide specific benefits through an existing ERISA plan or other health plan. . . . Because the City-payment option offers San Francisco employers a realistic alternative to creating or altering ERISA plans, the Ordinance does not 'effectively mandate[] that employers structure their employee healthcare plans to provide a certain level of benefits.'" (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
Important Information Workers Need to Know to Protect their Health Coverage after Job Loss (PDF)
Excerpt: "When facing job loss or a reduction in hours, workers need to know their options ahead of time to prevent loss of health coverage. There may be several options available to individuals who are losing their health coverage when they lose their jobs . . . ." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Fact Sheet: Your Employer's Bankruptcy - How It Affects Your Employee Benefits (PDF)
Excerpt: "This information sheet focuses on bankruptcy's effect on pension plans and group health plans." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Congress OKs Extending Health Cover for Ill Students
Excerpt: "The measure would allow college students to retain coverage for up to 12 months after they take a leave of absence. It was modeled after a New Hampshire law named for a student who continued her studies while battling cancer to maintain health insurance coverage." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
New Jersey Pension Bill Signed Into Law
Excerpt: "Legislation aimed at reducing the state's pension and health-care costs in an effort to save both taxpayer money and the benefits system on which public workers rely was signed into law Monday. The bipartisan Public Employee Pension and Benefits Reform Act of 2008 . . . is projected to save the state $150 million in benefits expenses over the next 14 years." (Asbury Park Press)
[Guidance Overview] 9th Circuit Decides No Issue Exhaustion in ERISA
Excerpt: "The 9th Circuit distinguishes between issue exhaustion and remedy exhaustion, and decided this morning that ERISA requires the latter but not the former. Thus, a participant's failure to argue reasons in an internal appeal does not prevent her or him from arguing [those] reasons before the District Court." (Alaska Employment Law)
[Guidance Overview] CMS Provides Additional Medicare Secondary Payer Mandatory Reporting Guidance on Website
Excerpt: "Beginning January 1, 2009, insurers or TPAs of group health plans (and plan administrators or fiduciaries of self-insured and self-administered group health plans) will be required to gather and report information from plan sponsors and plan participants to help CMS identify situations in which the plans are (or have been) primary to Medicare. In August 2008, CMS posted information on its website regarding these new mandatory reporting requirements, which arise under Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 . . . ." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
[Guidance Overview] Treasury Dept. and IRS 2008-2009 Priority Guidance Plan Includes Guidance for Cafeteria and Health Plans
Excerpt: "EBIA Comment: This Priority Guidance Plan covers the twelve-month period ending June 30, 2009, but we are hoping to see final cafeteria plan regulations by the end of 2008. Guidance on GINA will also be welcome as employers, administrators, and insurers begin to familiarize themselves with the requirements of this new law and to consider its impact." (Employee Benefits Institute of America)
Update: Employer Health Plans Face Medicare Secondary Payer Reporting Requirements
Excerpt: "Starting in 2009, group health plans must report information about plan participants to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. To enforce Medicare secondary payer (MSP) rules, CMS will use the new reports to determine who has dual coverage. The MSP program makes employer group health plans the primary payers of claims from active employees and family members also covered by Medicare." (Mercer LLC)
[Guidance Overview] Structured Settlement Subject to Constructive Trust Remedy
Excerpt: "The district court's opinion, Popowski v. Parrott, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71615 (N.D. Ga. Sept. 19, 2008), shows that the contructive trust remedy can extend to structured settlements, but also demonstrates that assets subject to the remedy can dissipate rather quickly after disbursement of a personal injury settlement." (Health Plan Law blog by Attorney Roy F. Harmon III)
[Official Guidance] Text of DOL Advisory Opinion 2008-06A, July 10, 2008
Excerpt: "[The DOL was asked w]hether, after all outstanding claims for benefits have been satisfied, the Trust may be amended to permit its surplus assets to be transferred, in accordance with the terms of the trust document, to a charitable organization that is not a party in interest." (U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration)
Emerging Cost Containment Strategies
Excerpt: "Account-based health plans (ABHPs) are emerging as a solution that employers are embracing to maintain affordability for employees and retirees, Towers Perrin says. . . . Most ABHPs set for implementation in 2009 will have an HSA feature (rather than an HRA feature), indicating employers' interest in providing wealth accumulation vehicles for retiree medical benefits." (PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)
Rewarding a Multigenerational Workforce: A Survey of WorldatWork Members, September 2008
14 pages. Excerpt: "For the first time, WorldatWork conducted a survey to gather information about how employers are approaching the challenge of rewarding a multigenerational workforce. The goal was to increase understanding about the relationship between reward practices and generational issues, as well as identify best practices for rewarding multigenerational workforces." (WorldatWork)
Profiles of International Health Systems
Excerpt: "These profiles review the major features of the countries' health coverage, financing and service delivery policies and provide links to articles with more information." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
Workers Face Higher Cost Sharing for Employer Coverage
Excerpt: "Our annual Employer Health Benefits Survey contains findings from interviews with 1,927 public and private employers surveyed during the first five months of 2008. Average annual premiums in 2008 are $4,704 for single coverage and $12,680 for family coverage. These amounts are about 5 percent higher than premiums were last year. Enrollment in high-deductible health plans with a savings option increased to 8 percent of covered workers, up from 5 percent in 2007. Deductibles in preferred provider organizations, the plan type with the largest enrollment, increased from 2007 levels. This paper also provides new insights into firms' offering wellness programs and retiree health benefits." (Health Affairs)
Employer Health Benefits 2008 Annual Survey
Excerpt: "This annual survey of employers provides a detailed look at trends in employer-sponsored health coverage, including changes in premiums, employee contributions, cost-sharing provisions, and other relevant information. The survey continued to document the prevalence of high-deductible health plans associated with a savings option and included new questions on the wellness programs and retiree health benefits offered by employers." (Kaiser Family Foundation)
RAND Testimony on Health Insurance Market Rating Practices (PDF)
7 pages. Testimony presented before the Senate Finance Committee on September 23, 2008 (RAND)
Public Employee Retiree Health Plans: A National Assessment of the States (PDF)
32 pages. Excerpt: "In this report we examine each state's retiree health plan and attempt to organize the plans by their key characteristics. These characteristics include age and service requirements for coverage and the cost to the retiree and the state per retiree. We begin by providing an overview of the primary characteristics of the plans and then present a brief summary of each state's plan." (Center for State and Local Government Excellence)
Massachusetts Expands Mental Health Parity Law to Include Autism and Substance Abuse
Excerpt: "Massachusetts has expanded its mental health parity law to require individual and group insurers and HMOs to provide nondiscriminatory coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of eating disorders, post traumatic stress disorders, substance abuse disorders and autism, which are biologically based mental disorders . . . ." (Mercer LLC)
Massachusetts Considers Delaying Parts of Health Care Law
Excerpt: "Massachusetts regulators in charge of implementing key portions of the state's health care reform law are considering a delay in rules that impose financial penalties on residents not enrolled in health care plans providing so-called minimum creditable coverage." (Workforce Management; free registration required)
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