Headlines about "Health plans - info for employees"

Gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com.
Health Care Savings Advice for Individuals
"Money magazine gives you strategies to cut your costs as much as 70% in six big areas -- from doctor visits to prescription drugs to dental care -- that are major sources of cash drains. This is the first of a two-part series on how to lower your medical expenses." (CNNMoney.com)

[Official Guidance] Text of Final IRS Regs on Health Insurance Premium Tax Credit
Scheduled for publication in the Federal Register on May 23, 2012. Until then, view the document by clicking on the words "pre-publication PDF version" on the linked page. Excerpt: "These final regulations provide guidance to individuals who enroll in qualified health plans through Affordable Insurance Exchanges (Exchanges) and claim the premium tax credit, and to Exchanges that make qualified health plans available to individuals and employers." (Federal Register)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Rule Addresses Affordability, Joint Tax Returns With Regards to Health Insurance Premium Tax Credits
"A new rule from the Internal Revenue Service addresses several issues with regards to the health insurance premium tax credits that individuals will be able to use to offset the cost of health care in the health insurance exchanges starting in 2014. The final rules follow the proposed rule issued on August 17, 2011. The regulations discuss the issue of affordability in employer-sponsored coverage, deferring a determination regarding potential changes to the proposed rule on that issue." (Kaiser Health Reform)

HHS Finalizes Requirement to Notify Consumers When MLR Spending Targets Met
"The final rule said that requiring the notices to be sent when MLRs are met 'will ensure that all consumers, not just those owed a rebate, are informed whether their issuer meets the minimum MLR standards established by the Affordable Care Act,' and it will 'reduce confusion as to why certain individuals receive rebates, while others, such as coworkers or family members with different plans, do not.'" (Bloomberg BNA)

10th Annual Study of Employee Benefits Trends
"A key finding this year is that 60% of surveyed employers recognize the precarious economic climate, rather than reducing business focus on employee benefits, actually creates opportunity for benefits to drive human capital. In addition, the Study found employees are less committed to their employers, but at the same time, highly dependent on their workplace benefits." (MetLife)

Couples Retiring in 2012 Will Need $240,000 to Pay Medical Expenses Throughout Retirement
"Fidelity has calculated an annual estimate of medical expenses for retirees for more than a decade.... The estimate ... does not include any costs associated with nursing-home care and applies to retirees with traditional Medicare insurance coverage." (MarketWatch)

Online Health Care Price Transparency Tools Trend Upward
"[Castlight] certainly isn't the only online comparison tool available to consumers. Insurance company Cigna unveiled a similar tool for its customers in February that allows patients to search costs for 200 common medical procedures and estimate prices for specialists, doctors and hospitals based on their coverage, and WellPoint has offered similar resources to some of its customers since 2009." (FierceHealthIT)

Trends in Employment-Based Health Insurance and the Effects of Public Policy on Access to Coverage in the 1990s (PDF)
"There was substantial variation among employers from different communities in the rate at which they offered health insurance and in the share of premiums they expected workers to pay. From 1993 to 1997, the share of workers enrolled in their employer's health plan remained essentially constant overall and the employer contribution for both individual and family coverage did not change significantly. However, this stability masked the variability among employers and individual workers." (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)

Text of GAO Testimony on Role of Federal Government in Promoting Financial Literacy Among Americans
"This testimony discusses (1) the federal government's role in promoting financial literacy, including GAO's role; (2) the advantages and risks of financial literacy efforts being spread across multiple federal agencies; and (3) opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of federal financial literacy education efforts going forward. This testimony is based on prior and ongoing work, for which GAO reviewed agency budget documents, strategic plans, performance reports, websites, and other materials; convened forums of financial literacy experts; and interviewed representatives of federal agencies and selected private and nonprofit organizations." (Government Accountabilty Office)

Characteristics of the Population with Consumer-Driven and High-Deductible Health Plans, 2005-2011 (PDF)
"Generally, the population of adults within high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) and traditional health plans is split 50-50 by gender. In contrast, consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) enrollees were more likely to be female in 2010 and 2011. CDHP enrollees were roughly twice as likely as individuals with traditional coverage to have a college or post-graduate education. HDHP enrollees were also more likely than traditional-plan enrollees to have a college or graduate degree." (Employee Benefit Research Institute)

The Effectiveness of Prompting Employees About Preventive Health Care
"[The authors] study whether prompts to form and recall a plan can increase individuals' responsiveness to reminders to make and attend beneficial appointments. At four companies, all employees due for a colonoscopy were randomly assigned to receive either a control mailing or a treatment mailing." (The National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve full text)

Consumers Still Struggling with Health Care Pricing
"As consumers shoulder a larger share of their healthcare costs, the ability to comparison shop is key to keeping that care affordable. Medical costs borne by U.S. employees have more than doubled since 2002 to more than $8,000 a year[.]" (Los Angeles Times)

Seven Things Employers Don't Know About Health Care Plans
"The survey results ... reveal that when it comes to benefits, employees maintain a level of distrust toward their employer. [E]mployers need to work harder to avoid miscommunications about benefits. [A finding shows] that 33% of employees think employers plan to reduce benefits while only 10% of employers report that they plan to make that move. To avoid that disconnect 'employers need to deliver a clear message to employees about the status of benefits.'" (HealthLeaders Media)

[Guidance Overview] 2012 List of Counties Requiring Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services Issued by HHS
"Employers with employees in the counties listed first need to arrange for translation services for the statement to be placed on the English version of the various notices and for the notices themselves, if requested. In addition, arrangements will need to be made to provide the oral, non-English language service to assist with questions and the filing of claims." (Troutman Sanders)

How to Hedge 7 Retirement Risks
"Here's how to manage seven of the biggest retirement challenges: Inflation; Healthcare costs; Running out of money; Investment losses; Living longer than expected; Falling home values; [and] Forced retirement." (U.S.News & World Report)

[Guidance Overview] Regulations Clarify Summary of Benefits and Coverage
"One rule concerning the SBC that may surprise plan sponsors is the sponsor's obligation to coordinate vendors of carve-out arrangements, such as prescription drug coverage. To avoid unnecessary duplication and to provide a "complete" SBC, if a plan has medical coverage and prescription drug coverage through different vendors, the plan sponsor must combine each vendor's model SBC into one SBC to provide to participants and to beneficiaries." (Faegre Baker Daniels)

Employers Tie Financial Rewards and Penalties to Health Tests and Lifestyle Choices
"Gone are the days of just signing up for health insurance and hoping you don't have to use it. Now, more employees are being asked to roll up their sleeves for medical tests -- and to exercise, participate in disease management programs and quit smoking to qualify for hundreds, even thousands of dollars' worth of premium or deductible discounts." (Kaiser Health News)

International Perspectives on Patient Engagement: Results from the 2011 Commonwealth Fund Survey
"An international survey of adults with complex health care needs found wide variations in the degree to which patients are engaged in their own care, from self-managing a health condition to actively participating in treatment decisions. Across countries, engaged patients reported fewer medical errors, higher care ratings, and more positive views of the health system as a whole." (The Commonwealth Fund)

Unfunded Pension Obligations Boost States' Debt-Burden Measurement
"The ratio of median total debt burden for states relative to residents' total personal income more than doubles when accounting for unfunded pension obligations, according to Fitch Ratings ... Fourteen of the 43 states rated by Fitch have a combined liability of more than 10%, according to a report about the new measurements." (Pensions & Investments )

[Guidance Overview] March 2012 Employee Benefits Update (PDF)
In this update: Compliance Deadlines and Reminders; Fee Disclosure Compliance Tools; Treasury Regulations on Lifetime Income Options; Final Summary of Benefits and Coverage Regulations; Guidance on PPACA Automatic Enrollment (Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c.)

BLS Tracks Employment-Based Health Benefits
"Most employer-sponsored plans are preferred provider organizations (62 percent in 2010) and health maintenance organizations (24 percent in 2010). Interestingly, the report reveals that high deductible health plans, despite their relatively new existence, account for 15 percent of the enrollment in employer-sponsored health plans (with a median deductible of $1,600)." (Deloitte)

Health Exchanges Will Need to Notify Employers about Employees Eligible for Subsidies
"Among other things, exchanges will have to provide a notice to employers that identifies by name the employees who have applied for and have been determined by exchange administrators as eligible for premium subsidies." (Business Insurance; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Update on NLRB Posting Requirement; Individual Liability for Supervisors under FMLA; DOL's Final Regs on Pension Plan Fee Disclosures
"The DOL made clear that nothing in the Final Regulations [on Fee Disclosures] should be construed to supersede any provision of state law that governs disclosures by parties that provide the services described in the regulations, except to the extent that such law prevents the application of a requirement of the Final Regulations." (Precept)

The Health Care Reform Survey 2011-2012 (PDF)
"The survey's primary goals were to identify: Where, if anywhere, employers have seen a cost impact (positive or negative) because of Health Care Reform; The strategic plan design changes that employers have taken (or expect to take) because of Health Care Reform; The relative value to employers of maintaining grandfathered status; The expectations of what other employers will likely do in response to Health Care Reform[.]" (Willis)

How to Cut Your Health-Care Costs
"[P]eople out of work are learning that coverage sold on the so-called individual market is typically not as robust as their work-based insurance was. And those still covered through employers are seeing more high-deductible plans, according to a November survey from human-resource consultant Mercer. Whatever your situation, here are seven tips to help you save on medications, health insurance, doctors' bills and more." (The Wall Street Journal)

Employers Looking at Corporate Health Exchange Model
"Seventy-five percent of respondents who could cut health care costs by moving to a corporate exchange say they would use part of the savings to lower labor costs while 64 percent of respondents say they would use the savings to invest in expanding health and wellness programs. Another 62 percent of respondents say they would relay these funds to other nonhealth care-related programs." (BenefitsPro)

N.Y. Governor Raps Insurers and Health Providers for 'Unacceptable Opaqueness' in Billing
"Too often patients who thought they had all the right approvals from their insurers get hit with surprise bills for out-of-network medical costs, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says in a report that calls on insurers, doctors and hospitals to help craft reforms." (Kaiser Health News)

Verifying Health Care Eligibility
"Employers are permitted to -- and frequently do -- require proof of marriage before providing healthcare benefits to dependents or spouses. But, in this era of increasing legalization of gay marriage and civil unions, the proof employers require must be the same for all married couples." (Human Resource Executive Online)

Employer Investments in Improving Employee Health (PDF)
"The third annual survey finds the prevalence and dollar value of incentives continues to increase. In addition, employers are investigating other methods for encouraging employees to participate in programs and improve their health." (National Business Group on Health / Fidelity Benefits Consulting)

Last-Minute FSA Moves
"Contributed funds are 'use it or lose it' -- workers forfeit any balance remaining at year's end --- but roughly 75% of employers take advantage of IRS rulings that allow for a grace period of up to 2.5 months." (SmartMoney)

[Guidance Overview] Final Rules for Summary of Benefits and Coverage for Health Plans (PDF)
"This Legal Alert highlights key SBC requirements that have been modified by the new guidance, including a welcome delay in the effective date, and it focuses on the rules for employer-sponsored group health plans, though the rules also apply to individual health insurance contracts." ( Sutherland )

[Guidance Overview] IRS Notice 2012-9 Clarifies Several Aspects of W-2 Reporting Requirements under PPACA
"Most employers must comply with these reporting requirements beginning with the 2012 calendar year." (Employee Benefit News)

[Guidance Overview] When Is a Summary More than a Summary, Part Two (PDF)
"Applying the effective date of the SBC rules can be tricky. For some plans with fiscal years, the SBC rules may first apply to newly eligible individuals and special enrollees." (Alston & Bird LLP)

American Workers Seek More Security in Retirement and Health Plans: Report from 2011 Towers Watson Retirement Attitudes Survey
"The silver lining is that the downturn has sharpened the focus on retirement security and health spending. Recent financial losses and higher health costs have highlighted the value of security, and many workers exhibit a new willingness to pay for guaranteed benefits." (Towers Watson)

Workers Would Trade Pay for Better Retirement Benefits or Lower Health Care Costs
"According to more data released from the 2011 Towers Watson Retirement Attitudes Survey, more than half of the 9,000-plus respondents said they would readily trade a slice of their pay for better retirement benefits or health care costs that don't explode on each annual renewal." (BenefitsPro)

Regulations Limiting Incentives to Employees to Use TRICARE (PDF)
"As [requested], CBO has analyzed whether the limitation on employer incentives to TRICARE-eligible beneficiaries (section 707 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007, Public Law 109-364) has resulted in budgetary savings for the Department of Defense." (U.S. Congressional Budget Office)

AARP Health Law Guide
"This guide will help you find resources tailored to your needs, whether it's about Medicare, health insurance coverage for you or your family, or public programs that may work for you. [The guide is also available in Spanish.]" (AARP)

Helping Employees Deal with Their Finances Can Help Companies Cut Health Care Costs and Boost Productivity
"A recent study from El Segundo, Calif.-based Financial Finesse lists money worries as the No. 1 source of stress among employees. It also shows significant differences in company healthcare savings between employees considered heavy users of financial education (three or more interactions with any of the financial services available within a year) and those considered light users or non-users." (Human Resource Executive Online)

[Guidance Overview] Agencies Issue Final Rule Regarding Summary of Benefits and Coverage
"Compliance with these disclosure requirements will impose new administrative burdens and costs on plans and issuers. The materials and information in the guidance document are to be used for the first year of applicability only. The agencies state that they will issue updated materials next year. Therefore, plans and issuers should recognize that these requirements are likely to evolve over time as the regulations, guidance and templates change." (Littler Mendelson P.C)

[Guidance Overview] Summary of Benefits and Coverage Disclosure Requirements
"In preparing this documentation, plan sponsors should take note of any offered health flexible spending arrangements, HRAs, HSAs or other potential excepted benefits that may be excused from these requirements." (McDermott Will & Emery)

[Guidance Overview] Functions of the Health Care Exchanges for 2014
"[This article discusses] the role of the new exchanges, beginning in 2014, for employees who don't have employer-sponsored coverage or unaffordable employer-sponsored coverage. The basic concept of the exchange is to facilitate the interaction between insurance companies and consumers using a common platform for comparison of qualified health plans." (Faegre Baker Daniels)

The 2011 Consumer Health Mindset: Views, Behaviors and Solutions (PDF)
"Aon Hewitt partnered with the National Business Group on Health . . . and The Futures Company to conduct our annual consumer health care study. This study explores perspectives, attitudes, and behaviors that employees and dependents hold toward the current and changing health care landscape and can be correlated with employers' efforts to promote health and productivity within their workforces." (Aon Hewitt)

[Opinion] Book Review: A Cartoon That Cuts Through the Health Care Brambles
"Through drawings . . ., the book tracks the journeys of four fictional Americans: Anthony, who is, like most of us, an employee of a company with health benefits; Betty, who is covered by Medicare; Carlos, whose employer does not offer health benefits, leaving him to the mercy of the 'nongroup market'; and Dinah, who has no coverage at all. As we follow them through job loss, auto wrecks and other health care woes, we absorb vivid lessons in what Dr. Gruber [The author] calls 'the two-headed beast' of American health finance: rising costs, and the rising numbers of Americans without adequate health insurance." (The New York Times; free registration required)

Send Benefit Changes Messages in Various Ways
"If a company wants to get the word out and explain benefits, its human resource professionals should rely on a variety of ways to communicate. A simple way to do this without segregating your workers into groups is to communicate a message in at least three ways . . . ." (Business Insurance)

[Guidance Overview] ACA Summary of Benefits and Coverage Final Rule Applies Beginning September 23
"'Consumers, for the first time, will really be able to clearly comprehend the sometimes confusing language insurance plans often use in marketing,' said Kathleen Sebelius, HHS Secretary. 'This will give them a new edge in deciding which plan will best suit their needs and those of their families or employees.'" (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business / CCH)

[Guidance Overview] Health Reform News: Final Sbc Rule Tries to Eliminate Redundancy with SPD
"Responding to concerns that the new 'summary of benefits and coverage' (SBC) mandated by the health reform law is redundant, HHS, DOL and Treasury/IRS quickly turned around a final rule that eases some SBC requirements." (Thompson / SmartHRManager)

[Opinion] Statement on Summary of Benefits and Coverage
"The final rule requires an almost complete overhaul and redesign of how information must be provided to consumers. ... Requiring a separate document for each coverage scenario will significantly increase administrative costs and potentially result in consumers having to sort through scores of pages of coverage information." (AHIP (America's Health Insurance Plans))

HHS Unveils Requirements for Consumer Insurance Labels
"The Obama administration today unveiled final regulations that detail what information health insurers must provide on new consumer labels mandated by the federal health law to explain their plans." (Kaiser Health News)

[Official Guidance] Templates, Instructions and Related Guidance Regarding Final IRS/EBSA/CMS Regs on Required Summary of Benefits and Uniform Glossary for Health Plan Participants (PDF)
"This guidance document authorizes [a Summary of Benefits and Coverage] template (with instructions, samples, and a guide for coverage example calculations to be used in completing the SBC template), and the uniform glossary . . ." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services)

[Official Guidance] Final IRS/EBSA/CMS Regs on Required Summary of Benefits and Uniform Glossary for Health Plan Participants (PDF)
"The requirements to provide an SBC, notice of modification, and uniform glossary . . . apply for disclosures to participants and beneficiaries who enroll or re-enroll in group health coverage through an open enrollment period (including re-enrollees and late enrollees) beginning on the first day of the first open enrollment period that begins on or after September 23, 2012. For disclosures to participants and beneficiaries who enroll in group health plan coverage other than through an open enrollment period (including individuals who are newly eligible for coverage and special enrollees), the requirements . . . apply beginning on the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after September 23, 2012. For disclosures to plans, and to individuals and dependents in the individual market, these requirements are applicable to health insurance issuers beginning on September 23, 2012." (U.S. Internal Revenue Service)

Employers: Employees Don't Understand Benefits
[L]ess than 19 percent of employers think their employees have a very good understanding of their benefits, (LifeHealthPro)

Essential Benefits, Summaries Among Implementation Issues in the News
"n this pair of stories, CQ HealthBeat offers the latest news on the health law's benefts summary rule and one state insurance commissioner's views on essential benefits." (Kaiser Health News)

Less than Half of Employers Ready to Distribute Health Care Reform Summary of Benefits & Coverage Materials
"Key findings show that while 81% of employers plan to update their SPDs for plan design and Affordable Care Act (ACA) changes this year, they continue to wrestle with cost containment and resource strain for the implementation and review process required to execute SPD changes." (HighRoads)

Baby Boomers Are Reaching Age 65, But Are They Actually Retiring?
"Health care is another issue that is causing many baby boomers to delay retirement . . . especially for those who are under the age of 65 and not yet eligible for Medicare. For pre-Medicare retirees, although 80 percent of employers offer a pre-Medicare subsidy, 51 percent of those employers have a subsidy cap . . . ." (BenefitsPro)

New Federal Policy Initiatives To Boost Health Literacy Can Help Nation Move Beyond Cycle of Costly 'Crisis Care'
"If public and private organizations make it a priority to become health literate, the nation's health literacy can be advanced to the point at which it will play a major role in improving health care and health for all Americans." (Health Affairs)

Insured Americans Have Healthier Lifestyles Than Uninsured
"People with health insurance are less likely to smoke and more likely to exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet than those without insurance, according to Gallup Poll data released in December 2011." (American Medical Association)

Healthcare & Wellness Market Survey (PDF)
"In recent years, employers have increasingly introduced wellness programs to address rising health insurance costs. Numerous studies have shown a direct link between avoidable, preventable risks such as obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease and smoking and higher health care costs and lost days. The concept of wellness, however, is very broad and relatively new to employers." (William Gallagher Associates)

Healthrageous Releases Mobile Health App
"[The Boston-based company said] that it has launched a mobile app called 'h!GO,' which is available to participants of the company's employer-sponsored online health management plans. The app presents a user with his or her individual health measurements on a handheld device . . . ." (Xconomy, Inc.)

Survey Shows California Health Care Costs Rising, Benefits Shrinking
"According to the survey, premiums for employer health insurance plans have risen 153.5% since 2002, a rate that's more than five times the increase in California's inflation rate. In the last two years alone, the proportion of state employers offering coverage to workers fell to 63% from 73% . . . ." (Los Angeles Times)

Affordable Health Insurance Options for Young Adults
"A study by eHealthInsurance.com found that 73% of employers are expecting an increase in dependent coverage in 2012 due to the law passed in 2010." (Fox Business)

The links shown above have been gathered from the web by the editors at BenefitsLink.com. Each article's publisher is shown above in parentheses. Opinions expressed in each article are those of the article's publisher, not necessarily those of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. or any web site that displays these headlines in a "frame." You should contact the listed publisher for copyright information about any particular article or to inquire into the right to use the article in any manner.