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BigLaw Benefit Trends Emerge

"In a stark reversal from prior years, [law firms] have achieved heath-inflation rates below the national employer averages for the middle-market segment and collectively have achieved increases averaging 3-5%.... Over the last two years, [there has been] a large increase in law firms embracing self-funding, embracing high-deductible health plans as the primary or single plan option ... while negotiating tighter prescription drug contracts with pharmacy benefit managers.... [M]any major firms are moving towards introducing exotic high-limit, Lloyd's disability policies that can now protect up to $250,000 of monthly partner compensation in the event of a disability."

Is Your Benefits Communication Reaching Your Millennial Employees?

"When it comes to benefits information, the challenge ... has become how to provide the same tech-centric and customer-friendly user experience that millennials have come to expect as everyday consumers.... Effective communication ... involves creativity and revitalizing older strategies: Make information available anytime, anywhere ... Speak to each individual, not the group ... Offer benefits they value ... Don't just talk...listen ... Encourage interaction."

Taxability of Long-Term Disability Benefits: Where Do You Stand?

"Many will be surprised to learn that a LTD benefit that provides 60% of their monthly earnings will be taxed just like their income is taxed when they are working if the premiums were paid by the employer. And the majority of employer-paid LTD plans provide a LTD benefit that is less 50% of an employee's monthly earnings after taxes. Many disabled employees cannot survive on this income replacement."

Golden Years for Retiree Health Benefits

"With an increase in doctors scorning Medicare, an explosion in prescription drug costs, the ACA closing of the Part D 'donut hole', the emergence of a new trend in retiree products, (i.e. EGWP, Medicare Advantage, RRAs) and the advent of healthcare exchanges offering affordable protection to young retirees, a new shift is firmly underway. Even the most paternalistic employers are reexamining their retiree product portfolios and the overall justification for staying in the retiree market."

More Pre-Tax Dollars -- Are You Offering Commuter Benefits Yet?

"Depending on the type of plan implemented, employees can access their accumulated funds via a debit card or can order their commuting pass and have it delivered directly to their home. Either way, it's another way to help employees increase their spendable income -- more money in their pockets instead of Uncle Sam's."

Why 'Experts' Were Wrong About Employers Dropping Coverage

"The fact that employer-sponsored coverage continues to be a tax protected benefit and individually purchased coverage does not ... explain why employers will continue offering coverage for the foreseeable future.... [T]he fact that any termination of coverage must consider a newly created tax burden that gets placed directly onto employees' backs creates an unsustainable economic picture for the employers.... Employees are mobile and place a huge premium on benefits ... Any employer's consideration in disrupting its labor supply is predicated on its employees finding a comparable benefit on their own. That simply does not exist."

Take Advantage of Health Insurer Cherry Picking

"Health insurers are increasingly focusing on two methods that allow them to cherry pick the most favorable employee populations from the small group market and provide them with large group benefits and risk-adjusted premiums. The first method [uses] Professional Employer Organizations (PEOs) ... The second method ... is less common and isn't permitted in some states (i.e. New York), but viable nonetheless. This approach uses self-funding to free a small employer from the community-rated market."

And You Thought There Was Nothing New in Healthcare? Shifting from 'Volume' to 'Value'

"Recently, a new player -- Create -- has come onto the scene in New York and New Jersey and is challenging the traditional idea that employee benefits must be delivered through conventional, big-name insurance carriers. The concept is a marketplace of health systems where employees shop for and select a health system as their exclusive care provider. So rather than carrying an insurance carrier card your health insurance ID would bear the name of the hospital network of your choosing."

Bridge Your Engagement Gap -- Go Mobile

"Consumers are getting their information through smartphone apps; whether it's shopping, paying for coffee, checking train schedules, hailing a taxi -- you name it. [Those] responsible for internal communication need to embrace the fact that employees want to get their benefits info like they get everything else -- through an app[.]"

Making American Healthcare Great Again

"The [ACA] got a few things right. There should be no pre-existing condition exclusions and no lifetime maximums. There should also be essential benefits which every American should be guaranteed. This system should not be government run. The Veterans Affairs healthcare system and Medicare funding paralysis give us a very sharp focus on the future if government is in charge of healthcare."

Open Enrollment Checklist: Last Chance to Catch Items You May Have Missed

"IRS regulations do not allow for automatic rollover of FSA elections.... COBRA participants must be offered the same open enrollment opportunities as active employees as they apply to medical, dental and vision -- even including HRA plans.... [N]ew benefits must be offered to the COBRA participants as though they were active employees."

Bridging the Wellness Generation Gap

"For the first time in history, five generations are rubbing shoulders in the workplace; and each generation is associated with distinct stereotypes. A one-size-fits-all approach to your wellness program activities probably won't cut it (unless it only involves free food and chair massages!)."

Wellness Incentive Rules: The Saga Continues

"Financial incentives can be powerful, but with smaller limits on the 2019 horizon, it may give us good reason to get creative and spend less on cash incentives. 'Voluntary' programs may need to be truly elective. This means no more coercing employees to participate in screenings and HRAs. You can still offer them and incorporate incentives/penalties, you just need to provide a second option that doesn't have to do with an HRA/screening."

ACA Penalties Are About to Hit Employers

"2015 was a phase-in year and an Applicable Large Employer was required to offer minimum essential coverage which also met the minimum value standard to at least 70% of full-time employees and their eligible dependents as defined under the rules. Those employers who [didn't] will need to add up their full-time employees in each non-compliant month and subtract 80 (there is an exempt amount), then multiply by $173.33. The total for all 12 months will be the non-deductible excise that the IRS will seek to collect."

The Softening and Widening Stop Loss Market

"The good news ... is the market has never been so soft. That has obvious implications [for] pricing, [as well as] contract provisions such as advance funding, no lasers upon renewal, early lock-in and retiree/international protection. Historically, it was difficult getting many of these embedded in policies whereas today they are standard offerings. The bad news is that it becomes harder to track nuanced differences between many of the carriers."

The Frustration of Out-of-Network Billing

"When a member receives an unexpected balance bill, most often the member places the blame on the insurance plan and feels like they've been cheated. Members rarely see that the provider is overcharging for a particular service."

Insurers, Providers and Employers on a Collision Course

"Historically, insurers have been able to use competing health providers as leverage against each other in their provider negotiations.... Cost transparency tools and claims analysis are showing us that there are large cost differences between certain systems.... Employers and insurers are gearing up for a fight with the hospital systems and the dispute will undoubtedly spill over to state lawmakers as restrictive contractual covenants will be challenged."

Wellness Incentives: A Case Study

"Individual incentives like paid days (or half-days) off, premium rebates, HSA contributions, or cold hard cash consistently garner higher participation -- an incredible 40%-60% rate across industries. Even offering something as simple (and free) as a 'Jeans Day' to anyone who reaches a goal will gain better results than a raffle."

Decoding Network Disruption

"One of the most critical factors an employer considers when deciding to change medical (or dental) carriers is network disruption. Improvement or deterioration in the network penetration rate can have a profound impact on the underpinnings of the program.... Disruption analyses are conducted by extracting the prior 12 month utilization of providers ... then comparing the resulting in-network rates (in terms of visits and claims dollars) to the competing carrier networks. But when reviewing these results be careful -- the devil is often in the details."

Total Wellness: Going Beyond Basic Wellness Programming

"[Employers] are beginning to think more broadly about wellness -- they're thinking about employee satisfaction and work/life balance more so than directly measurable ROI. Moving away from quantifying financial results to refocusing on the worker's own experience and needs opens the door to more sought-after programming. Instead of solely offering services to target healthcare claims, strategically mixing in other events can lead to higher levels of employee activation, productivity, retention, and job contentment."