Health & Welfare Plans Newsletter

September 25, 2014

BenefitsLink.com logo EmployeeBenefitsJobs.com logo LinkedIn Twitter Facebook
Get Retirement News  |  Advertise  |  Past Issues  |  Search

Employee Benefits Jobs

Retirement Plan Operations Supervisor - Wealth Management
Chemical Bank
in MI

Pension Administrator
Norton Retirement Services, Inc.
in AZ

401(k) Administrator
Swerdlin & Company
in GA

Trust Analyst
Tax Accounting Firm
in PA

Post Your Job

View All Jobs

RSS feed for jobs RSS Feed: All Jobs


Webcasts and Conferences



[Guidance Overview]

CMS HPID Application 'Cheatsheet' 2014 (PDF)
"Users that need to obtain a Controlling Health Plan (CHP) Health Plan Identifier (HPID) will go through the CMS Enterprise Portal, access the Health Insurance Oversight System (HIOS), and apply for an HPID from the Health Plan and Other Entity System (HPOES). Detailed steps are provided [in this document]." (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  


[Advert.]

NBCH 19th Annual Conference -- November 10-12, 2014 - Washington, DC

Sponsored by National Business Coalition on Health [NBCH]

Employers, health plans, providers and other key stakeholders focus on improving health outcomes, lowering cost by benefit design, care management, payment reform, and reducing waste. Free admission for employers that are members of an NBCH coalition. Join us.



[Guidance Overview]

IRS Clarifies Employer Mandate's Look-Back Method
"The IRS proposal applies to the look-back measurement method in two situations, and includes examples of their application: [1] Employee transfers.... [2] Employer changes in measurement periods or methods." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

The Latest on Cafeteria Plan Elections: Changes That Allow Changes
"[If] an employee has a change in employment during a stability period that results in a reduction in hours but does not eliminate eligibility for coverage, that employee may elect to revoke the cafeteria plan election and go into the exchange. Also, a cafeteria plan may allow an employee to revoke an election of coverage under a group health if the employee is eligible for special enrollment in an exchange plan OR the he intends to enroll in the exchange during an open enrollment period AND the revocation of the election of coverage under the group health plan corresponds to the intended enrollment of the employee in the exchange. But it is not automatic." (Fox Rothschild LLP)  

Nearly One in Four Employers Say Private Health Insurance Exchanges Could Provide a Viable Alternative for Full-Time Active Employees in 2016
"The survey also revealed that the top three factors that would cause employers to adopt a private exchange for full-time active employees are: [1] Evidence they can deliver greater value than their current self-managed model (64%); [2] Adoption of private exchanges by other large companies in their industry (34%); [and] [3] An inability to stay below the excise tax ceiling as 2018 approaches (26%) ... [N]early all employers surveyed (99.5%) said they have no plan to exit health benefits for active employees and direct them and their families to public exchanges, with or without a financial subsidy. More than three out of four employers (77%) said they are not at all confident public exchanges will provide a viable alternative for their active full-time employees in 2015 or 2016." (Towers Watson)  

41 Percent of Employees Spend Less Than 15 Minutes on Benefits Selection
"Most workers (73 percent) only sometimes, rarely, or never understand everything that is covered by their policy. More than 6 out of 10 workers (64 percent) sometimes, rarely, or never understand changes in their coverage. Sixty-four percent disagree or only somewhat agree that they are more prepared for open enrollment this year compared to last year." (Wolters Kluwer Law & Business)  

With Marketplace Health Insurance, Shopping Around Can Be Crucial Before Deciding to Renew
"As the law's designers intended, plans are competing for customers, which often holds cost down. But all the jostling around in the market means that consumers are stuck with tough choices -- swallow a big premium increase or switch to a cheaper plan that may cover different doctors and hospitals." (The New York Times; subscription may be required)  

Impact of Insurance Expansion on Hospital Uncompensated Care Costs in 2014 (PDF)
"Based on an estimated 10.3 million decrease in the total number of uninsured and an estimated 8 million increase in the number covered by Medicaid, ASPE estimates that hospital uncompensated care costs will be $5.7 billion lower in 2014 than they otherwise would have been. This represents a 16 percent reduction from baseline uncompensated care spending." (Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation [ASPE], U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS])  

[Opinion]

The Economic Case for Paternity Leave
"More maternity leave might sound like a great idea, but as long as mothers are the only parents taking leave, longer stints at home actually worsen job discrimination against them and make them less likely to pursue a career. Rather, as the experiences of Sweden, Iceland, and a handful of other countries show, the secret to keeping mothers in the workforce lies not in giving them more time off, but in getting more fathers to stay at home instead." (The Atlantic)  

[Opinion]

Consumer-Directed Health Plans: One Observer's Perspective on One Employer's Experience
"Altarum's total costs per employee increased by 5.6% between 2011 and 2012 ... The estimated cost increase would have been approximately 6.5% for an indemnity plan.... [T]he price tools are at times helpful but frequently cumbersome and provide only partial information. The quality comparison tools are of little or no value, though that can vary by geographic region. Determining whether a service is covered and the expected copay or deductible remains a challenge just as before." (Altarum Institute)  

Press Releases

Connect   LinkedIn   Twitter   Facebook

Additional useful links:

BenefitsLink.com, Inc.
1298 Minnesota Avenue, Suite H
Winter Park, Florida 32789
Phone (407) 644-4146
Fax (407) 644-2151

Lois Baker, J.D., President
David Rhett Baker, J.D., Editor and Publisher
Holly Horton, Business Manager

Copyright 2014 BenefitsLink.com, Inc. — but feel free to forward this newsletter without further permission from us, if you do not modify the newsletter in any way (including this lower portion).

All materials contained in this newsletter are protected by United States copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without the prior written permission of BenefitsLink.com, Inc., or in the case of third party materials, the owner of that content. You may not alter or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice from copies of the content.

Links to Web sites other than those owned by BenefitsLink.com, Inc. are offered as a service to readers. The editorial staff of BenefitsLink.com, Inc. was not involved in their production and is not responsible for their content.

We are proud of our Privacy Policy.

Thanks for reading this newsletter!