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Dependent Eligibility Audits Can Cut Excess Costs

"When a proactive audit is conducted for a company, auditors may find as many as 10 percent of a company's plan participants are no longer eligible. Simply removing ineligible participants can save a company thousands if not millions of dollars, depending on its size, and it often only takes a 1 percent discovery to pay for the cost of the audit, making the return on the investment a smart business decision for a company's bottom line."

Prescription Drug Benefits: An Important Part of a Compensation Plan

"[P]rescription drugs can substitute for a more expensive medical service, reduce absenteeism and improve on-the-job worker productivity. If not managed, prescription drugs represent a constant financial drain on company resources that undermines the return on investment of the entire health care benefits program."

HSAs Drive Greater Employee Health Engagement

"Employees and members of their families who are enrolled need to understand why it is important for them to take a more active role in managing their health and their health care spending. This usually requires communication focused on their role as a health care consumer. Once they understand their role, they also need access to resources that help them make informed health care decisions."

Balancing Wellness Programs and Employee Privacy

"From the beginning of any wellness campaign, an employer has to answer three important questions: [1] Why are employees being asked to share private health information? [2] How is the information protected? [3] What, if anything, will the employer do with the information once it is shared? ... [It] is the employers' imperative to clearly communicate how information will be used and for what purposes. If employers are not proactive with this communication, distrust around the program, and ultimately the employer, will develop."

Tell All Employees About DOMA Changes

"[T]here is a lot for employers to think about regarding DOMA, especially as more states ... legalize same-sex marriage. And it is important that as you communicate your response, you don't make the mistake of assuming you know which of your employees is affected. You really have no way of knowing who may or may not be involved in a same-sex relationship, or who is now legally married. You need to communicate to everyone."

Wrapping Your Health Insurance Marketplace Notice

"Helping employees understand the context of [the health insurance marketplace] and their options is important for ensuring employees receive coverage that is the best value and coverage level for them and their families. Reinforcing the need to understand the individual mandate is also important so an employer doesn't have to deal with the concerns of employees who find they have to pay the tax penalty -- and may protect an employer offering a qualified plan from being subject to a penalty audit if employees try to receive tax credits or discounts on the marketplace."

Universities in the Hot Seat Over Health Care

"[W]hat is considered 'reasonable' [for counting hours of adjunct faculty] to university officials (say, crediting three hours of service for every hour taught) is quite different from how professional organizations representing adjunct faculty define reasonable (they'd like the hours of credit to be greater). Depending on how you count, it could result in hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional costs to university health plans if several more adjuncts become eligible for coverage."

Health Care Spending Continues to Increase But at Slower Pace

"In more recent years, increases in health care spending have slowed down. The good news this month is that it is predicted to remain stable in 2013, even though, compared to other costs, it is still pretty high.... One of the biggest contributors to rising costs is prescription drugs. In [a recent] survey, prescription drugs costs were up 10.1 percent -- a 0.5 percent bigger increase than the year before.... But prescription drugs aren't the only factor."

HIPAA Breach Settlement Shows Plans and Other Covered Entities At Risk From Small Breach Reports, Too

"[H]ealth plans and their fiduciaries, sponsors and administrators, health care providers, health care clearinghouses and their business associates should review plans, practices and data security as affecting [electronic protected health information (ePHI)] and other protected health information on mobile and other devices. On January 2, 2013, [HHS Office of Civil Rights (OCR)] announced [Hospice of Northern Idaho (HONI)] will pay OCR $50,000 to settle potential HIPAA violations that occurred in connection with the theft of an unencrypted laptop computer containing ePHI. The HONI settlement is the first settlement involving a breach of ePHI affecting fewer than 500 individuals."