Search the News Archive

Some HR Executives and Healthcare Experts Believe It's Time for Employers to Get Out of the Business of Providing Health Benefits

Excerpt: [C]ritics such as Alain C. Enthoven call the employer-based system 'a historical accident' that no longer works. The emeritus professor of management at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business says, 'Nobody could stand up today and defend it on a rational basis.' Some HR executives agree. 'We don't offer that much value in a macro sense,' says E. J. 'Ned' Holland Jr., senior vice president of HR at Embarq Corp.... He likens the employer's role in health insurance to a reseller, with administrative support thrown in.

The Business Roundtable's Statement of 'Balancing Needs' Demonstrates the Valid Counter to DOL's ESG Approach

"[T]he Business Roundtable ... position ... properly frames the issues for the ERISA investment fiduciary: prudent assessment of an investment must take into account a broader view than the narrow financial analysis of the books and records of the company, or of current market pricing. Particularly for ERISA fiduciaries, the investment standard is long-term, to provide retirement income. Any valid, long-term analysis has to be able to take into account the social, political, market and scientific trends which will inevitably affect the investment’s value."

Small Business Retirement Plans: The Importance of Employer Perceptions of Benefits and Costs

"The main barriers to offering a plan are concerns about the stability/size of the firm and the perceived costs of a plan. Concerns about costs are driven by misperceptions; many firms are unaware of lower-cost options for employers and tax credits. The survey results also suggest that state auto-IRA programs do not deter firms from offering a plan and may even encourage it."

The Unfinished Business of Health Reform: Reining in Market Power to Restrain Costs Without Sacrificing Quality or Access

"[T]here are steps policymakers could adopt in the nearer term that would allow many of the virtues of single-payer to be realized more quickly and that could serve as useful stepping stones to even more ambitious reform: [1] Extend already existing public plans and incorporate a 'public option' into ACA exchanges. [2] Adopt 'all-payer rates'--mandating that the same prices apply regardless of who is paying--to allow private insurers to benefit from the bargaining power of Medicare. [3] Pursue policies that would diminish the intellectual property rights monopolies of key health care sectors, like pharmaceutical companies. [4] Increase antitrust scrutiny of consolidation of hospitals and physician networks."

The Dirty Business of Pension Divestment

"There are many stakeholders in public pensions, not just union members, and the primary concern is achieving the actuarial rate of return without taking undue risk to keep the cost of providing pensions down. If divesting means lower returns, are union members, plan sponsors and taxpayers prepared to live with higher contributions and lower benefits?"

AHIP Comment Letter to FTC on the Business Practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Their Impact on Independent Pharmacies and Consumers (PDF)

21 pages. "Health insurance providers use PBMs because PBMs achieve positive results for consumers and plan sponsor clients ... Prescription drug list prices in the United States are skyrocketing, but the RFI fails to reference the stakeholders most responsible for high drug price increases -- the drug manufacturers themselves.... PBMs' negotiations for discounts are limited most by the pricing practices of drug manufacturers -- which in turn limits the savings that can be delivered to American consumers and businesses."

The Business Case for 401(k) Automatic Enrollment

Excerpt: [T]here are at least three sound business reasons for using automatic enrollment: Improving 401(k) nondiscrimination results; Recruiting and retaining valued employees; Mitigating [and] the loss of defined benefit ('DB') pensions.

The Business Case for Wellness Programs in Public Employee Health Plans (PDF)

"Few governments or agencies have conducted systematic assessments of plans. Retirees can benefit from wellness programs, but may require additional considerations. Wellness programs likely will yield higher dividends to public employers [than] to private employers due to the longer career pattern of public employees."

Report: Proposed Health Reform in Massachusetts: Net Gain for the Business Community (PDF)

20 pages. Excerpt: [The report] examines the health reform bill passed by the Massachusetts House of Representatives, which is designed to expand coverage to the state's uninsured. It finds that, overall, the bill would result in a net benefit for the state's business community.

Revisiting the Business Owner's Traditional Retirement Formula with a Cash Balance Plan

"A cash balance plan needs to be under constant management and monitoring and requires an actuary to determine contribution levels. These plans must follow the fiduciary, funding and permanence rules of ERISA and the tax code, just like profit-sharing and other qualified plans. The plan trustees need to make sure they are acting with prudence and for the exclusive benefit of participants in decisions regarding the plan."