Insurance

IRS says employers can expand COVID-19 coverage with HSAs

03/17/2020

If you offer a high deductible health insurance plan compatible with a tax sheltered Health Savings Account, you know that the plan and the employees who use it face tight Internal Revenue Service restrictions on how much employees must pay before full insurance coverage kicks in. Fortunately, the IRS has moved quickly to address COVID-19 cover-age through HSAs.

Cost of inpatient COVID-19 treatment could top $20,000

03/17/2020

COVID-19 hospital treatment for a patient covered by an employer-provided health plan could exceed $20,000 according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal of ACA constitutionality

03/03/2020

A fast-track appeal that could decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act will come before the U.S. Supreme Court later this spring.

Telemedicine could take off as coronavirus spreads

03/03/2020

The coronavirus outbreak could be the tipping point that finally popularizes the telemedicine option many health insurance plans offer, according to Mary Kay O’Neill, clinical services consultant for the Mercer consulting firm.

Employers call pharmacy benefit costs unsustainable

02/11/2020

Sixty percent of large employers say their prescription drug benefits are too costly and have become unsustainable.

Reversal: Supreme Court could fast-track ACA appeal

02/06/2020

Less than a month after declining to review an appeal of a 5th Circuit Court decision that invalidated part of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has signaled it might be open to fast-tracking the case after all.

Supreme Court won’t fast-track Affordable Care Act challenge

01/28/2020

The U.S. Supreme Court on Jan. 21 denied a motion for a quick hearing on a challenge to the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.

Liability lurks in work-sponsored ‘happy hour’

01/21/2020

Employers that encourage after-work get-togethers may want to temper the social expectations they place on employees, depending on how a Pennsylvania Supreme Court case turns out. The state’s highest court will decide whether attending such events counts as work.

Snapshot: 43% of households include someone with a preexisting condition

01/07/2020

Many of those covered by your health benefits “have a long-term medical condition, illness or disease that would be considered a preexisting condition by a health insurance company.”

High-deductible health plans continue to grow