Insurance

Retirement trumps health in benefits survey

06/23/2014

Employees are more satisfied with their company-sponsored retirement benefits than they were five years ago, but satisfaction with health care benefits, especially the cost of medical benefits, has declined, according to a new survey by the Towers Watson consulting firm.

America’s Top 5 benefits

06/18/2014

U.S. workers value health care and medical benefits above all other workplace perks. A new SHRM poll found these benefits were rated most important.

Family-coverage health premiums up 5.4% this year

06/17/2014

Employer-provided health insurance for a family of four now costs $23,215, according to a new report by the actuarial firm Milliman. This can be seen as both good and bad news.

State exchange premiums compete with employer-provided plans

06/03/2014

Premiums for health plans offered on state exchanges under the ACA this year are comparable to those of employer-provided plans offering similar coverage—and in some cases they’re much lower.

Proposed model COBRA notice pushes health insurance exchanges

05/28/2014

The Department of Labor has issued a new proposed model notice of continuation coverage rights under COBRA. It’s similar to previous versions you may have used, but emphasizes that separated workers might be better off seeking health insurance from state or federal Health Insurance Marketplaces than purchasing COBRA coverage through your plan.

Church wages don’t count toward unemployment benefits

05/28/2014

Employees can’t count their work histories with religious organizations when seeking unemployment benefits.

New Obamacare tweaks benefit employers

05/22/2014

Many of the regulations for implementing the Affordable Care Act are highly technical, and don’t relate directly to the employer-provided side of the health insurance market. However, the feds have recently released rules that employers can use.

Reference pricing could reduce health costs

05/06/2014

A new health insurance approach called “reference pricing” may help control employers’ health costs, according to a new analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Overlook these health plan failures at your peril

04/24/2014

If you focus strictly on the ACA health care reform law’s free-rider penalties for not providing full-time employees with health insurance, or not providing insurance that’s affordable and offers minimum value, you’re missing the bigger picture.

ACA state exchanges get thumbs up from Consumer Reports

04/23/2014

Back in November, Consumer Reports magazine urged its readers to hold off on buying health insurance through websites operated by the state-based exchanges authorized by the Affordable Care Act. Now it holds a different view.