News

In the eight states that have announced their 2016 proposed rates for purchasing coverage on the public health care exchanges, the average increase for a silver plan is 5.8%. The numbers vary greatly by state, from a 12% increase in Oregon to a 5.3% decrease in Michigan, according to an analysis by health advisory company […]

Small-size employers with between 51 and 100 employees currently in large-business group health plans will have to transition to small-business group plans upon their renewal on or after Jan. 1, 2016. “Small businesses were facing high costs of health insurance, less competition and fewer options. We had more and more small business dropping out of […]

The Oregon Insurance Division says it is pushing health insurers to charge higher individual rates in 2016 because they are reporting huge underwriting losses for 2014. The insurers collected just $703 million in premiums for 2014 and spent $830 million on 2014 claims, officials say. Laura Cali, the Oregon insurance commissioner, said in her statement […]

No one really knows whether the Obama administration will stick to its current Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) procedural rules, or whether Congress will let the administration stick to them. If the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) implements the current rules as planned, insurers will have to send 1095-B coverage notice forms for the […]

A legislation proposal by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and 31 Republicans that would temporarily preserve federal premium subsidies for Healthcare.gov enrollees through August 2017 if the Supreme Court rules them unconstitutional in King v. Burwell would simply bandage a festering wound. That’s the conclusion of a recent American Academy of Actuaries analysis. The bill, “Preserving […]

Employees have their eyes set on vision insurance, as sales have increased close to 25% since 2013 and are leading the pack in worksite voluntary sales growth. In fact, voluntary benefits sales increased 5% in 2014 compared to 2013, marking the fourth straight year of growth for voluntary, according to LIMRA’s U.S. Worksite Sales survey. […]

The Supreme Court is expected to make a ruling on the King v. Burwell case any day now. The case ultimately hinges on just four words — “established by the state” — as it calls into question the legality of federal exchanges. While PPACA challengers say that phrase limits the tax credits to the 16 […]

Many employers mistakenly believe that if they use a prototype or volume submitter plan for their 401(k) type retirement plans they can put their plans on auto-pilot and forget about them. This is because these forms of plans allow adopting employers to simply elect options (often in a check-the-box format) and not really worry about […]

Commentary: Voluntary benefits have increased in popularity as health care costs have risen and employers seek out ways to provide employee benefits without breaking the bank. And for good reason – voluntary benefits can be a very smart way to supplement core health coverage and enable employees to customize the insurance they buy for their […]

Employers are falling short on adequate systems and training to provide employees with in-the-moment critical feedback. But all is not lost as some experts have a few steps employers can take to get back on track. An overwhelming number (87%) of employees believe that feedback is important to career development, and 85% indicate feeling valued […]