HHS Reaffirms Contraceptive Mandate
On Jan. 20, the Department of Health and Human Services reaffirmed its health care reform rule requiring employer-sponsored health plans to cover birth control and related counseling, provoking opposition from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
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Viewpoint: Reconsidering Group Health Insurance Benefits
There are options that can help ease the cost burden of providing health benefits. But for those that decide to eliminate group health plan coverage, it’s best to give employees as much notice as possible and provide them with guidance along the way.
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Essential Benefits ‘Bulletin’ Sidesteps Disclosure Requirements, Republicans Charge
The Obama administration is preventing Congress and the public from being able to assess the true costs associated with the health care reform law's essential health benefits mandate, according to a letter from Republican House chairmen and Senate ranking members.
HHS to Give States More Flexibility to Set 'Essential Health Benefits'
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) outlined policies to let states select from among four plan benchmarks to implement essential health benefits coverage requirements. Some expressed concern that the approach would allow states to mandate a rich benefit package that many employers won’t be able to afford.
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Big Changes Expected in Hospital Reimbursement
HR executives at U.S. hospitals expect health care reform to hasten the transformation of the industry’s traditional business model, including cuts in reimbursement levels and a shift in the percentage of revenue received from government vs. private insurers.
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Reporting Health Coverage Cost on Forms W-2
On Jan. 3, the Internal Revenue Service issued new guidance on meeting the health care reform law's requirement to report on employees' W-2 forms the cost of their group health insurance coverage. The cost is to be determined under rules similar to those for determining the premium for COBRA continuation coverage.
Agencies Delay Deadline for Health Benefit Summaries
The federal agencies overseeing health care reform announced they will not require group health plan sponsors to create and distribute to employees a standardized Summary of Benefits and Coverage and Uniform Glossary until a final rule is issued, delaying the original March 23, 2012, deadline.
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Early Retiree Subsidy Ends Early
The health care reform law’s Early Retiree Reinsurance Program (ERRP), which accepted no new applications after April 30, 2011, stopped distributing new funds to approved applicants at the end of 2011. The program, intended to last until January 2014, exhausted its $5 billion funding.
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Finance, HR Execs See Roles Changing in Health Care Reform's Wake
A tighter partnership between corporate finance and HR executives may be on the horizon as large companies begin to address the implications of health care reform for their reward programs and talent management strategy.
States Receive More Flexibility, Resources to Create Insurance Exchanges
The federal government awarded nearly $220 million in new grants to 13 states to help them create health insurance exchanges under the health care reform law. But seven of the 13 are among the states suing the administration over the constitutionality of the law.
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Employers: Higher Wellness Incentive Is Reform's 'Most Beneficial' Element
The eventual increase in allowable employee wellness incentives was viewed as the most beneficial element of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), according to a 2011 survey of U.S. employers.
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Employers Can Switch Carriers, Stay 'Grandfathered'
Federal departments issued an amendment to earlier regulations. The amendment allows group health plans to switch insurance companies and maintain their grandfathered status, so long as the structure of the coverage doesn’t violate one of the other rules for maintaining grandfathered status.
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Drop Health Care?
Does it make sense for employers to eliminate health care benefits? That will depend on a company’s business model and strategies for rewards and retention, argues Gary Kushner, CEO of Kushner & Co.
Doing the Math
Eliminating health care is not a simple decision, says Gary Kushner, CEO of Kushner & Co. To prove his point, he walks viewers through a scenario that presents potentially unanticipated costs for employers.
New Law, New Health Care Costs
Dr. Jeffrey Kang, chief medical officer at Cigna Healthcare, analyzes how health care reform ultimately may affect employers’ short- and mid-term costs.
Working with Insurers
Health care reform requires employers to partner closely with their insurers on plan design issues, says Dr. Jeffrey Kang, chief medical officer at Cigna Healthcare.
Medical Payment Reform
Employers and insurers should pay health care providers for the quality of outcomes, not the quantity of services, says Andy Webber, CEO of the National Business Coalition on Health.
Future of Health Care
Dr. Joseph Heyman, who served as chairman of the board of trustees for the American Medical Association, discusses key health care issues for employers and issuers.