The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued new guidance regarding how Medicare Advantage and Part D plans can respond to enrollees affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Under the guidance, the plans are authorized, but not required to waive out-of-pocket costs for testing, treatment and other services related to the coronavirus. The rules come [...]
A new study has found that high-deductible plans and increased use of coinsurance are exposing health plan enrollees to higher and higher pharmaceutical costs. One of the big problems for many enrollees in high-deductible plans is that their outlays for drugs may not count towards their health plan deductibles and, if they are enrolled in [...]
Starting Jan. 1, 2020, employers can establish accounts for their employees to help them pay for individual health insurance policies they purchase, as well as for other health care expenses. A new regulation expands on how health reimbursement accounts can be used. Currently, employers and their workers can contribute to these accounts, which can be [...]
A new study has found that more and more large employers are ditching high-deductible health plans as the job market tightens and they need to boost improve their health insurance offerings to retain and attract talent, and saddle their employees with less of the cost burden. The change is also in response to the increasing [...]
One of the country’s largest health insurers has sued a number of pharmaceutical companies, accusing them of running a price-fixing cartel of common generic drugs. Humana Inc. has accused the companies of colluding on the prices of generics to the detriment of health insurers that have to pay for these drugs. Humana said in its [...]
The Trump administration on Nov. 15 announced two rules that would require more transparency in hospital pricing and health insurance out-of-pocket costs for enrollees. The final rule on hospital pricing will require hospitals to publish their standard fees both on-demand and online starting Jan. 1, 2021, as well as the rates they negotiate with insurers. [...]
The much-maligned “Cadillac tax,” which was supposed to be implemented as a tax on high-value group health plans with premiums above a certain level, may finally be seeing the end of the road. Already the implementation of the tax, which was created by the passage of the Affordable Care Act, has been postponed twice. It [...]
As open enrollment is right around the corner, now is the time to make a plan to maximize employee enrollment and help your staff select the health plans that best suit them. You’ll also need to make sure that you comply with the Affordable Care Act if it applies to your organization, as well as [...]
As the workforce ages and many employers want to keep on baby-boomer staff who have the experience and institutional knowledge that is irreplaceable, one issue that always comes up is how to handle health insurance. Once your older workers reach the age of eligibility for Medicare, under current law you can help them pay for [...]
The Senate Health Committee in May 2019 released a draft bill that aims to reduce health care costs, taking particular aim at the lack of transparency in the system and the scourge of surprise medical bills. The draft legislation is the first serious attempt at addressing the drivers behind costs in a system that is [...]
