News

Low-income earners not only prefer the help of a benefit adviser when choosing enrollment options, new research shows expert help could greatly improve understanding and engagement from this population for whom employee benefits could prove critical. Wide disparities between higher- and lower-income households exist in terms of financial preparedness and knowledge about health insurance and […]

Despite nearly 9-in-10 enrollees through California’s state-run public exchange receiving a subsidy to help pay for their insurance, almost half say it is difficult to afford the monthly premium. According to a report by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 44% of Covered California enrollees reported difficulty in paying their monthly premium, versus a quarter […]

(Bloomberg Politics) — The California Senate voted Tuesday to allow undocumented workers living in the state to obtain medical insurance through its Obamacare health exchange. Senate Bill 4 also would allow those in the country illegally who are 18 years of age or younger and reside in California to enroll in Medi-Cal, the state’s insurance program […]

(Bloomberg) — About 1.5 million people dropped off health insurance coverage rolls this year after failing to pay for policies they picked on the Obamacare marketplaces. That left 10.2 million covered by Affordable Care Act policies as of March 31, up from 6.3 million at the end of 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]

The clock is ticking for various state legislatures that are pondering a change in the way their residents enroll in public health insurance exchanges ahead of the widely anticipated June ruling in King v. Burwell on whether federal subsidies will be scrapped in 34 states that rely on Healthcare.gov for signups. One such example is a joint […]

Companies with onsite or near-site health centers must like them, because many have plans to expand them. Towers Watson surveyed representatives of 120 large corporations that already have such centers, and found that 38 percent plan to add capacity to those centers over the next two years. Among their plans: onsite pharmacy services, expanded wellness programming […]

Individuals who buy health insurance through Healthcare.gov could see big increases in their premiums next year. Requests are varied — Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Mexico is proposing hikes between 49% and 65% — but several insurers are seeking double-digit increases, according to a list of proposed rate increases of 10% or more that the […]

The Internal Revenue Service, Department of Labor and Department of Health and Human Services have each issued frequently asked questions stating that employer payment plans (sometimes referred to as premium reimbursement plans) for individual health insurance coverage fail to comply with the Affordable Care Act. Employers that violate this rule are subject to an excise […]

(Bloomberg View) — Two years in, there’s a lot we still don’t know about Obamacare. How many people will it end up insuring? What will the premiums look like? How much will the program cost? Some of these questions won’t be answered satisfactorily for a while, if ever. Even the most basic data point, on […]

On April 16, 2015, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued a long-awaited proposed regulation with respect to employer-sponsored wellness programs and the Americans with Disabilities Act. While not yet final, the proposed regulation provides important guidance on the extent to which employers may use incentives to encourage employees to participate in wellness programs that include […]