When American workers engage in health-smart habits offered in consumer-driven health plans (CDHP) they can reduce their health risks and lower their total medical costs an average of $9,700 per employee over a five-year period -- according to a recent study of the health care claims representing 1.1 million Cigna customers in consumer-driven health plans, PPOs and HMOs.
You still have time to reduce your taxable income by making your full 2011 contribution to your HSA account on or before April 17, 2012. Don't wait until the last minute!
The latest Kaiser tracking poll shows Americans remain divided about the health reform law: 43 percent have unfavorable views; 41 percent have favorable views; 59 percent who lean Democratic support the law; 78 percent who lean Republican oppose it; 29 percent of Independents support it and 47 percent oppose.
Both foes and supporters of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) filed briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court last week detailing their arguments as to the constitutionality of the law's health coverage mandate and the issue of whether the rest of the law should be declared invalid if the mandate falls.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced through a press release that state exchanges will now determine their benchmark for essential benefits based upon use of the most popular plans in their region and the 10 benefit categories of care that were originally defined in the health care reform regulations. With this new approach, a state exchange will select an existing plan to serve as the standard for the items and services that will be included in the essential benefits.
Intriguing savings on health costs
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Long-term effects of Indiana state government's switch to a consumer-directed health plan are unknown, but early results are demonstrating money-saving changes in behavior. As more employees switch to health savings accounts, it's worth watching how ...
Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance: Will They or Won’t They?
Two new reports examining the future of employer-sponsored health insurance coverage were released last week amidst growing speculation over whether provisions of PPACA will cause a growing number of employers to refrain from offering employer-sponsored health insurance coverage.
The first report, released by the Urban Institute’s Health Policy Center and sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, finds that most Americans will continue to rely on employers for health insurance coverage even after the major PPACA provisions are implemented in 2014. The study examines and ultimately concludes that the employees will value employer-provided health insurance options over comparable options created through PPACA. This report finds the critical question being how employer-sponsored health insurance will fit into compensation packages that will attract the caliber of workers a particular employer desires.
In contrast, a new report by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) found that between 1995-2010 the trend of employment-based health insurance coverage has been steadily declining. The report, which acknowledges that the link between unemployment and health coverage is closely correlated, says that despite this relationship, employment-sponsored health insurance coverage remains well below the levels of the 1990s and predicts a continuing descent.
HHS Drops Long-Term Care Insurance Program
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) announced Friday that it will not move forward with the implementation of the Community Living Assistance Service and Supports (CLASS) Act, a part of the Affordable Care Act. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sent a letter to Congress, stating that the program is not viable.
The planned benefit from the 2010 health care law was intended as affordable long-term care insurance for all working Americans. HHS said after working with experts for 19 months, they were not able to come up with a program that was “financially sustainable, voluntary, and self-financed.”
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a new proposed Rule,
Notice 2011-73 , which establishes a safe harbor for employers under the “shared responsibility” provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Beginning 2014, PPACA requires mid-to-large sized employers to offer their full-time employees a baseline insurance coverage policy. The concept of the “affordability” assessment leading to a “safe harbor” for employers is designed to help businesses determine whether or not they need to pay any additional funds and/or pay a penalty if they are not covering enough or any of the health insurance costs for their employees.
Under the shared employer responsibility requirement, commonly referred to as the “pay or play” mandate, employers with 50 or more employees must provide affordable “minimal essential” health coverage to their full-time employees or pay a penalty. In addition, coverage under an employer-sponsored plan is affordable to a particular employee if the employee’s required contribution to the plan does not exceed 9.5% of the employee's W-2 wages. The safe harbor would allow employers to prospectively and more accurately make a determination of the “affordability” threshold of their group insurance offerings.
The proposed rule is open to public comment, which must be submitted to the IRS by December 13, 2011.
Institute of Medicine Issues Recommendations on Essential Health Benefits
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) today publicly released its final report titled “Essential Health Benefits: Balancing Coverage and Cost.” This report details the findings and recommendations of the IOM regarding the benefits that most new insurance plans for individuals and small businesses will need to include by 2014, as described by the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Under ACA, beginning in 2014 a package of minimum "essential benefits" falling into 10 general categories ranging from hospitalization to prescription drugs, rehabilitative and habilitative services — must be included in most plans offered on the insurance exchanges established by ACA. Congress largely left it to Health and Human Services to define the essential benefits package and decide what should be included in it.
In 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) tasked the IOM, one of the national academies of science that advises U.S. policymakers, with researching essential benefits and recommending how HHS should determine the basic health benefits package. IOM had until this fall to provide their report.
IOM said their report only recommends criteria and methods that HHS can use to develop an essential health benefits package; it does not recommend specific medical services that should be part of the package.
HHS may or may not adopt IOM’s recommendations, but it is expected that the findings will guide HHS in drafting its final rules. We do not anticipate HHS issuing regulations before mid-2012; IOM itself recommended that HHS release its initial design by May 2012. We will keep you informed as more information becomes available about the definition of essential health benefits and how it might impact health insurance coverage.
For more information on
