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Monday, May 18, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a San Francisco, CA-based Virtual Visit provider is the the first to make it's program available nationwide to any and all Medicare recipients, and they are waiving the Dr. copay during this...

Monday, February 10, 2020

For many years, brokers have been approached by national Telehealth providers to sell this added benefit to Employer Groups for the benefit of their employees. Typically, the cost was a monthly per-person fee (maybe $8-10), and the...

Monday, November 5, 2018

Association plans have been around for many years; however, earlier this year President Trump made changes to the DEFINITION of an association for the purposes of providing health insurance to members, allowing more groups of small...

Monday, August 14, 2017

Two years ago a small group of HR Execs from top US companies met to discuss ways to reduce their healthcare costs. What was born out of these meetings was a group now referred to as the Health Transformation Alliance. The initial...

Friday, August 4, 2017

In the wake of the turmoil re: the discussions to 'repeal and replace' the ACA law (still referred by some as Obamacare), it appears that getting benefits through your Employer is something that is here to stay. In fact, in light of...

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Tuesday, November 29, 2016

The latest GALLUP Pole shows that 8 out of 10 Americans want the Affordable Care Act (ACA law/Obamacare law) changed or replaced. Specifically, Gallup found that 43 percent of people want to see the law change significantly, but not...

Monday, October 3, 2016

As we head into the 4th Open Enrollment period for individuals to buy health insurance, let's take a look at the State of healthcare since the start of Obamacare. Land of Lincoln Health, the Co Op for Illinois, which officially closed...

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

May 31st, 2016 Unitedhealthcare sent a message to brokers and the media outlets that they will no longer be offering any individual health policies OFF Exchange beginning in 2017. Those individuals who have a UnitedHealthOne plan for...

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Two nonpartisan groups (Tax Policy Center and the Urban Institute in Washington) recently conducted a joint study that concludes the Sanders's plans are short a total of more than $18 trillion over a decade. The research claims his...

Monday, April 11, 2016

Our nation just completed the third Open Enrollment under the ACA law for people buying individual health plans. While the first year saw many individuals rushing to sign up for insurance that would not ask any medical questions and...

Friday, March 11, 2016

Employers take note: A new study is showing that Millenials not only value wellness programs, but they look for jobs with these perks, think higher of Employers that offer these benefits, and are less likely to leave a company that...

Wednesday, February 3, 2016

The ACA law, affectionately referred to as "Obamacare" by many, has done a lot to control and regulate health insurance - Insurance carriers must pay out 80% of every dollar they collect on claims or refund the money to insureds (85%...

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Aetna Inc.'s Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini said on a call Monday, "We continue to have serious concerns about the sustainability of the public exchanges." The insurance company's leader was discussing the company's...

Monday, February 1, 2016

When the law was first passed, there were something like $55 million uninsureds. Experts and analysts expected that this law would make a big dent in covering many of these folks who didn't have coverage. Congressional budget analysts...

Saturday, January 23, 2016

So here is an idea. While I do not recommend going without insurance and paying a tax penalty, if you decide not to enroll in an ACA (Affordable Care Act) plan with all the bells and whistles and pricey premiums during Open Enrollment...

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

House Republicans plan to send a Repeal of the healthcare law to the Presidents desk. Never mind the fact that some form of repeal was voted on over and over again in the house and senate during the four years from the time the law was...

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

As some would imagine, the traffic on the government's website to enroll in a health insurance plan increased as the December 15th deadline for January 1st changes approached. We had clients calling the toll free number over the...

Friday, November 6, 2015

This article was posted at the start of Open Enrollment. LLH closed enrollment at noon on 12/30/15 and is not accepting additional members from in 2016. This is now the third open enrollment for the IL Co Op company. While they were...

Monday, October 19, 2015

There's a new option for residents of Cook County. Harken Health is being marketed as a new kind of healthcare company. The company is an independently operated subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare, and started with an idea and a...

Saturday, October 17, 2015

While Medicare Part B premiums have held steady for the last 3 years, they are expected to skyrocket in 2016 for about 30% of Medicare recipients. Under a 1997 law, premium payments must cover 25% of the projected per capita costs for...

Thursday, October 1, 2015

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1624 on Sept 28th through Voice vote, and this afternoon (10/1) the Senate took action to pass S. 1099 through unanimous consent. The legislation now heads to the White House for President...

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Aetna plans to acquire Humana; Anthem wants to buy Cigna, and thousands of hospital groups are buying up smaller hospitals across the US. "2015 is on pace to notch the most U.S. hospital deals since 1999, with 71 announced through the...

Thursday, September 17, 2015

In an email that was sent to brokers an agents after hours last night, Blue Cross Blue Shield of IL (BCBSIL) announced they will be pulling from the Individual marketplace all products utilizing their large PPO network starting Jan 1,...

Monday, September 14, 2015

I get asked this question all the time: Can I dissolve my small group health plan and just give money to my employees to buy individual health plans? The answer is NO. The ACA law is VERY CLEAR. This is not allowed as of January 1,...

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Earlier this summer, it was reported that Insurance Carriers across the country had submitted a request to increase premiums for Individual Health plans by huge margins - 20, 30, 40% in some cases. Today the WSJ is reporting that many...

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

When the healthcare law was first passed on March 23, 2010, many people would quote Nancy Pelosi who said, "We have to pass this thing and then figure out what's in it." or something along that line. Right or wrong, this is exactly...

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

A recent study conducted by the Guardian Workplace Benefits group studied how Americans perceive and value their Employee Benefits. The Employers that were interviewed did not believe that their employees were extremely satisfied with...

Friday, June 26, 2015

A long awaiting decision from the Supreme Court keeps subsidies alive for millions of Americans. At risk was the loss of subsidies to the Federal and Partnership exchanges due to one word in the law: "State". The law says that people...

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

This month the Supreme Court will be ruling on yet another attack against the law. The law states that members who apply through state-run exchanges are eligible to receive money from the Federal Gov't in the form of a tax credit to...

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

Information was released Monday this week from the Federal Government listing states that requested more than a 10% increase of the 37 states using HealthCare.gov as their exchange. The actual increase allowed will not be determined...

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans conducted a survey in March this year on how single-employer plans are being affected by the Affordable Care Act. The foundation received responses from 598 human resources and...

Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Let's face it - when people saw the new ACA plans, many were shocked. Silver level Plans in Illinois offer deductibles as high as $3000 and $6000 per person, times 2 for for families with two or more people; out of pockets for a family...

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Insurance companies across the nation have been required to have policies that meet ACA standards and to follow the law in terms in of providing benefits and coverages since January 1, 2014. However, six months after the law was passed...

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Convenience clinics—also known as retail or "in-store" clinics—are gaining in acceptance, and can offer patients substantial savings on routine medical care compared to when the same services are offered in other treatment...

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Most of us probably associate high health care costs with older employees. While it is true that many health problems—especially certain chronic conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes—tend to surface...

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Just as employers that match employees' 401(k) plan contributions see higher employee participation in the plan, employers that contribute to employees' health savings accounts (HSAs) are more likely to see eligible employees open an...

Monday, March 30, 2015

The House passed the doc fix on Thursday before leaving town for the recess. The 392-37 vote in the House represented a rare bipartisan agreement on a tough issue. However, the Senate has postponed voting on the issue until they return...

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

Fewer than half of U.S. adults have the confidence, knowledge and skills to proactively manage their health care, according to a report from the Center for Studying Health System Change (HSC). This type of consumer engagement is...

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

We have recently added an ACA Corner to our Home page: http://www.cbhealthins.com/ We started off with some of the basics and common questions we get asked on a regular basis, such as "What are the penalties if I don't have insurance?"...

Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Though participation in consumer-directed health plans is growing, only a small percentage of employees join these plans, and even fewer set up health savings accounts (HSAs). According to a survey from the Employee Benefit Research...

Thursday, March 5, 2015

There has been much discussion in the news and in the courts about this controversial challenge to the ACA law (known now as the Affordable Care Act). The law states that subsidies will be available through STATE Exchanges. The law...

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Various studies of the return on investment (ROI) generated by wellness and health promotion programs establish that these programs can indeed provide payback on the dollars invested in them. Regardless of the ultimate payback, however...

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Prescription drug costs continue to be one of the fastest growing components of total health care costs. According to a 2008 report from the Kaiser Family Foundation, spending in the United States for prescription drugs in 2006 was...

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

The ACA law specifically states that the Open Enrollment period for the Marketplace (that is all individuals under 65) will coincide with Medicare Open Enrollment and take place from October 15 through December 7th. The law did allow...

Thursday, February 19, 2015

The data is out, and according to some reports health care spending "accelerated significantly in 2014" , as reported in a recent Bloomberg article. Read more: Bloomberg-healthcare spending on the rise Some are not surprised, and even...

Thursday, February 12, 2015

The Dept. of Health and Human Service released figures for this year's open enrollment. Data represents numbers from Nov. 15, 2014 - February 6, 2015. While we have nine more days of data to collect, reports indicate the first week in...

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Consumer-directed health care plans can lead to savings for employers, according to two recent studies. Savings are greater for full replacement plans, or when the consumer-directed plan offered as an option is implemented in...

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

While logic tells us that healthier workers are likely to be more productive than those with health risks, a recent study confirms this, finding that individuals with a number of health risks have seven times more lost productivity...

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) have rapidly gained a foothold in the employer-sponsored health plan market. As more employers consider adding a CDHP, questions arise about which plans hold the best prospects for managing health...

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Consumers remain confident of prescription drug safety, despite several recent instances of popular medications being pulled from the market or linked to serious conditions. However, older drugs are more trusted, even when their cost...

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Though most employers do not provide prescription drug benefits for their retirees, most nonetheless will be impacted by a particular provision of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MAA)-namely,...

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Though health care cost increases have moderated, they still are substantial, projected for employers at 9.9% in 2006, according to human resources consultant Hewitt Associates. Employees, too, have been stung by the rising cost of...

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

According to research from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) individuals enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with a health savings account (HSA) component are more actively involved with their health care and...

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Disease management (DM) is becoming increasingly commonplace in health plans of all sizes. In the large employer arena, 70% offer at least one DM program, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting's National Survey of...

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Health savings accounts (HSAs), created in late 2003 by the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act, offer individuals who are covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) a tax-favored way to save for and pay for medical...

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Health care and prescription drug plans use incentives for generic drugs as one cost management strategy. Two studies underscore the importance of efforts to encourage appropriate use of generics. These studies indicate that, in...

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 added a new prescription drug program to Medicare. Medicare Part D is a voluntary program that provides outpatient prescription drug coverage to eligible...

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Americans tend to consider factors other than cost when assessing health care quality, according to the results of the 2005 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). However, insured...

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Though consumer-driven health care plans (CDHPs) are becoming more widespread, many employers are taking a wait-and-see approach toward implementation. In a survey conducted in late 2005 by the International Society of Certified...

Monday, November 17, 2014

So we are in year number 2 of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and the start of the second Open Enrollment for individuals. A recent Gallup pole conducted Oct. 22 to Nov. 12 revealed that Americans who don't have...

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Like health care costs overall, the rate of spending increases for prescription drugs has slowed; however, it still remains one of the fastest growing pieces of health care spending. From 2002 to 2003, for example, national...

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Every employer knows it's a jungle out there - a hiring jungle that is. Finding and retaining top-notch employees has become a major factor in keeping a company competitive. But as many employers soon discover, in the employee...

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Most everyone remembers the nightmare called Healthcare.gov open enrollment that began October 1, 2013. Millions rushed to the site to check rates, including agents and brokers selling insurance who had not received any prior rate info...

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

A recent study conducted by an independent group, and reported by The Washington Times, looked at premiums for the following ages: 23, 30, and 63 both before and after the ACA law kicked in. They studied premiums across the US for men...

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) have rapidly gained a foothold in the employer-sponsored health plan market. As more employers consider adding a CDHP, questions arise about which plans hold the best prospects for managing health...

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Last year was the first year we had a "Marketplace" where individuals could go shop for health insurance plans and buy a plan Guaranteed! The healthcare law (ACA - Affordable Care Act, affectionately known by some as Obamacare) allowed...

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Consumers remain confident of prescription drug safety, despite several recent instances of popular medications being pulled from the market or linked to serious conditions. However, older drugs are more trusted, even when their cost...

Friday, October 10, 2014

The government just announced the 2015 premiums for Medicare Part B, and they remain unchanged for everyone. Most individuals pay $104.90 for Part B, but those with higher incomes (single filers making over $85,000 and married copies...

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Though most employers do not provide prescription drug benefits for their retirees, most nonetheless will be impacted by a particular provision of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 (MAA)-namely,...

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Though health care cost increases have moderated, they still are substantial, projected for employers at 9.9% in 2006, according to human resources consultant Hewitt Associates. Employees, too, have been stung by the rising cost of...

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

According to research from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) individuals enrolled in high-deductible health plans (HDHPs) with a health savings account (HSA) component are more actively involved with their health care and...

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Disease management (DM) is becoming increasingly commonplace in health plans of all sizes. In the large employer arena, 70% offer at least one DM program, according to Mercer Human Resource Consulting's National Survey of...

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Health savings accounts (HSAs), created in late 2003 by the Medicare Prescription Drug and Modernization Act, offer individuals who are covered by a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) a tax-favored way to save for and pay for medical...

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Ever since the ACA law was passed in 2010, there existed a tax credit for small business owners. From 2010 - 2013, the process was a little different than today. Going forward, Employers who qualify for the tax credit MUST apply for...

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Health care and prescription drug plans use incentives for generic drugs as one cost management strategy. Two studies underscore the importance of efforts to encourage appropriate use of generics. These studies indicate that, in...

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 added a new prescription drug program to Medicare. Medicare Part D is a voluntary program that provides outpatient prescription drug coverage to eligible...

Friday, August 22, 2014

Is anyone surprised that rates are rising again? This is on top of our 2014 rate increases. If you recall, President Obama promised that rates on AVERAGE would go DOWN $2500 per family per year. Was he referring to the people receiving...

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Americans tend to consider factors other than cost when assessing health care quality, according to the results of the 2005 Health Confidence Survey (HCS) published by the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). However, insured...

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Though consumer-driven health care plans (CDHPs) are becoming more widespread, many employers are taking a wait-and-see approach toward implementation. In a survey conducted in late 2005 by the International Society of Certified...

Monday, August 11, 2014

In the wake of the Hobby Lobby Decision, Fresh Unlimited Inc, the parent of Freshway Foods, today won an appeals court ruling that qualifies it for the same treatment the high court approved in its June 30 Hobby Lobby decision allowing...

Monday, August 11, 2014

The Affordable Care Act required all states to expand Medicare or lose funds given to them by the Fed Gov't. 26 Republican governors sued the Obama administration and won: The decision by The Supreme Court said that the government...

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Like health care costs overall, the rate of spending increases for prescription drugs has slowed; however, it still remains one of the fastest growing pieces of health care spending. From 2002 to 2003, for example, national...

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Healthcare cost increases are expected in the near future. However, many employers are pursuing measures to improve their employees' health. Recent research shows that employers are also taking steps to manage the rising costs of...

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Every employer knows it's a jungle out there - a hiring jungle that is. Finding and retaining top-notch employees has become a major factor in keeping a company competitive. But as many employers soon discover, in the employee...

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

One of the first pieces of legislation to help people gain adequate access to mental health care was passed in 1996. This was when the Mental Health Parity Act was formed. It did not require a lifetime limit or annual dollar limit for...

Thursday, July 17, 2014

This is really not a new problem. Even agents that have been selling health insurance for decades understand the new plans are confusing. The SBC's - Summary of Benefit and Coverage statements created by the government are as clear as...

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Every employer knows it's a jungle out there - a hiring jungle that is. Finding and retaining top-notch employees has become a major factor in keeping a company competitive. But as many employers soon discover, in the employee...

Thursday, July 10, 2014

As reported in a number of publications from CNBC to the Wall Street Journal, a new study suggests that some seemingly "modest" tweaks to the way an oncology practice operates could help realize millions of dollars of savings. The...

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

In a hotly-contested 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act -- though from an unexpected direction: The Court rejected the Administration's argument that the Commerce Clause allowed them to...

Wednesday, July 2, 2014

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, insurers are required to report all MLRs to regulators in order to meet specific Medical Loss Ratio goals. If insurers exceed the minimum amount, refunds must be issued to the...

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Ever since Kathleen Sebelius announced that the government was adding Birth Control to the list of "Free Preventative" benefits, there have been a variety of religious groups suiting the Federal Gov't over this mandate of the...

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

PPO stands for Preferred Provider Organization. This type of insurance has "preferred providers" with whom they have contracted to provide care to plan members at a reduced cost to the insurance company. "Out-of-network" providers are...

Monday, June 23, 2014

More than a dozen states decided to build new health insurance marketplaces under Obamacare. Now, they need to figure out how to pay the costs of running those massive websites. The Affordable Care Act provided federal grant funding...

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

In the wake of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), there has been a marked migration of employee group plans from traditional health insurance policies to high-deductible health plans (HDHPs), according to data from America's...

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Despite having the costliest care, the U.S. ranks last among 11 industrialized countries on healthcare quality and access, according to a new report. The analysis by the Commonwealth Fund published Monday ranked the United Kingdom...

Monday, June 16, 2014

The Obama administration is contacting hundreds of thousands of people with subsidized health insurance to resolve questions about their eligibility, as consumer advocates express concern that many will be required to repay some or all...

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Employers everywhere are feeling the pressure to keep their workers more healthy and productive. Research shows that many employers with onsite medical care are looking to expand their services further, and they are planning to extend...

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

A recent survey showed that about 80 percent of employers have expressed their intentions to continue offering health benefits to employees in the near future. Although the projected cost increase of the new health care reform bill...

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

The overall satisfaction level of people enrolled in consumer-driven medical plans is rising. However, the level is declining among people who have traditional plans. This finding was the result of a recent research project. While...

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Employers' desires to limit health insurance costs and the new federal health care reform legislation are both contributing factors in the increased interest of private health insurance exchanges and defined contribution benefit plans....

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

According to an article in the Washington Post this week, the problem with receiving the wrong subsidy (tax credit) from the gov't stems from Americans who listed incomes on their insurance applications that differ significantly...

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

The Zombie apocalypse is upon us, it's real, and it costs employers billions, studies show. But the Zombies aren't taking the form of the undead rising from the grave in a quest to consume the living. Instead, it's taking the form of...

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

More than 9 in 10 small business owners believe that their employees' overall health and wellness is an important contributor to their bottom lines. Further, among small employers with fewer than 50 employees, with just two to nine...

Monday, May 5, 2014

The Department of Labor proposed regulations Friday that would require employers to notify workers leaving their jobs that they're eligible to purchase Obamacare exchange coverage. A 1985 law gives employees the right to continue...

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Whole Article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-04-30/health-spending-gains-as-obamacare-patients-use-the-plans.html Excerpt: "Higher consumer spending on health services, increased prescriptions for costly medications and more...

Thursday, October 24, 2013

So how many people have tried going to this site to look at rates? Did you get through? Did you get part way through, then kicked off? What now? Here is what you need to know: According to the federal government they have had about 20...

Thursday, January 24, 2013

"If I buy insurance today, I was told that insurance companies must cover all my pre-existing conditions immediately. Is this true?" Well, not exactly. The truth is that even though the healthcare law passed on March 23, 2010, not all...

Monday, November 19, 2012

Hello World and welcome to the first ever CB Health Insurance Blog! I have been wanting to do a blog for a long time, and now that the time has arrived (and I figured out how to do this), I am at a loss of words. Not really! I actually...