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Doctor on Demand available to Medicare Recipients
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...
Read MoreVirtual Dr. Visits...the future is here
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...
Read MoreAssociation Health Plans...could be a new option for small business owners
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...
Read MoreSome big Companies not waiting for Congress to fix healthcare
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...
Read MoreEmployer Sponsored Group health likely to stick around...
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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80% of Americans AGREE: Obamacare needs major fixing or replacing
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...
Read MoreDemocrats and Republicans agree: Obama Health plan needs overhaul
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...
Read MoreUnitedhealthcares pulls out of Off Exchange Market; big increases expected by other carriers
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...
Read MoreBernie's health plan falls short
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...
Read MoreShort Term Medical Policies on the rise
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...
Read MoreMillenials value wellness and other benefits offered by Employers
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...
Read MoreDrug costs skyrocketing since Obamacare began
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%...
Read MoreAetna CEO has serious concerns about Sustainability of Individual Markets
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...
Read More3rd Open Enrollment ends with numbers 1/2 of what CBO predicted
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...
Read MoreDon't Go without Insurance! Short Term Medical Strategy...
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...
Read MoreHere we go again ... Republicans trying to repeal ACA law
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...
Read MoreHealthcare.gov extension to Dec 17th
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...
Read MoreLand of Lincoln still an option for Individual health
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...
Read MoreNew Health Insurance option for Cook County residents
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...
Read MoreMedicare Recipients could see big premium increase in 2016
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...
Read MorePACE passed both House and Senate
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...
Read MoreInsurance Carriers & Providers consolidations concern law makers
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...
Read MoreBIG NEWS: BCBS of IL to remove their large PPO individual product offerings 1/1/16
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,...
Read MoreEmployers CANNOT reimburse Employees for Individual health plans
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,...
Read MoreState Dept of Ins. approving very large increases from Insurers nationwide
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...
Read More26% of Employers could be hit with Cadillac Tax in 2018
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...
Read MoreAre Employers out of touch with Benefits?
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...
Read MoreSupreme Court rules in favor of Subsidies for all Exchanges
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...
Read MoreMajority polled want Supreme Court to keep subsidies in tact for all states.
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...
Read MoreInsurance Carriers seeking double-digit increase for health insurance in many states (one carrier as
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...
Read MoreEmployers believe 2016 will be most expensive year for ACA law
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...
Read MoreUnderinsured... are people better off on ACA plans with Big Deductibles and out of pockets?
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...
Read MoreObama Admin Puts Insurance Co on notice: Must cover all forms of Contraceptives under ACA
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...
Read MoreConvenience Clinics Offer Savings Over Other Treatment Settings
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...
Read MoreYoung Employees' Lifestyles Can Be Breeding Future Health Problems
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...
Read MoreHSAs Appeal to Variety of Workers, But More So When the Employer Contributes
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...
Read MoreCongress needs to figure out "Dr. fix" soon....time is running out
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...
Read MoreConsumer Involvement Critical for Health Care Cost, Quality Control
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...
Read MoreCheck out our New ACA Corner!
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?"...
Read MoreSeparate Fact from Fiction in Promoting Consumer-Directed Health Plans to Employees
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...
Read MoreACA - will the Supreme Court strike down the subsidies to Federal Exchanges?
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...
Read MoreWellness Program Investment Is Worth Every Dollar for Employers
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...
Read MoreWhat Goes into Determining the Cost of a Prescription Drug?
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...
Read MoreHHS changes Dates for next Open Enrollment (in response to many complaints/concerns)
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...
Read MoreHealth Care Spending on the Rise Again
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...
Read MoreHHS citing enrollment "success" as ACA 2nd Open Enrollment nears final days
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...
Read MoreFull Replacement Consumer-Directed Plans Yield Greatest Savings
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...
Read MoreEmployees' Health Risks Linked to Lower Productivity, Financial Cost
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...
Read MoreAccreditation Standards Will Help Employers Select Consumer-Directed Health Plans
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...
Read MoreSafety Valued Over Effectiveness by Prescription Drug Users
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...
Read MoreMost Employers Need to Provide Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notices
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,...
Read MoreLifestyle Incentives Can Lead Employees Toward Healthier Habits
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...
Read MoreWith Overall Member Satisfaction High, Outlook for Consumer-Directed Health Plans Signals Growth
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...
Read MoreWhat's the Financial Impact of Disease Management Programs?
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...
Read MoreEmployer HSA Contributions Must Be Comparable
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...
Read MoreBrand Name Drug Prices-And Price Increases-Make Case for Generic Drug Incentives
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...
Read MoreEmployers Must Provide Electronic Medicare Part D Disclosure Notice to CMS
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...
Read MoreCost Is Lesser Factor in Assessing Health Care Quality, But Increases Are Affecting Use, Survey Conc
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...
Read MoreResearch Confirms Promise of Consumer-Driven Health Plans
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...
Read MoreObamacare's website works? How many people will go there?
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...
Read MoreRealizing the Cost Savings Available from Generic Drugs
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...
Read MoreUsing Your Health Benefits Package As an Employee Retention Strategy
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...
Read MoreHealthcare.gov preps for onslaught during open enrollment
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...
Read MoreObamacare premiums soar as much as 78% to help cover ‘essential health benefits’
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...
Read MoreAccreditation Standards Will Help Employers Select Consumer-Directed Health Plans
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...
Read MoreSurvey Finds 89% Of Uninsured Unaware Of Open Enrollment Next Month.
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...
Read MoreSafety Valued Over Effectiveness by Prescription Drug Users
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...
Read MoreGood News: No increase in Medicare premiums or Part B deductible for 2015!
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...
Read MoreMost Employers Need to Provide Medicare Part D Creditable Coverage Notices
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,...
Read MoreLead Employees Toward Healthier Habits
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...
Read MoreWith Overall Member Satisfaction High, Outlook for Consumer-Directed Health Plans Signals Growth
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...
Read MoreWhat's the Financial Impact of Disease Management Programs?
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...
Read MoreEmployer HSA Contributions Must Be Comparable
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...
Read MoreSmall Business Health Care Tax Credit - does your Company Qualify?
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...
Read MoreBrand Name Drug Prices-And Price Increases-Make Case for Generic Drug Incentives
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...
Read MoreEmployers Must Provide Electronic Medicare Part D Disclosure Notice to CMS
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...
Read More2015 Rate increases are 'in'... rates vary DRAMATICALLY by region. What increase do you have?
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...
Read MoreCost Is Lesser Factor in Assessing Health Care Quality, But Increases Are Affecting Use, Survey Conc
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...
Read MoreResearch Confirms Promise of Consumer-Driven Health Plans
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...
Read MoreAnother Corporation Exempt from offering Free Birth Control
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...
Read MoreMedicaid Expands to over 66 million with the addition of 7.2 million atrributed to Obamacare
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...
Read MoreRealizing the Cost Savings Available from Generic Drugs
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...
Read MoreHealth Benefit Changes to Expect in the Near Future
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...
Read MoreUsing Your Health Benefits Package As an Employee Retention Strategy
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...
Read MoreMental Health Parity & Employee Treatment Struggles
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...
Read MoreNew Challenge for Obamacare: People don't understand their insurance plans
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...
Read MoreUsing Your Health Benefits Package As an Employee Retention Strategy
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...
Read MoreCancer Cost Containment: Saving 33 million dollars and lives!
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...
Read MoreNow that Healthcare Reform is Upheld, How does this effect Employers?
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...
Read MoreUnderstanding the Medical Loss Ratio & How Rebates Work
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...
Read MoreSupreme Court rules in favor of Hobby Lobby
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...
Read MoreHMOs versus PPOs: What's the Difference?
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...
Read MoreStates don't know how they will pay for year 2 of Exchanges
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...
Read MoreEmployers Shifting Towards High-Deductible Health Plans
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...
Read MoreU.S. healthcare ranks last among 11 developed nations, report says
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...
Read MoreFeds seek to verify subsidy eligibility
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...
Read MoreMany Employers are Planning to Expand Onsite Health Center Services
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...
Read MoreEmployer Health Care Costs Will Increase Significantly in the Near Future
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...
Read MoreWhy Consumer-Driven Health Plans are Gaining Favor
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...
Read MoreHealth Insurance Exchange Programs Paired with DC Plans
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....
Read More1 Million people may be getting the WRONG subsidy amount
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...
Read MorePromoting Wellness to Combat Absenteeism
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...
Read MoreStudy: 60 Percent of Small Businesses Benefit from Wellness Programs
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...
Read MoreProposed Employer Requirement: Giving Notice of Exchanges to terminated Employees
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...
Read MoreHealthcare spending increases as people start using plans...
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...
Read MoreHealthcare.gov ... they are still having problems with the site.
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...
Read MoreIf I buy a new health insurance policy today, will all my pre-existing conditions be covered?
"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...
Read MoreHello World!
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...
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