Employee Benefit News

Health care cost crisis may be on the small business horizon

Providing a carrier’s prospective, MagnaCare’s Joe Berardo takes a look at the issues small businesses may face in keeping health care costs down in a post-PPACA environment.

PPACA to limit some brokers' deductible compensation

PPACA will limit the ability of many health insurers to deduct compensation, including commissions, paid to employees and "individual service providers," starting in 2013. Join benefits attorney Jonathan Boyles of McDermott Will & Emery for a summary of the new rule and its potential impact on you.

PPACA ups the ante for dependent eligibility verification

Plan sponsors are laying the groundwork for PPACA's post-Sept. 23 compliance requirements. Listen in as Consova's Michael Smith explains how eligibility verification can help ease the impact of PPACA's age-26 dependent requirement.

Wellness expert offers his take on PPACA's effect on health promotion programs

Michael Samuelson, president and CEO of the Health and Wellness Institute, talks with Associate Editor Lydell C. Bridgeford about how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will affect employer-sponsored wellness programs.

Expert roundtable sounds off on health care reform

We've packed a lot of health care expertise into one podcast: Jim Klein, president of the American Benefits Council; Tom Lerche, health care practice leader for Aon Consulting U.S.; Susan Nash, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery; Ken Sperling, global health care practice leader at Hewitt Associates; Daniel Sulton, a partner with Ford & Harrison LLP and Steve Wojcik, vice president of public policy at the National Business Group on Health. In a special, extended roundtable podcast, the group talks to Associate Editor Kathleen Koster about the most significant considerations for employers for this season’s open enrollment, and what provisions of health care reform will have the farthest-reaching impact on benefit plans.

NFIB means business with PPACA lawsuit

The National Federation of Independent Business's Karen Harned shares the organization's intentions behind joining states' lawsuit against health reform. It's no symbolic gesture, she says.

PPACA pain points

Which provisions of the health care reform law are brokers and plan sponsors most worried about? Sam Fleet, president of AMWINS Group Benefits, has been discussing PPACA with industry insiders around the country. Listen in as he shares his thoughts on that question and more.

Early retiree reimbursement program set to launch in June

New regulations from HHS set the stage for implementation of Obamacare's program to reimburse qualifying employers for a portion of their early retiree health coverage costs. Attorney Maureen O'Brien shares an overview of the new HHS regulations and guidance on how to apply for reimbursement under the program, which starts next month.

Health care reform's impact on CDHPs

Listen in as Chantel Sheaks, a Principal in Buck Consultants' National Technical Resources Group, offers her take on the impact of the new health care reform law on consumer-directed health plans.

Is this the end of the road for limited medical plans?

The new health care reform law prohibits annual and lifetime caps on benefits as of plan years beginning on or after Sept. 23. What will this mean for limited medical plans? What should advisers do now to prepare? Brian Robertson of Fringe Benefit Group has the answers to these and other questions.