Due to COVID-19 and the current state of economic uncertainty, employers may be facing limited budgets. Seeking new ways to structure employee benefit plans could put your organization in a better financial position heading into the new year. To reduce healthcare spending, employers can consider several benefit design strategies opposed …
To increase member engagement and combat rising healthcare costs experienced in today’s market, healthcare company Aetna has designed a new innovative insurance plan. The Aetna Connected plan, which will be available in January 2021, will permit members to access appointments at CVS Health’s MinuteClinic and newer HealthHUBs for no copay; …
As schools across the nation open, the health and safety of students and staff remains a top priority amid the current pandemic. With that said, schools have been experiencing a large shortage in personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning products. Therefore, health insurance company, Highmark, has decided to launch a …
On August 17, 2020, a federal district court blocked a Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regulation which was intended to allow healthcare and insurance discrimination based on sex stereotyping, gender identity and pregnancy-related conditions. The U.S. District Court Judge found that the planned regulation, which was announced in …
According to a recent federal rule, individuals who have been laid off or furloughed will now have additional time to decide whether to continue with the same employer-sponsored health insurance. With the new rule’s extended timeframe, individuals will have at least 120 days to decide whether they want to elect …
Businesses around the world have been severely impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic. In response, health insurance carriers have stepped up in an effort to lessen the blow of the impact. In addition to businesses being forced to downsize their employee population, adjust work schedules, and account for lost revenue, maintaining …
The proactive response made to help flatten the COVID-19 curve and preserve personal protective equipment (PPE) has impacted the healthcare economy in profound ways, especially to the dental industry. On March 16, 2020, the American Dental Association (ADA) issued guidance stating that dental practices need to postpone elective procedures and …
Over the last several months, the rise of COVID-19 has presented an excessive amount of challenges to individuals, businesses, institutions and across national and global healthcare systems. In efforts to restore imbalances in the healthcare industry, UnitedHealth Group, along with many other insurance carriers, have rose to the occasion. UnitedHealth …
In efforts to ease consumers’ concerns about healthcare costs in light of the COVID-19 crisis, at least nine states have reopened their health insurance exchanges for uninsured residents to enroll in coverage. The response stems from the necessity for uninsured patients to be able to receive the medical care they …
Health insurance companies are taking action to ensure members have coverage for and access to needed testing as the new coronavirus strain, COVID-19, continues to spread across the United States. Carriers such as Aetna, Independence Blue Cross, Highmark, and Cigna are actively monitoring the spread of the virus; and diligently …
On December 18, 2019, it was released that New York Life Insurance Co. agreed to pay $6.3 billion for a Cigna Corp. unit that sells non-medical insurance products to employers. New York Life Insurance Co. is one of the nation’s oldest and financially strongest life insurers. As low interest rates …
As healthcare costs continue to rise, solutions to combat these costs are becoming more and more essential. Direct Primary Care (DPC) is rising to the surface to do just that. What is DPC and how does it work? DPC is an innovative alternative payment model to traditional primary care. It …
Beginning in 2020, a new California law requires employers that sponsor flexible spending accounts (FSAs) to notify employees of any deadline to withdraw FSA funds before the end of the plan year. This requirement applies to the following types of flexible spending accounts (FSAs), but is not limited to, dependent …
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) imposes an annual, non-deductible fee on the health insurance sector, allocated across the industry according to market share. The applicable amount in the past for each fee year was: $8 billion for calendar year 2014; $11.3 billion for calendar years 2015 and 2016; $13.9 billion …
On Monday, June 24, 2019, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designed to increase pricing and quality transparency in healthcare. The president’s executive order is the latest move that the Trump administration has taken to address rising healthcare costs. In May 2019, the Department of Health and Human Services …
