Employee Benefit News

PPACA's health care exchanges might not bring undue burden to employers, Buck principal says

Chantel Sheaks, principal at Buck Consultants, sits down with EBN Online Managing Editor Kathleen Koster to dispel myths about the health care exchanges created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and clarify the employer role.

George Lane of Mercer offers thoughts on benchmarking in light of PPACA

Some experts believe that health care reform not only has created greater employer interest in benchmarking benefits programs, but also will slightly alter what employers want to measure. Mercer's George Lane sits down with EBN Associate Editor Lydell C. Bridgeford to talk about how benefit plan benchmarking will change in light of PPACA.

Medicare can learn valuable wellness lessons from the private sector

Rich Gallun, CEO of bswift, talks with EBN Associate Editor Lydell C. Bridgeford about some corporate wellness measures Medicare officials should take note of as they roll out government-sponsored wellness programs. For more on what the private sector can teach government officials about wellness, read Bridgeford’s story “Take notes; this will be on the test,” in EBN October.

2010 Benny winners sit down to talk recession, recovery and reform

EBN's 2010 Benny Award honorees talk with Editor-in-Chief Kelley Butler about the impact of the recession, their early thoughts on health care reform and their hopes for economic recovery in 2011.

Value-based design survey to pick pros’ brains on wellness, economy, health care reform

Cyndy Nayer, president of the Center for Health Value Innovation, talks with EBN Editor-in-Chief Kelley Butler about the Center's 2010 Value-Based Design Survey, which will poll HR/benefit professionals about wellness programs, the effect of the economy on health plan design and the impact of health care reform.

While supplies last: Get ERRP funds while you can, actuary advises

Dave Osterndorf, chief health actuary for the consulting firm Towers Watson, talks with Associate Editor Lydell C. Bridgeford about the steps employers should consider before filing an application to the early-retiree reinsurance program. For more on ERRP, read Bridgeford’s cover story, “ERRP application calls for speedy but strategic approach,” in EBN's Sept. 1 issue.

Lessons from Lubrizol: How one company set about communicating health care reform

Tom Tercek, director of global benefits at The Lubrizol Corporation, talks to BenefitNews.com Managing Editor Kathleen Koster about how his company has started communicating the details of health care reform to employees and shares tips for other employers on how to educate their employees about the effects of the legislation.

Health care reform a ‘perfect storm’ for medical travel

So says industry expert Laura Carabello. Listen in as she explains how although PPACA doesn’t directly address medical travel, it’s likely to influence patients’ decisions to travel for medical care in the near future.

Health care cost crisis may be on the small biz horizon

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.