Employee Benefit News

Benefits education disconnect troubling

In a recent survey, three-quarters of employees say they think their employer will educate them about changes to their health care coverage as a result of health care reform, yet only 13% of employers say educating employees about reform is important to their organization. This educational disconnect is troubling.

8 components of a health care exchange

As an employer, there’s a lot you need to know in order to decide whether or not to offer health care through a health insurance exchange. But before you make a decision, Karen McLeese, J.D., vice president of employee benefit regulatory affairs for CBIZ Benefits & Insurance Services, details the general functions of all exchanges, including state-based, federal, or state/federal partnerships. Here are the eight primary features of exchanges. [Images: Shutterstock]

Finger on the button

2013 marks a true test of leadership for benefits professionals, particularly for employee communications.

How to Present Employee Financial-Security Benefits

Two pillars of financial security for Americans – Social Security and 401(k) savings – could come under fire as Congress moves forward with deficit reduction and tax reform. While that is a daunting prospect for workers, it might also be a defining moment for employers and advisers to explain a range of benefits such as Disability Insurance, Life, Long-Term Care and Voluntary Products, along with education, on how they contribute to financial security.

This web seminar will help employers and their advisers extend the scope of financial education and help employees maximize the full value of their benefits.

Speakers:
Rich Hunt, Director of Retirement Service at Major League Baseball
Dan McNeill, Cornerstone Broker Insurance Services and 2012 EBA Voluntary Broker of the Year
Guest Moderator:
Joe Saari, CEO, at Precision Information

Prepping for 2014 -- Working within PPACA

David P. Marini, vice president and managing director of strategic advisory services for ADP, has been helping clients prepare their internal systems for the changes coming with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Are yours ready?

Low-income workers may get Medicaid money to buy their own insurance

The proposal in Arkansas and Ohio is a departure from the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, but the Obama administration might be open to it.

Avoid communications problems with 2013 open enrollment

Targeting specific demographics will be critical to 2013 open enrollment communications, says Univers’ Dani McCauley. McCauley tells EBN that employers will face a challenging landscape this year communicating health care reform and other benefits changes.

2013 open enrollment may be true test for benefits communications

Communicating ahead of open enrollment is both a broader and a more specific challenge in a post-health care reform world. One expert at Univers talks about how she is prepping her clients and tips for how employers should plan.

How employers are getting creative with PPACA

Two employers shared how they’ve gotten creative with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at Thursday’s National Business Group on Health conference in Washington. One chose to move to a new consumer-driven health plan and the other chose a private exchange through Aon Hewitt.

HHS official reports both gains and communication challenges with PPACA implementation

Reaching out to younger Americans, the illiterate and those who don’t speak English (all of whom represent significant portions of the uninsured ) could be the biggest PPACA education task ahead for the Department of Health and Human Services — and employers.

Employers at the Intersection of Public and Private Exchanges

With the final provisions of the Affordable Care Act slated to take effect in 2014–including the implementation of public exchanges—employers are taking a hard look at the impact these changes may have on their benefit programs for 2014 and beyond, and are evaluating the possibility of engaging private exchanges.

Don’t miss this web seminar for a lively discussion on the status of public exchanges, the rapidly developing private exchange market, and what it all means to employers.

Topics of discussion will include:

• State exchanges, partnerships, and federally facilitated exchanges: their differences and the players behind them
• Critical decisions for states and the impact on employers
• Whether or not employers can offer group insurance and send low wage workers to the public exchange
• Emerging exchange models for different employer types and sizes
• Opportunities for employers within different exchange types

Speakers:

• Brett Graham
  Managing Director
  Leavitt Partners

• Don Garlitz
  Executive Director
  Exchange Solutions, bswift

Featuring:

Insurers face jumbled market in varying state exchanges

Of the six states that have won HHS approval to run their health care exchanges, some, like Maryland, have opened theirs to all comers, while others, such as Connecticut, plan strict criteria. Insurers will have to twist and contort to play by the irregular rules.

IFEBP: Vast majority plan to keep offering insurance in 2014

Before the election last month, 59% of employers surveyed were in “wait and see” mode regarding post-2014 health care plans. Now, 84% are very likely to or definitely will offer health insurance after state exchanges open.

Obama win means health overhaul to move ahead in states

President Barack Obama’s re-election means his overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, opposed by most Republicans, will move ahead in all 50 states, with or without the cooperation of their governors.

No matter who wins presidential race, voters pessimistic on health care’s future

According to a new survey, a majority of both Republicans and Democrats say that status quo is the most likely post-Election Day scenario for American health care.