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The Southern Baptist Convention’s health and financial benefits entity has filed a putative class-action lawsuit against the health care reform law’s contraceptive mandate on behalf of church plans. The suit contends the religious liberty of the organizations covered by GuideStone Financial Resources (which arranges health coverage and retirement benefits for clergy and others) is violated […]
A bipartisan accord to fund the federal government until Jan. 15 and raise the government’s debt ceiling until Feb. 7, was reached by leaders in the U.S. Senate on Oct. 16, but the final agreement did virtually nothing to change the health care reform law. The only part of the compromise affecting health care reform […]
Participation in high-deductible health plans and health flexible spending accounts grew at a strong pace, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. The findings in “Health Insurance Coverage: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey, January–March 2013” suggest that employees’ interests in consumer-directed health plans is growing, information employers may find useful in […]
Earlier this month, health insurance exchanges (also known as marketplaces) under the Affordable Care Act were launched, giving consumers — including COBRA qualified beneficiaries — new coverage options. Because qualified beneficiaries may come to employers with questions about enrolling in COBRA versus exchange coverage, here are some key issues to keep in mind. The key […]
Legislation designed to make it more difficult for smaller employers to self-insure by restricting their ability to obtain stop-loss insurance with very low attachment points was signed into law on Oct. 1 by California Gov. Jerry Brown. S.B. 161, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2014, will prohibit stop-loss insurers in California from issuing policies with specific […]
United Parcel Service plans to remove thousands of spouses from its health plan because they are eligible for coverage elsewhere. The health care reform law requires large employers to offer coverage to employees and their dependents, but it does not require companies to cover spouses. Some 15,000 working spouses eligible for coverage at their own […]
For-profit, secular corporations cannot argue that they are exercising religious beliefs to avoid the contraceptive coverage mandate under health care reform, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 26. Such entities are “artificial beings” created to make money and cannot exercise religion,” which is an inherently “human” right,” the 3rd Circuit opined. Accordingly, […]
How health insurance exchange money is spent, which private insurance products may be offered on exchanges, who advises exchange consumers on plan choices and how well exchanges handle personal data will be under federal scrutiny, as explained in proposed program integrity rules issued by CMS on June 17. The rules also propose tweaks to existing regulatory language […]
An increasing number of employers are examining providing a low-benefits health plan that covers only preventive health services but not high-price major medical claims. Offering this type of low cost or “skinny” plan is allowed under the health reform law. The question is: Will skinny plans trigger a large-employer exodus to de minimis coverage, and if so, […]
Health reform fees that health insurers and self-funded plans must pay in order to fund the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute are “ordinary and necessary business expenses,” and therefore qualify as deductible from federal taxes, a recent IRS memo states. Insurers and health plans will pay the $1 (soon to become $2) per covered life fee […]