Open Enrollment Improvements in 4 Steps Open enrollment can be a confusing time for your employees. The key to a successful open enrollment is communication. From increasing and varying your types of communication to leveraging your team to create discussion, there are ways you can increase employee understanding and participation. Invest in health care literacy. […]

Long Covid Coverage for Health Plans Nearly 24 million adults in the United States have long Covid. Of those, 2-4 million are not working because of the disease. Because there is still much to be learned about long Covid, diagnostic and treatment options still need to be clarified. This can leave insurers in a sticky […]

Cancer Care Out-of-Pocket Costs Keep Rising A study published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that people with cancer under age 65 are paying more out-of-pocket for their treatments. The study focused on four of the most common cancers including breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer. The study found that as the […]

How the Inflation Reduction Act Could Affect Employers The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed on August 16 of this year could have some effect on employers that companies should keep in mind in the coming years. Areas affected include prescription drug costs, insulin uses, expansion of ACA subsidies, individual coverage health reimbursement arrangements (ICHRAs), and […]

Consolidation Appropriations Act (CAA) in Effect The CAA of 2021 is now in effect and for employers, this means that they have a fiduciary responsibility and expands ERISA into employer-sponsored health plans. In short, employers must now ensure their health plans pay “reasonable fees” for necessary services. Employers who rely on TPAs, brokers, carriers, and […]

First Facilities Fined for Non-compliance with Hospital Transparency Rule The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued fines to two hospitals in the Northside health system in Atlanta for not following the hospital transparency rule. Northside Hospital Atlanta, and Northside Hospital Cherokee were fined a combined $1.1 million dollars for failing to release […]

Hospitals Seek to Raise Prices to Offset Nurses' Salaries Hospital chains across the country are asking to raise prices by as much as 15% to help offset the increase in nurses' salaries. Health insurers and businesses are railing against this proposed increase. HCA Healthcare Inc. and Universal Health Services are two of the hospital chains […]

How Employers Can Help Workers Battling Long Covid Statistics show that more than 40% of Covid survivors have long Covid. Long Covid looks different in each person. Some may have issues with breathing, fatigue, stomach issues, insomnia, chronic kidney disease, and heart damage. For employers and benefits managers, this means that accommodations for new disabilities […]

Telehealth Remains Strong for Mental Health & Substance Abuse During the height of the pandemic, telehealth use exploded, going from 1% use to 13% for outpatient appointments from March-August of 2020. As more people began to go back in-person to the doctor, telehealth has waned. However, telehealth for mental health and substance abuse is still […]

California Considering Statewide Vaccine Mandate Democratic leaders in California proposed a new mandate that all businesses require their employees and independent contractors to receive the Covid vaccine. Those employees or contractors who have religious or medical exemptions would undergo regular Covid testing. People who become employed would have to get one dose by the time […]