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Insurance

Forecast: 2021 health insurance costs to spike

04/09/2020
Even in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care industry experts are already talking about significant increases in health insurance costs for 2021.

5 management strategies to cut UI expenses

04/07/2020
The coronavirus, which rampaged through the economy like wildfire, has everyone focused on unemployment benefits. To secure the lowest contribution rate possible, you’re going to need to keep extraneous benefits charges off your state unemployment account. There are five strategies every manager can implement right now.

DOL paves way for unemployment benefits

03/26/2020
Enhanced unemployment insurance benefits are a centerpiece of the mammoth $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus legislation that Congress and the White House negotiated the week of March 23. Details were still being hashed out at press time, including “unemployment compensation on steroids,” according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Stressed employees? New perk may help

03/26/2020
If you are currently operating at full capacity and looking to add workers to meet increased demand, you’re probably finding it hard to hire. And while raising pay may help, that won’t address needs of a stressed and anxious workforce. But there is one perk that may set your business apart: Consider offering various therapy services for worried workers.

IRS says employers can expand COVID-19 coverage with HSAs

03/17/2020
If you offer a high deductible health insurance plan compatible with a tax sheltered Health Savings Account, you know that the plan and the employees who use it face tight Internal Revenue Service restrictions on how much employees must pay before full insurance coverage kicks in. Fortunately, the IRS has moved quickly to address COVID-19 cover-age through HSAs.

Cost of inpatient COVID-19 treatment could top $20,000

03/17/2020
COVID-19 hospital treatment for a patient covered by an employer-provided health plan could exceed $20,000 according to a new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Supreme Court agrees to hear appeal of ACA constitutionality

03/03/2020
A fast-track appeal that could decide the fate of the Affordable Care Act will come before the U.S. Supreme Court later this spring.

Telemedicine could take off as coronavirus spreads

03/03/2020
The coronavirus outbreak could be the tipping point that finally popularizes the telemedicine option many health insurance plans offer, according to Mary Kay O’Neill, clinical services consultant for the Mercer consulting firm.

Employers call pharmacy benefit costs unsustainable

02/11/2020
Sixty percent of large employers say their prescription drug benefits are too costly and have become unsustainable.

Reversal: Supreme Court could fast-track ACA appeal

02/06/2020
Less than a month after declining to review an appeal of a 5th Circuit Court decision that invalidated part of the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court has signaled it might be open to fast-tracking the case after all.