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Insurance

Employers still committed to health benefits

07/01/2014
Despite persistent worries that the Affordable Care Act will raise costs for employer-provided health insurance, less than 1% of companies responding to a new survey say they plan to stop offering coverage to their employees.

Supreme Court OKs religious exemption to birth-control mandate

06/30/2014
The court said closely held private companies can’t be forced to cover certain types of contraceptives for their workers.

Retirement trumps health in benefits survey

06/23/2014
Employees are more satisfied with their company-sponsored retirement benefits than they were five years ago, but satisfaction with health care benefits, especially the cost of medical benefits, has declined, according to a new survey by the Towers Watson consulting firm.

America’s Top 5 benefits

06/18/2014
U.S. workers value health care and medical benefits above all other workplace perks. A new SHRM poll found these benefits were rated most important.

Family-coverage health premiums up 5.4% this year

06/17/2014
Employer-provided health insurance for a family of four now costs $23,215, according to a new report by the actuarial firm Milliman. This can be seen as both good and bad news.

State exchange premiums compete with employer-provided plans

06/03/2014
Premiums for health plans offered on state exchanges under the ACA this year are comparable to those of employer-provided plans offering similar coverage—and in some cases they’re much lower.

Proposed model COBRA notice pushes health insurance exchanges

05/28/2014
The Department of Labor has issued a new proposed model notice of continuation coverage rights under COBRA. It’s similar to previous versions you may have used, but emphasizes that separated workers might be better off seeking health insurance from state or federal Health Insurance Marketplaces than purchasing COBRA coverage through your plan.

Church wages don’t count toward unemployment benefits

05/28/2014
Employees can’t count their work histories with religious organizations when seeking unemployment benefits.

New Obamacare tweaks benefit employers

05/22/2014
Many of the regulations for implementing the Affordable Care Act are highly technical, and don’t relate directly to the employer-provided side of the health insurance market. However, the feds have recently released rules that employers can use.

Reference pricing could reduce health costs

05/06/2014
A new health insurance approach called “reference pricing” may help control employers’ health costs, according to a new analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.