Clinton Healthcare Plan More Benefits, More Costs
Avalere Health, a DC based healthcare consulting firm, says that Hillary Clinton’s medical plan would offer more benefits than current marketplace policies but would also cost more. The analysis suggested that 13 million people over age 50 could be covered by the plan, although many of them are currently covered through the exchange or through… Read More
EEOC Final Ruling on Employer Wellness Programs
EEOC RULINGS The EEOC has released long-awaited rulings regarding financial incentives tied to employee participation in workplace wellness programs. The rulings provide direction for employers and employees to ensure that the design and participation in wellness programs are conducted in compliance with the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA),… Read More
This Week in Obamacare
Birth Control Still out of Control In a unanimous decision on Monday, the Supreme Court issued a ruling saying the court expressed no views on the merits of the pending case involving non-profits affiliated with religious groups in their fight against the ACA’s contraceptive mandate. The court sent the case back to the lower courts… Read More
More Uncertainty over DOL Fiduciary Rule for Independent Agents Selling Fixed Indexed Annuities
It’s no wonder agents selling fixed indexed annuities are confused regarding the Department of Labor’s new fiduciary rule. How will it apply? Who is responsible for oversight? How will it be enforced? Like most rulings, this one is also lengthy and confusing. And at more than 1,000 pages, not many independent insurance agents have even… Read More
Federal Judge Rules ACA Payments Unconstitutional
In a win for Republicans, federal district Judge Rosemary Collyer issued a ruling Thursday confirming that the Affordable Care Act did not allow for reimbursements to insurance carriers to make marketplace health insurance coverage more affordable. The Obama Administration argued that the Affordable Care Act itself is the only authorization needed for the government to… Read More
Circumvention of Law in the Bail-Out of Health Insurers Crushed by Obamacare Losses
One Obamacare co-op, the Health Republic Insurance of Oregon, filed a $5 billion class-action suit after their company failed and was unable to collect payment due them under the Affordable Care Act’s Risk-Corridor program. The program was supposed to bail out insurers who suffered losses using the fees paid into the program by participating insurers…. Read More
State Regulations and the ACA
State insurance regulators have their work cut out for themselves. During the next few months, they will most likely be faced with some tough choices as they balance out the insurance industry’s demand for rate increases verses the consumers cry for minimal rate hikes. The recent pull-out of United Healthcare from the Marketplace as a… Read More
Good-bye United Health Care – Insurer Flees Most Obamacare Markets
Stephen Hemsley, CEO of United Healthcare announced yesterday that the company will exit most markets and that by next year the company would have a presence in “only a handful of states.” Previously, the nation’s largest health insurer said it lost big in the marketplace in 2015. According to a spokesperson for the carrier, this… Read More
Consumer Education Lacking in the Marketplace
A recent study from the Episcopal Health Foundation and the Baker Institute for Public Policy at Rice University concluded a majority of the consumers who purchased health insurance coverage through the marketplace have less understanding of the coverage than their counterparts covered by employer sponsored plans or those covered by Medicaid or Medicare. The study… Read More
Overtime Pay – What Business Owners Need to Know about the Proposed Changes
Employers across the country are struggling with proposed changes that could affect their ability to make payroll. The Department of Labor and the Obama Administration are in the process of updating the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). WHAT BUSINESS OWNERS NEED TO KNOW The revised rule is expected to increase the salary levels for non-exempt… Read More