The Wall Street Journal reported on August 30, 2011, beginning Thursday the Obama administration and states will review all proposed health insurance premium increases of 10% or more. This new initiative is a result of the 2010 health care reform law. Though insurers will have to submit a seven-page form that justifies such rate increases, the new law does not give them any new authority to stop an insurer from affecting the new rates. Click here to read more...
BAS Blog
According to a Politico article posted today titled "Kaiser poll: Uninsured don't understand ACA, "[a]bout half of the uninsured Americans who stand to benefit the most from the health care reform law aren’t aware of how the legislation is designed to help them buy insurance, according to a new poll released Monday."
"The Kaiser Family Foundation’s monthly health tracking poll found that 47 percent of the uninsured said the law “won’t make much difference” to them. Another 14 percent said the law would hurt them. Only 31 percent said they thought the law would help them"
On August 25, 2011, InsuranceNewsNet.com reported in its article "Many Companies Already Plan To End Health Benefits," based on a Towers Watson July 2011 survey, “Nearly 1 of every 10 midsized or big employers expect to stop offering health coverage to workers after insurance exchanges begin operating in 2014 as part of PresidentBarack Obama's health care overhaul, according to a survey by a major benefits consultant.”
The survey encompassed more than 1,200 companies and sheds some light on what some businesses' are considering doing with their health plans when health care exchanges become available in 2014.
Governor Christie signed Chapter 78, P.L. 2011 into law, effective June 28, 2011. This law provides for changes to the manner in which the State-administered retirement systems operate and to the benefit provisions of those systems. The law also changes the manner in which the State-administered Health Benefits Programs operate and the employee contribution and benefit provisions of those programs.
Governor Christie signed Chapter 78, P.L. 2011 into law, effective June 28, 2011. This law provides for changes to the manner in which the State-administered retirement systems operate and to the benefit provisions of those systems. The law also changes the manner in which the State-administered Health Benefits Programs operate and the employee contribution and benefit provisions of those programs.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has indicated that all health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) that were in effect before September 23, 2010, are exempt from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against annual limits for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, and before January 1, 2014. Read More...
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has indicated that all health reimbursement accounts (HRAs) that were in effect before September 23, 2010, are exempt from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s prohibition against annual limits for plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010, and before January 1, 2014. Read More...
"To help brokers and consultants as they re-examine their current strategies and explore new ones, MetLife conducted an extensive survey and face-to-face interviews with brokers and consultants who work with employers of all sizes. The results of this research reveal insights into the challenges and concerns brokers and consultants are facing, as well as the different strategies they are considering to sustain profitability and differentiate themselves in a post-health care reform world." To learn more and access the study, go to "Findings from MetLife’s Broker and Consultant Study - Where Do We Go From Here? Prospering in a Post-Health Care Reform World."
For the past 20 years, BAS has been providing insurance brokers and consultants with valuable, leading-edge benefits administration technologies to help attract and retain clients. Brokers interested in setting up their own private exchanges to compete with the State SHOP exchanges, BAS can offer its MyEnroll.com benefits eligibility enrollment and administration portal to help get off the ground quickly.
"To help brokers and consultants as they re-examine their current strategies and explore new ones, MetLife conducted an extensive survey and face-to-face interviews with brokers and consultants who work with employers of all sizes. The results of this research reveal insights into the challenges and concerns brokers and consultants are facing, as well as the different strategies they are considering to sustain profitability and differentiate themselves in a post-health care reform world." To learn more and access the study, go to "Findings from MetLife’s Broker and Consultant Study - Where Do We Go From Here? Prospering in a Post-Health Care Reform World."
In accordance with HHS' January 16, 2009, published two final rules to adopt updated HIPAA standards, BAS is scheduled to send its first two client HIPAA 5010 test files to Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Florida within the next two weeks. BAS expects testing will take approximately 2 weeks per file.
