Unless an employer decides to contribute a portion of the premium for dependent coverage (and employers get no credit for this contribution under the ACA) then employees will shoulder the entire financial burden of health insurance for their family.
In 2014, when the new market rules take effect, a business owner may be able to choose between the small group and individual market to purchase coverage for employees... Same product in two separate markets offered at different prices. A small business owner’s arbitrage opportunity would be to purchase health insurance for employees in the market with the lowest price.
"The BIG, hugely impactful decision Covered California, DOI and DMHC must make is: must an insurance company consider an employee enrolled in an individual health insurance plan.. to have a valid “waiver”. or [is it] a “declination” of group coverage."
Covered California, the new name for the California Health Benefit Exchange, has just released a report on its activities. Addressed to the Governor and Legislature, the report describes the reasons for creating the exchange and the progress in that effort. The report states that the high cost of medical insurance is the [...]
Sutter Health, a large medical group and hospital chain in Northern California, has applied to become an HMO/insurance company. According to this article, Sutter Health submitted its application to the California Department of Managed Care (DMHC) in August 2012. The article reports that DMHC has seen a significant increase in the number of applications to establish new [...]
Everyone is concerned about the ever-rising cost of medical care and health insurance premiums. In this newsletter, we give links to a PBS documentary, podcasts from This American Life, and articles from The New Yorker that describe health care systems that provide high quality medical care at low cost. [...]
United Health Care (UHC), the largest health insurance company in the US, yesterday held a webinar for agents on changes they will be making to their products to comply with the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This is the first time that I have seen a major carrier give specific [...]
I've written 4 articles on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the newsletter section of BenefitsCafe.com. The articles will help employers and individuals who purchase their own coverage understand a few aspects of the law. The articles include: Five Things Everyone Needs to Know about Health Care Reform (ACA) Five Things [...]
The State of California is hard at work to create the first government-run entity to sell health insurance as required by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Since first created, the entity has been called the "California Health Benefit Exchange" (HBEX). The government felt that name was a mouthful so they hired a marketing firm, Ogilvey PR, to develop a catchier one. Click here to find out what the new name is and how the new name was chosen.
Blue Cross of California has announced that they will issue all of their small group clients (i.e., employers with 2-50 employees) a one-time credit of 18% of the monthly health insurance premium. The credit will be based on active enrollment in the Blue Shield plan on July 31, 2012 and it will apply to the September 2012 bill. Click for more details and resources about the Blue Shield credit.