Health Care Costs

Learn about healthcare expenses in California, with information on the latest trends and practical solutions designed specifically for small businesses.

2022 Jul 08

Infertility Benefits for Small Group Employees in California

By |July 8th, 2022 |Categories: Health Care Costs, Small Business Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

Introduction In this article we describe the current infertility benefits that are available to employees and dependents of small employers in California with 1 to 100 employees. We summarize the infertility benefits and provide brochures from the insurance companies and exchanges that offer small business health [...]

2022 Jan 31

BenefitsCafe.com featured in Forbes.com article on the Best Health Insurance for Small Businesses

By |January 31st, 2022 |Categories: Small Business Articles, Health Care Costs, Small Group Health Insurance|

Recently, Forbes.com wrote an article with advice for small business owners who are interested in setting up group medical insurance plans for their employees. The article has helpful information on various aspects of employer-sponsored health plans, including: Small business health insurance options; Small business health insurance requirements; Average cost of [...]

2020 Dec 07

Walmart Health: a New Approach to Health Care

By |December 7th, 2020 |Categories: Changes in Medical Care, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance Reform, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

Walmart has taken a big step towards fixing the “broken” U.S. health Care system by creating Walmart Health.  These are clinics that offer primary medical care, mental health counseling, X-rays, labs, dental services, and vision and hearing services at one location.   As of December 2020 Walmart has 14 health clinics.  [...]

2020 Nov 19

Amazon Opens Neighborhood Health Center

By |November 19th, 2020 |Categories: ACA, Changes in Medical Care, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance Reform, Small Group Health Insurance, Trends|

Employee Medical Clinic As a sign of change in medical care delivery, Amazon has opened its first health care clinic for its employees in Dallas, Texas.  According to the Amazon announcement, “Amazon expects to establish 20 health centers in five cities across the U.S., improving access and care [...]

2019 Apr 12

Why Kaiser Permanente Small Group Benefits and Rates Continue to Lead the Field in California, 2019

By |April 12th, 2019 |Categories: Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, ACA, Health Care Costs, Health Insurance Reform, Small Business Articles, Small Group Health Insurance|

On Wednesday, I was fortunate to be included in a round table discussion with the senior leadership of Kaiser Permanente's small group sales and account management team. To encourage discussion, Kaiser limited participation to a few key brokers. (2019 Kaiser Key Broker Engagement Luncheon, Pasadena, California. Third from [...]

2019 Mar 25

Group Health Insurance Cost Trends and Benchmark Comparisons

By |March 25th, 2019 |Categories: Small Business Articles, Benchmarking, Health Care Costs, Large Group Medical Insurance Articles, Small Group Health Insurance, Trends|

Many employers want to know why medical insurance rates continue to rise and whether they're paying too much compared to other businesses. Two recently released reports address these questions: Medical Cost Trend: Behind the numbers 2019, is prepared by Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC)'s Health Research Institute and it projects [...]

2009 May 31

Why is Health Insurance so Expensive?

By |May 31st, 2009 |Categories: Health Care Costs|

Many people ask "why is health insurance so expensive?" The obvious answer is that medical care is expensive. Then, why is medical care so expensive? Dr. Atul Gawande has written a seminal piece in the New Yorker that answers this vexing question. The article, entitled, The Cost Conundrum, explores [...]

2009 Mar 31

Wellpoint teams with XPrize to Solve Health Insurance Crisis

By |March 31st, 2009 |Categories: Health Care Costs|

Wellpoint, the largest health insurance company in the United States, and parent company of Anthem Blue Cross of California, is partnering with the XPrize to develop a solution to the problem of ever-increasing medical costs; rising numbers of uninsured people; and medical providers claiming to receive too little payment. [...]

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