Insurance

HSA enrollees use fewer outpatient services, prescription drugs

04/22/2024

Health Savings Accounts play a role in changing the way employees use health-care services. A new analysis by the Employee Benefit Research Institute found that employees enrolled in HSAs reduce their use of outpatient services and prescription drugs and increase their use of inpatient services.

Survey: Employees say they’re satisfied with health plans

03/18/2024

Employees are generally satisfied with how their employer-sponsored health benefits serve their needs, according to the latest Consumer Engagement in Health Care Survey. Conducted by the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Greenwald Research, the 18th annual version of the study polled 2,020 workers.

How to Wipe Out Fraud and Abuse Under FMLA

02/16/2024

The medical certification process is your most potent weapon for combating potential FMLA fraud. But obtaining a certification is only the first fraud-stopping step. Here are 10 more things you can do to keep employees from gaming the FMLA system.

Report: Health benefit costs projected to rise 9.9% this year

01/08/2024

The WTW Global Medical Trends Survey found the cost of medical care jumped from 7.4% in 2022 to a record high of 10.7% in 2023. The insurer-reported cost trend for 2024 is projected to increase by an average of 9.9%.

Benefits lexicon: Center of Excellence

01/08/2024

Center of Excellence is one of several health-care cost control strategies that has gained currency in recent years.

Family health insurance is no longer affordable through small employers

12/20/2023

Workers at small firms—those with fewer than 200 employees—would need to pay $8,334 on average toward the annual premiums for family coverage. But an employee’s share of premiums is often much more expensive—a quarter of covered workers at small firms must pay $12,000 or more annually.

Health insurance coverage of blockbuster meds depends on prescription

12/20/2023

Many of your employees may be asking whether blockbuster weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy are covered by your health plan. The answer, according to a new survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, probably depends on how the prescription is written.

As pharmaceutical prices soar, manage employee expectations about health-care costs

11/21/2023

It’s December, and by now your employees have already selected their preferred health plan for 2024. Chances are, you saw a significant increase in the cost of health insurance premiums. The cost of covering so-called blockbuster specialty drugs likely pushed costs higher.

Health-benefits costs jumped 5.2% in 2023 due to inflation, higher pharma costs

11/20/2023

The average per-employee cost of employer-sponsored health insurance rose by 5.2% in 2023 to reach $15,797. That’s a big jump compared to 2022, according to the Mercer consulting firm’s annual National Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Plans.

Cost of employer-sponsored health insurance rose 7% this year, totaling almost $24K

10/30/2023

Amid rising inflation, annual family premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance climbed an average of 7% this year to reach $23,968, a sharp departure from virtually no growth in premiums last year, the 2023 benchmark KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey finds.