by Mike Barrett | Nov 6, 2017 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Issues, Insurance, Pharmacy Costs, Pharmacy, PBMs and Pharma Costs
This is an example of one Ohio company adjusting how they administer coupons people use at the pharmacy. The program helps make sure members’ out-of-pocket cost for prescription drugs are properly applied to deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket amounts. The benefit...
by Tom Barrett | Oct 25, 2017 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Issues, Insurance, Medicare Medicaid, National News, Uncategorized
With more and more folks remaining in the workforce past age 65, we are often asked by clients to help explain Medicare eligibility and options to those employees on the cusp of turning 65. This article from Kaiser Health News (reprinted with permission) provides...
by Tom Barrett | Oct 16, 2017 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Insurance
Some folks may think that Friday’s Executive Order did away with Obamacare subsidies altogether. It didn’t. There are two subsidies. One was cut. One wasn’t. In a nutshell, one subsidy lowers the cost of premium (aka premium tax credits) for those qualified...
by Tom Barrett | Oct 11, 2017 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Insurance, Uncategorized
Bob Laszewski is an insurance health industry expert we regularly track to stay up to speed on the national healthcare picture. His typically even-handed analysis has been consistently the most accurate of any of the opinion leaders we follow. Here’s how Laszewski...
by Tom Barrett | Sep 25, 2017 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Issues, Insurance, Uncategorized
Some BBG employer clients are reporting that they have received MLR rebate checks from their carrier. What are MLR rebate checks and why do only some employers receive them? Affordable Care Act rules stipulate that insurance carriers must spend a certain percentage of...
by Mike Barrett | May 15, 2017 | Employer Issues, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Costs, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Insurance, Uncategorized
Perhaps this is early but you can file it. IRS Announces HSA-HDHP Limits for 2018 Who knows where the federal healthcare regulations are going, but if the Republicans (and the President) pass anything it will likely affect the group market...