by Tom Barrett | Apr 8, 2016 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Managed Care - Group Health, Medicare Medicaid, National News, News and Events, Pharmacy Costs, Pharmacy, PBMs and Pharma Costs, Providers, Uncategorized
This post follows up on last week’s primer on how abuse of prescription pain medications has led to what’s now recognized as a true national crisis. The new podcast Embedded provides a riveting inside look at how the use of one particularly powerful prescription...
by Tom Barrett | Mar 18, 2016 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform
During several recent meetings this question was posed a number of times by curious employees and a few their employers. It seems many folks are still unclear about the exemptions. Many also were unclear on the amount of the penalties. Below is a summary on exemptions...
by Mike Barrett | Mar 7, 2016 | Employer Issues, General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Issues, Healthcare Reform, Managed Care - Group Health, National News, Uncategorized
This is hot off the presses. The most important announcement this past week is that HHS published the increased out-of-pocket regulations for 2017. Originally, the ACA was to cap deductibles at $2,000. That seems like a long time ago and was never really followed. In...
by Tom Barrett | Oct 14, 2014 | General Health, General Insurance Issues, Health Policy, Healthcare Reform
I’m doing a week-long series “Obamacare…Did you know?” Last week I talked about how as we move into the open enrollment phase for 2015, more complexities arise and more computer glitches are expected. Read my post Obamacare…Did you know?...
by Mike Barrett | Jul 24, 2014 | Employer Issues, Healthcare Reform
If it were not my job to understand as much as possible about the Affordable Care Act, I would not even take note of the US Court of Appeals decision earlier this week. I promise I won’t be wonky. Here is what The Washington Post had to say about contradictory...