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 the big picture, this increase seems to indicate that they see costs continuing to increase and consumers will need to consider mitigating those increases by moving to higher deductible plans.

If there is a silver lining, it is that our employer clients that utilize SharedFunding will be able to look at mitigating premium increases by moving to higher deductibles. Our experience and data show that doing this— even when you keep the employee reimbursement stable— works to the employer’s advantage.

Thanks. Here’s the link.
2017 Notice of Benefit and Payment Parameters 3-2-16