Brian M. Kalish writes for Benefit News about the enormous penalities for which employers are on the line if they do not stay in compliance with the Affordable Care Act.
In this article for MedCity News by Adam Schaefer, we look at the reality employers face when it comes to purchasing fully-funded group insurance (the standard group policy from an insurance carrier).
Michael Z. Stahl recently wrote for Forbes, “a 2014 survey by the National Small Business Association found that small employers spend an average of 13 hours or $1,274 a month just to keep up with Affordable Care Act compliance.”
In this article by Kevin Mattson and Maria Carriedo-Ceniceros for the San Diego Tribune, the authors estimate that there will be a shortage of 90,000 primary care doctors in the next five years. Unfortunately CHCs bear the brunt of this issue and face recruitment/retention issues due to the populations they serve and “lower salaries compared to private hospitals and health systems.”
Erin Mershon wrote in the Washington Health Policy Week in Review, "large employers are expecting employee health benefit costs to rise by five percent in 2017, less than half the increase expected for consumers who purchase health care on the public exchanges created by the 2010 health law."
Kaiser Health News has released an article by Michelle Andrews, discussing the trend of self-funding among smaller organizations. "Instead of buying a health insurance policy to cover their workers, a growing number of small and midsized companies are opting to pay their employees’ medical claims directly."
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Jack Craver writes for Benefits Pro about how a recent study by Alegeus demonstrates the stress and overwhelm many consumers feel when faced with healthcare decisions. Topping the list are how to plan for out-of-pocket costs (2/3rds of respondants) and choosing a benefits plan (55%).
Bob Herman writes for Modern Healthcare, “The U.S. healthcare system spent $3.2 trillion in 2015, or almost $10,000 for every person, according to the latest federal projections."
Dan Mangan recently wrote about Obamacare for CNBC, stating that "There were no significant differences in the percentages of adults getting or being offered health insurance through an employer."
"With health care costs jumping in 2016, Americans should prepare for the unexpected," writes Lucy Mueller for Forbes.
