Group health plan insurers are expected to pay out $618 million in rebates to plan sponsors for the 2020 policy year after seeing use of health care services plummet during the COVID-19 pandemic. That's according to a Kaiser Family Foundation estimate in April, which...
With so many people having been relegated to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers are now wrestling with how to proceed as it starts to wane. Many companies are considering implementing hybrid, flextime work schedules after seeing success with...
Research has found that employers who offered their workers stand-alone vision benefits experienced $5.8 billion in cost savings in the aggregate over four years due to reduced health care costs, avoided productivity losses, and lower turnover rates. That’s because...
As the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel gets brighter, more health insurers are ceasing to offer cost-sharing waivers for COVID-19 treatment. After legislation was enacted in 2020 that required health insurance companies to cover COVID-19 tests and vaccines,...
One of the main recommendations for employees with 401(k) plans is that they should contribute at least enough to their plan every paycheck to ensure they receive the maximum they can in their employer's matching contributions. But a new study by Willis Towers Watson...
As the country and our businesses continue trudging along and hope that vaccines will pave the way out of the COVID-19 crisis, employers are increasingly seeing the effects of pandemic fatigue among their workers. The same issues people are grappling with in their...
Jessica Waltman, VP of Compliance for MZQ Consulting, reviews the new health care pricing transparency rules and other legislative updates. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIHHxwsVVrU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=63O6RkoSKY4...
A new study has found that high-deductible health plans have only a limited effect on the growth of health care spending for people who sign on for these plans. The National Bureau of Economic Research researched HDHPs over a period of four years and found they failed...
Download Volume 3, Issue 4 of The Risk Report In this Edition: The COBRA SubsidyHDHP's do not slow spending growthHow COVID will change employee benefits IRS allows flexibility with FSA contributions Download the Report
The recently enacted American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 includes a 100% COBRA subsidy for up to six months for employees laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. The subsidy is in effect through September 30. Due to the short ramping up period, it's imperative that...