The soaring cost of new prescription drugs is becoming a major driver in overall health insurance price increases, and some of those drugs are so expensive that they are out of reach for the average patient. When people can't afford the drugs their doctor prescribes...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has issued new rules that require Medicare to cover medical devices that the Food and Drug Administration designates as "breakthrough" technology. The rule paves the way for giving Medicare recipients access to the...
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has affirmed that employers can mandate COVID-19 vaccines for employees, subject to some limitations. The EEOC’s updated guidance offers direction regarding employer-mandated vaccinations, accommodations for employees who...
Download Volume 3, Issue 2 of The Risk Report In this Edition: Consolidated Appropriations Act: How New Law Affects Group Health PlansEEOC Rules: New Employer Vaccination Guidelines IssuedCompliance: Changes for 2021 Summary of BenefitsHealth Care Savings: Generics,...
Ever since the Affordable Care Act was enacted, critics of the law have said that employers would cut staff or reduce workers' hours to avoid coming under the employer mandate requiring them to provide coverage for their staff. But employers that decided to go that...
The newly enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 contains a number of provisions that will affect group health plans, with most changes aimed at helping insured workers with flexible spending accounts (FSAs), cost transparency and surprise billing. Some of the...
There are new Summary of Benefits and Coverage notice requirements for health plans starting with the 2021 coverage year. The requirements, released by the Department of Labor, have new model templates, new instructions and new information that affects the coverage...
As the COVID-19 pandemic drags on and many Americans see unmet needs outside of their health insurance, more and more workers are increasingly signing up for the voluntary benefits their employers offer. While many workers in the past had skipped on voluntary...
The $900 billion COVID-19 relief bill, passed by Congress and signed into law on Dec. 27, includes a number of provisions that affect employers and their workers in terms of paid sick leave and Emergency Family and Medical Leave Act provisions. The legislation also...
With the COVID-19 pandemic weighing on employers and employees alike, businesses can help their staff by leveraging health savings accounts to pay for out-of-pocket expenses. Congress in 2020 untethered HSAs and flexible spending accounts by changing the rules that...