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Category Archives: Health Care Insurance
Benefits Barometer
A barometer measures atmospheric pressure. In the world of employee benefits, the pressures are ever-changing and ever-increasing. Whether dealing with health care reform compliance, meeting fiduciary obligations in your 401(k) plan or launching a wellness initiative, the pressures and demands of your job just keep growing. One pressure that never eases – for benefits pros and CFOs alike – is the demand for data. With that in mind, this year’s Benefits Barometer offers you more than a dozen charts designed to help you benchmark your benefits costs, health plans, retirement plans and overall benefits management. Special thanks to the agencies, consulting firms and advocacy groups that contributed to this year’s Benefits Barometer: Continue reading
9 out of 10 business owners: no gov’t health insurance for us!
Based on a November poll of more than 1,000 respondents, the Small Business Authority Market Sentiment Survey reveals concerns of independent business owners. Only 9% of respondents believe they will have to purchase health insurance from the government while 53% believe the cost of health care is going to increase in the next two years. Continue reading
Same-Sex Couples May Now Marry In New York — Impact On Employee Benefits And Other Employment Rights
Client Alert
June 30, 2011
Last week, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed historic legislation (the Marriage Equality Act) making New York the largest (and only the sixth) state to permit the marriage of same-sex couples.[1] The Marriage Equality Act also provides same-sex married couples with the same legal rights as their opposite-sex counterparts in New York. The law becomes effective on July 24, 2011, which is 30 days after it was signed.
The Marriage Equality Act
The Act amends New York State’s Domestic Relations Law to provide that same-sex couples may obtain a marriage license in New York, and that parties to a same-sex marriage shall be treated equally to opposite-sex married couples “in all respects under the law,” without any distinction. Although New York has for the past few years recognized same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions, such marriages could not be performed legally in New York, and the State only recognized the rights of same-sex married couples for limited purposes.
Important Exemption to the Act’s Requirements for Religious and Benevolent Organizations: In order “to ensure that [the Act] does not improperly intrude into matters of conscience or religious belief,” the Act preserves the current rights of a member of the clergy to choose not to solemnize any marriage. It also protects the rights of a religious organization to choose who may use its facilities for a marriage ceremony and who may rent its housing accommodations. A benevolent organization is also exempt from the State’s prohibitions against discrimination in public accommodation, so that it is not required to rent its halls for weddings of couples it chooses not to accommodate. The Act specifically provides that a religious or benevolent organization’s refusal to provide accommodations, facilities or privileges in connection with a same-sex marriage does not create a civil claim or cause of action.
Milliman: Health Costs Rise 7.3%
The cost of health care for a typical family of four has increased 7.3% this year, to $19,393.
Milliman Inc., Seattle, has published that figure in its 2011 Milliman Medical Index report, which is based on the analysis of the cost of a typical preferred provider organization plan.
The rate of increase is down from 7.8% in 2010, but employees’ share of total costs has increased to about 40%, from about 37% in 2005, Milliman says.
This year, increases in the cost of hospital care accounted for a disproportionate share of the overall increase. The cost of inpatient hospital care increased 8.6%, and the cost of outpatient care increased 10%.
Milliman also looked at costs in 14 major markets.
In 6 of the 14 markets, typical health coverage costs for a family of four already exceed $20,000, Milliman says.
Phoenix had the cheapest coverage; there, the annual cost of a plan for four is about $17,300.
Continue reading
Health of U.S. workforce declining
By Andrea Davis April 14, 2011 It’s no surprise that unhealthy employees cost employers big bucks. But a new workforce wellness index shows that the unhealthy behaviors of the U.S. workforce cost employers an average of $670 per employee annually. … Continue reading
