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	<title>Benefits Industry News &#187; Health Care Insurance</title>
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	<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog</link>
	<description>Current Events in Employee Benefits</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:23:41 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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		<title>Fast facts on consumer-driven health plans</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/fast-facts-on-consumer-driven-health-plans/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/fast-facts-on-consumer-driven-health-plans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:21:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CDHPs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EBRI Issue Brief]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employee Benefit Research Institute]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=501</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute sums up what is known about CDHPs and examines trends in offer rates and enrollment. It also looks at differences in premiums between CDHPs and other types of insurance, and discusses the drivers of the premium differences:

The report is in the August 2010 EBRI Issue Brief, available online at www.ebri.org.

Among the key points:

    * Offer rates: Surveys show that employers offering a CDHP increased from less than 5 percent in 2005 to between 12 percent to 15 percent by 2009. 

Growth in offer rates can be seen across all firm sizes. Recently, the percentage of small firms offering a CDHP has declined, while larger firms have continued to add a CDHP as an option.

    * Enrollment: Overall, 19.1 million, or 11 percent of individuals with private health insurance, were enrolled in a CDHP in 2009.
    * Premiums: Generally, premiums for CDHPs were lower than premiums for non-CDHPs. Growth in premiums varies both by type of plan and over time.
    * Explaining differences in premiums: A number of studies have tried to explain the differences in premiums between CDHPs and non-CDHPs. One found savings ranged from a high of 15.5 percent to a low of –4.7 percent, with average savings of 4.8 percent. 

However, the study found that most of the savings was due to younger, healthier workers choosing CDHPs and concluded that once typical risk- and benefit-adjustment factors were taken into account, CDHPs saved only 1.5 percent.

There is strong evidence that, initially, CDHP enrollees will be healthier than non-CDHP enrollees, but that over time the CDHP population has a significantly higher illness burden.

    * Impact of CDHPs on preventive services: The studies agree that use of preventive services did not change (upward or downward) as a result of the CDHP.
    * Impact of CDHPs on medication adherence: The studies found that overall use of brand name prescription drugs fell among CDHP enrollees, and, while there was some offset from increased use of generic drugs, some enrollees stopped their use of prescription drugs. CDHP enrollees increased their use of the mail-order pharmacy option. Overall use of prescription drugs among CDHP enrollees with certain chronic conditions fell, or did not increase when enrollees met their deductible. One study found that the financial incentives of the plan are not sufficient in driving behavior, and that educational outreach also matters.

 ]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Health Care Reform: Preventive Services Interim Final Rules Released</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-care-reform-preventive-services-interim-final-rules-released/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-care-reform-preventive-services-interim-final-rules-released/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:18:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[affordable care act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[preventive health services]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=465</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[On July 14, 2010, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury released final interim rules implementing the preventive health services provisions under the Affordable Care Act. Read this alert to learn more about the new rules.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-care-reform-preventive-services-interim-final-rules-released/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Report: Costs of PPACA exceed previous estimates</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/report-costs-of-ppaca-exceed-previous-estimates/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/report-costs-of-ppaca-exceed-previous-estimates/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:19:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Costs of PPACA exceed previous estimates]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[impact on employers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPACA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=460</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Two integral provisions of the health care reform legislation, “dependent eligibility” and “affordability,” will likely result in much higher health care costs for employers than previously estimated by government officials and other industry consultants, according to a new report.

The bswift Special Report on the Impact of Health Reform on Employers analyzes the 2010 benefits premium, contribution and dependent data of 242 bswift client organizations. The sample includes mid-sized and large employers with 50 to 15,000 employees representing a variety of industries, including retail, manufacturing and professional services.

“The bswift Special Report highlights the dramatic differences in impact of PPACA among employers. For some, the impact is negligible. For many others, PPACA may increase costs substantially for 2011 and may also require a complete overhaul of the organization’s health strategies in the next three years,” says bswift CEO Rich Gallun.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/report-costs-of-ppaca-exceed-previous-estimates/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>HSAs: Growing in all directions</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/uncategorized/hsas-growing-in-all-directions/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/uncategorized/hsas-growing-in-all-directions/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:15:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Savings Accounts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HSAs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=435</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Having recently surpassed the $1 billion mark in HSA assets, OptumHealth's Todd Berkley shares how the consumer-directed accounts are fairing as the economy struggles to recover.
]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/uncategorized/hsas-growing-in-all-directions/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Health reform could foil mini-med plans</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-reform-could-foil-mini-med-plans/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-reform-could-foil-mini-med-plans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:11:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HHS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[mini-meds]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[worksite market]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=380</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As industry practitioners continue to peel the onion on health care reform’s impact, a new layer of concern is now reverberating across the worksite market.

The survival of so-called mini-medical plans, most of which are offered on a voluntary basis and target part-time or seasonal employees, hangs in the balance under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. At issue is a provision stipulating that health insurers cannot offer such coverage through state exchanges and ruling that the plans do not qualify as “essential benefits.”

Dave Evans, senior vice president of the Independent Insurance Agents &#038; Brokers of America, known as the “Big I,” says the uncertain fate of mini-med policies hinges on a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ruling on whether the new health care mandates will apply to these plans.

“There has been an appetite for these products,” he observes, “and we hope that they are not taken off the menu under the guise of health care reform.”

One industry official was quoted in a recent report as saying HHS has the “regulatory latitude to completely destroy these plans, eliminating them from the marketplace, if they choose to say that the market reforms – no annual or lifetime limits – apply to mini-med plans.”]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-reform-could-foil-mini-med-plans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Health Coverage For Children To Age 26: Interim Final Regulations</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-coverage-for-children-to-age-26-interim-final-regulations/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-coverage-for-children-to-age-26-interim-final-regulations/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:32:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cobra coverage]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flexible Spending accounts]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Coverage Dependent Age 26]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HIPAA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=323</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[he Act requires plans and issuers that provide dependent child coverage to make that coverage available for children until the attainment of age 26.  There is no requirement for a group health plan or insurance issuer to provide coverage to dependent children; however, if a plan or issuer offers dependent child coverage, that coverage must be available until the attainment of age 26.  This coverage mandate applies to all plans otherwise subject to the Act but not those that are excepted from coverage (such as HIPAA-excepted flexible spending accounts or HIPAA-excepted stand-alone dental or vision plans).]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-coverage-for-children-to-age-26-interim-final-regulations/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Employers must be surgical as they look to control health plan costs</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/employers-must-be-surgical-as-they-look-to-control-health-plan-costs/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/employers-must-be-surgical-as-they-look-to-control-health-plan-costs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 May 2010 22:45:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[benefits managers]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[control health plan costs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cost shifting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care savings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Obamacare]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=298</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As the economy continues to sputter - whether firms are optimistic or pessimistic or politicians are right or wrong - the cost of health care continues to rise. I can't think of any colleagues who aren't looking for ways to address the ever increasing numbers that plague their bottom lines year after year.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/employers-must-be-surgical-as-they-look-to-control-health-plan-costs/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>New poll shows employers will play, not pay, under reform law</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/new-poll-shows-employers-will-play-not-pay-under-reform-law/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/new-poll-shows-employers-will-play-not-pay-under-reform-law/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:32:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=260</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Granted, the full force of reform’s impact has yet to be felt by employers – and won’t for several more years. We all know the stats: The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act puts employers with more than 50 employees on the hook for a $2,000 per employee-per year fine, starting in 2014.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/new-poll-shows-employers-will-play-not-pay-under-reform-law/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>A Timely And Important Webinar: Update on National Health Care Reform</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/231/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/231/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Apr 2010 21:02:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Webinar Series]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health care reform]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care & Education Affordability Reconciliation Act]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[required workers heatlh insurance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=231</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The recent passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and the Health Care &#038; Education Affordability Reconciliation Act affects nearly every American and will reshape approximately one-sixth of the national economy. Under this new legislation, Americans for the first time will be required to purchase health insurance, and will face penalties if they fail or refuse to do so. Additionally, employers for the first time will be required to offer their workers health insurance coverage, and those that don't will face fines and penalties. In this one-hour webinar, we will provide an up-to-the minute clear and complete review of Health Care Reform’s main requirements as well as a practical discussion of what it means to employers.]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/231/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Health Care Debate</title>
		<link>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-care-debate/#utm_source=feed&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=feed</link>
		<comments>http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/health-insurance/health-care-debate/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:09:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ken Mensio</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health Care Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[bipartisan approach]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free market]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health care bill]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health care reform]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.csibenefits.us/blog/?p=11</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is time to scrap the current bill and come up with a true bipartisan bill that is based on the free market and not government take over of the entire system. Admittedly, there are major issues but government take over is not the solution.]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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