From the monthly archives: March 2016
WASHINGTON — There’s growing evidence that most of the dramatic gain in the number of Americans with health care coverage is due to President Barack Obama’s law, and not the gradual recovery of the nation’s economy.
That could pose a political risk for Republicans running against “Obamacare” in the GOP primaries as they shift to the general election later this year. While the health care law remains highly unpopular in the party, the prospect of taking away health care coverage from millions of people could trigger a backlash if the eventual GOP nominee’s plan to replace it is seen as coming up short. Continue reading
Good news for some employers dreading the reporting of Summary of Benefits and Coverage (SBC) to their employees. The Department of Labor recently extended the deadline. The benefit summaries will not have to be distributed until the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after April 1, 2017. Continue reading
Employers will have plenty of time to comply with upcoming regulatory changes to the annual summary of health care benefits and coverages they must distribute to employees, according to a U.S. Department of Labor notice.
In a notice issued last week, the Labor Department said the new SBCs will not have to be distributed until the first day of the first plan year that begins on or after April 1, 2017.
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BOSTON — A course of treatment is sometimes decided before an injured worker is even diagnosed, a speaker said during the Workers Compensation Research Institute’s 2016 Annual Issues and Research Conference in Boston. Continue reading
Of those 12.7 million enrollees, 9.6 million selected coverage in the 38 states in which coverage is offered through the federal exchange, while 3.1 million selected coverage in the 13 states, including the District of Columbia who have their own exchanges. About 11.4 million people signed up for coverage in the public exchanges in the 2015 open enrollment season. Continue reading
Wage insurance may not be on your radar, but it should be. It helps people who have lost their jobs and cannot find new ones that pay as well. That assistance can reduce economic inequality while providing incentives for unemployed people to go back to work quickly. Continue reading
The international HERO Health and Well-being Best Practices Scorecard in Collaboration with Mercer allows employers to evaluate their workplace health initiatives with an inventory of current best practices compiled by industry leaders, the organizations said Monday in a joint statement.
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The $19.5 million settlement Home Depot Inc. was able to reach in connection with its massive 2014 data breach was relatively low, which can be attributed to the difficulty plaintiffs in many related cases have had in successfully claiming damages, say experts. Continue reading
