February 16, 2022
While we trust our health system and providers to do their best to take care of us, bad things do happen. Anyone who has watched an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, ER, House, or countless other dramas has seen fictionalizations of medical errors. Unfortunately, these aren’t fantasy – accidents do happen in medicine. By various accounts, …
February 9, 2022
Section 105 of the Internal Revenue Code regulates health benefits which may provide tax-free reimbursement of medical and health expenses to members. Employers can use Section 105 plans in numerous ways to provide a benefit to employees. Most people know of these plans by the name Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). We’ve previously discussed the opportunities for …
February 2, 2022
Consumerism and technology are continuously ramming into each other and disrupting every industry. Healthcare is no different. Benefits plans in 2022 and beyond must include a virtual health solution front and center as one of employees’ first entry points to healthcare. Virtual care usage shot up significantly since March 2020, as virtual care visits increased …
January 26, 2022
We think any group with more than 50 employees should at least consider a self-funded health plan at their renewal (yes, even in California!). But once you receive a stop-loss quote, either directly from a stop-loss insurance carrier or through a medical stop-loss captive, what should you look for? What questions should you ask? How …
January 19, 2022
One of our go-to tools to better manage health plans and deliver affordable healthcare to employers is a self-funded health plan. And while these plans promise transparency and control, employers may be wary for various reasons, some grounded, others not so much. While the full list of myths and misconceptions is inexhaustible, let’s tackle some …
January 12, 2022
We aim to help our group benefits clients to design and promote a sustainable benefits program for now and for the long term. A sustainable benefits program manages costs now and has mechanisms in place to improve outcomes and control costs long-term. And a foundation for these benefits plans is to be self-funded. “But these …
January 5, 2022
While we spend time here discussing healthcare and cost trends impacting group health plans, we do also spend quite a bit of time working with our group clients to keep them compliant with the various federal, state, and local laws and regulations surrounding employee benefits. Webinar on 1/20: Benefits Compliance in 2022: Preparing for a …
December 22, 2021
Healthcare is a massive part of the US economy and a major expense for most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). And many organizations can best steward their health plans by looking past current year costs to trends over the next 3 to 5 years. Between 2014 and 2019 (before the pandemic), the US population increased …
December 16, 2021
The Kaiser Family Foundation released its 2021 Employer Health Benefits Survey in November. This is a very robust survey and always chock full of helpful information on the state and trajectory of employer health plans in America. Our clients always want to know what other employers are doing when it comes to benefits in their …
December 8, 2021
The health insurance industry is typically behind the overall economy when it comes to innovation. This is a major problem since insurance premiums and costs are on an unsustainable trajectory. Employers often find themselves stuck in the cycle of increasing annual renewals with their only option being to spreadsheet other carriers and plans. But what …
