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What are reimbursable out-of-pocket costs?

PeopleKeep

With the cost of health insurance coverage on the rise and consumers seeing their once low deductibles grow sky high, many Americans have been forced to pay more for their healthcare without the help of insurance.

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Blue Shield's virtual-first health plan comes with $0 out-of-pocket costs

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Measure Would Cap Insured Out-of-Pocket Cost of Insulin at $35

InterWest Insurance Services

House of Representatives has passed legislation that would cap the out-of-pocket cost of insulin at $35 a month for people with group or private health insurance. This could mean thousands of dollars out of pocket before the insurer will cover the drug.

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Are Out-of-Pocket Costs on Their Way Out? At-Home COVID-19 Testing and Expanded Preventative Healthcare for Women and Children

McDermott Will & Emery Employee Benefits

The post Are Out-of-Pocket Costs on Their Way Out?

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Should I Enroll in a High Deductible Health Plan with an HSA?

Stratus.HR

Considering they have lower premiums and provide the ability to use pre-tax dollars to pay for out-of-pocket costs, what’s not to love? Well, there’s a flipside of HDHPs and HSAs that includes a higher deductible and added out-of-pocket costs.

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What does coinsurance mean in health insurance?

Higginbotham

Cost Sharing in Insurance Although insurance companies take responsibility for many of the costs that arise, policyholders are also responsible for some out-of-pocket costs on top of the premium. Cost sharing can also result in lower premiums.

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As Health Care Costs Bite, Here’s How You Can Help Your Workers

InterWest Insurance Services

Recent studies have highlighted an alarming trend in American health care: More and more people are struggling with medical bills and many are delaying care due to high costs. For employees in high-deductible health plans, the costs can be steep.

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New Rules Expand Services Covered with No Cost-Sharing

InterWest Insurance Services

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued some new “frequently asked questions” for its Affordable Care Act pages, and new guidelines that require health plans to expand what they are required to cover with no cost-sharing. Coverage of contraceptives.

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Why your integrated HRA shouldn't be tied to one carrier

PeopleKeep

For many employers offering a group health insurance plan, adding a supplemental benefit in addition to the group plan can help offset your employees’ out-of-pocket costs.

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What to do if your zero-deductible health plan goes away

PeopleKeep

One of the biggest factors is how high your out-of-pocket costs will be. However, premium costs and deductibles are inversely related, so a plan with no or low deductibles means higher premiums.

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How Your Employees Can Get Free COVID Test Kits

InterWest Insurance Services

But for employees in your group health plan, they have many options for obtaining a test with no out-of-pocket costs. While we told you about these new rules a few months ago, it’s likely that a good many of your employees don’t know about it.

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Get Communications Right for Open Enrollment

InterWest Insurance Services

As group health plan open enrollment looms for most companies, communicating your offerings to your staff is key to getting as many of them as possible to sign up for coverage. One of the best ways to get the point across is by using vivid examples, preferably with graphics.

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How to tell if your HDHP is HSA-qualified

PeopleKeep

Employers offering a high deductible health plan (HDHP) have several ways to offset the higher out-of-pocket costs and make the benefit more meaningful for employees.

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Reminder: How Your Covered Employees Can Access Quality, Affordable Healthcare

Employer Connection

and who use Healthcare Bluebook will see estimated out-of-pocket costs, based on their plan. With the online the tool: Covered employees can search online for a medical procedure to get quality and price information, as well as a list of doctors and facilities in the area. Healthcare Bluebook is a trademark of CareOperative, LLC, which is not an affiliate of Star Marketing and Administration, Inc.,

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Managing Employee Healthcare Costs in 2021

Best Money Moves

Managing employee healthcare costs in 2021. What the average health insurance premium costs and changes employers are making to health benefits offerings in the new year. Indeed, many plan to add new resources to better support healthcare needs in light of COVID-19.

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Employers ‘Unwavering’ in Providing Group Health Benefits: Research

InterWest Insurance Services

Large employers are unwavering in their plans to continue offering group health plans to their workers instead of funding individual reimbursement accounts that would allow them to shop for plans on government-run exchanges, according to new research.

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How Your Covered Employees Can Find Quality, Affordable Care

Employer Connection

They also can see estimated out-of-pocket costs, based on their health benefit plan. The easy-to-use, intuitive tool from Healthcare Bluebook is offered at no additional cost to covered employees via their employer-sponsored plan. 1, 2023, federal mandates require many plans to provide access to an Internet-based, self-service tool with member cost-share information. Employees covered under a plan administered by Star Marketing and Administration, Inc.,

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HSA Expansion Will Change How Employers and Employees Address Health Care Costs

Winston Benefits

Health savings accounts are growing in popularity as employees seek ways to cover out-of-pocket costs for high-deductible health plans and coverage gaps. With Congress putting forth proposals for HSA expansion, employers are going to face more demand to provide them as a workplace benefit. Additionally, employees are going to need more education as they choose how to finance their health care. high-deductible health care plans health care HSA

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Aetna Lawsuit Highlights The Need For Modern Family Planning Benefits

Wellable

At thirty-one, Emma Goidel, who successfully became pregnant after six rounds of Intrauterine insemination (IUI) and one round of invitro fertilization (IVF), filed a class-action lawsuit against Aetna.

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Hospitals Are Hiding Prices from Patients, Advocacy Report Says

InterWest Insurance Services

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ transparency rules were implemented to shine the light on what hospitals charge for their various medical services, the negotiated rates insurers have with health plans and the out-of-pocket costs enrollees can expect to pay for these services.

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Understanding the Pre-Deductible Telehealth Coverage Extension

Benefit Resource Inc.

But what does this extension mean, and how can employers take advantage of it? Let’s take a closer look at the details of this updated legislation. In other words, they can use these services immediately without having to wait until they reach their deductible limit before they can start taking advantage of them. In addition, the bill also expands coverage options for virtual visits, allowing for a wider range of medical needs to be addressed remotely.

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How a group coverage HRA and an HSA compare

PeopleKeep

If you’re looking to supplement your organization’s group health insurance plan to help cover your employees’ out-of-pocket costs, you have two main options: Section 105 plans , such as the group coverage HRAs (GCHRAs), and Section 125 cafeteria plans , such as health savings accounts (HSAs).

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It’s Time for a Mid-Year Financial Check-Up

Money Talk

We are almost at the halfway mark of 2022, which makes this a perfect time to assess your financial progress and take action over the next six months. Create a savings or loan payoff plan based on the results of the math. It’s that time again…time for a mid-year financial check-up!

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5 Things You Didn’t Know About Your FSA

CorpStrat

One of the biggest financial challenges people in the US are facing is whether or not they’re able to afford healthcare. Healthcare costs have risen faster than inflation. In 2023, having some money set aside to cover these out-of-pocket costs is critical for most employees.

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More Employers Add Narrow Networks to Offerings

InterWest Insurance Services

More employers are including narrow provider network insurance plans among their plan offerings to their employees to give them a lower-cost premium option. Narrow provider networks limit the number of covered providers included in health insurance plans.

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Waiving HDHP Deductibles Has Little Effect on Premiums, Study Says

InterWest Insurance Services

That’s the finding of a new study from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI). The reason: According to research from Johns Hopkins University, poorly managed chronic medical conditions cost employers an estimated $198 billion every year. Cost of temporary workers.

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Employers Prioritizing Enhanced Benefits in New Year, Not Cost-Cutting

InterWest Insurance Services

Despite group health insurance costs expected to rise 5.4% this year, the tight labor market is forcing employers to prioritize enhancing benefits over cost-cutting measures, according to a new report by Mercer. The expected health insurance cost growth of 5.4%

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NM Court Limits Cannabis Reimbursement to Amount Set in Fee Schedule

The Workcomp Writer

In an unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals of New Mexico affirmed a decision by a state workers’ compensation judge that denied an injured worker’s request for full reimbursement of out-of-pocket costs for medical cannabis used in connection with his injury [ Barrozo v.

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Departments Provide Relief for 2020 and 2021 Prescription Drug Reporting

Benefits Notes

On December 23, 2022, the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury (the “Departments”) issued FAQs providing relief from prescription drug and health care spending reporting requirements.

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Centers of Excellence Save Money, but Have More Benefits Too

InterWest Insurance Services

As health insurance and health care costs continue rising, more employers and health plans are turning to centers of excellence to manage patients with chronic conditions. The good news is that there are other benefits to centers of excellence besides controlling costs.

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Hospital Indemnity Insurance a Key Voluntary Benefit

InterWest Insurance Services

But that still leaves workers and their families with significant exposure to financial hardship in the event of a serious medical emergency. This coverage offers a cash payment directly to the insured worker in the event of the hospitalization of themselves or a covered family member.

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Issue Commentary: PA’s Commonwealth Court Parses Words to Require Employer/Carrier to Pay for Medical Marijuana

The Workcomp Writer

In both decisions, the majority indicated that such reimbursement requirement was unencumbered by language in Section 2102 of the MMA stating that nothing in the MMA should be construed to require an insurer or a health plan to provide coverage for medical marijuana.

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6 tips to help employees manage out-of-pocket expenses

Benefit Resource Inc.

Offering pre-tax benefits is the first step in helping employees lower out-of-pocket expenses, but employers should also make sure to explain the associated financial benefits. To help you get started, here are 6 tips to help employees manage their out-of-pocket expenses.

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The benefits of an HSA account

Higginbotham

Although HSAs won’t work for everyone, the benefits of an HSA account make this an appealing option for some individuals. An HSA is a special type of savings account. The owner of the account can use it to pay for qualified medical expenses.

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Changing Your Benefits Plan? Consider the Soft Costs

Total Employee Benefits

Benefits brokers have seen a significant increase in the number of clients who want to change their benefits plans every year as they attempt to avoid annual price increases. The shadow price of a benefit is the opportunity cost associated with that service. Administrative Costs.