http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/09/14/493910307/employees-are-paying-a-bigger-chunk-of-health-insurance-costs
1 In 4 Companies Incurring Double-Digit Health Insurance Increases.
August 11, 2016 by
The Treasures Hidden in Employee Benefits.
July 8, 2016 by
http://time.com/money/3680931/valuable-employee-benefits-treasures/?iid=sr-link1
The Surprising Impact of High Health Care Costs.
June 8, 2016 by
http://smallbiztrends.com/2016/06/high-health-care-costs.html
5 Things You Must Do During Open Enrollment.
March 16, 2016 by
What decisions do I need to make during my employer’s open-enrollment period this fall?
Here are five ways to consider when selecting your 2016 options.
1. Pick the best deal in health insurance. Health-care-reform changes and ever-increasing health-care expenses are prompting most employers to boost premiums, co-payments and deductibles for their health-insurance plans in 2012. If you have several plan options, the one you picked in the past may no longer be your best choice.
It’s important to compare premiums, but you also need to add up your potential out-of-pocket costs for each plan. For example, if you take a lot of medications with high co-payments, the plan with the lowest premium may actually cost you more in the long run. Many employers are steering employees toward high-deductible health insurance policies as a way to encourage them to pay closer attention to their medical expenses. As an incentive, some are offering competitive premiums and contributing to employees’ health savings accounts, which give employees tax-free savings to use for medical expenses at any time. Many employers offer tools on their intranet sites to help you run the numbers for your plan options.
2. Spousal Coverage. If both spouses have health-insurance coverage through work, it’s important to compare the overall costs of both policies again. Some employers are charging more to cover dependents than other employers are, so you could come out ahead by switching your children from one spouse’s policy to the other’s. And if your spouse’s employer has boosted premiums significantly but your coverage has remained fairly stable, then you might do best by having the whole family — including your spouse — on your employer’s plan.
As a result of health-care reform, you can add adult children up to age 26 to your health-insurance coverage, even if they had aged off the policy in the past. And a child can be covered under your plan even if he or she doesn’t live at home, isn’t your dependent for tax purposes and is married. You need to add your child during open-enrollment season for coverage to begin the next plan year (generally January 1).
If your employer charges one rate for family coverage and you already have younger children on your policy, you might not have to pay extra to add your older child. But if your employer charges separately for each dependent, it might be cheaper to get your adult child a policy of his or her own. Healthy adults in their twenties can usually buy a policy for less than $200 a month.
3. Make the most of flexible spending accounts. FSAs can help lower your taxable income and give you tax-free funds to pay out-of-pocket medical expenses throughout the year. Starting in 2013, the maximum amount employees can stash in a medical FSA will be capped at $2,500 per year. Currently the maximum limit varies by plan, but many employers allow employees to set aside $4,000 or more in these pretax accounts for medical expenses. In light of the impending change, find out how you can make the most of your FSA in 2016.
4. Get tax-free money for child care. Many employers also let you set aside up to $5,000 in a dependent-care flexible spending account, which gives you tax-free money to use for dependent care for children under age 13. Before you sign up for your employer’s dependent-care flex plan, though, it’s important to calculate whether or not you’ll come out ahead by using the money from the FSA for those costs or claiming the child-care credit on your taxes. See FSA or Child-Care Credit? for more information about who qualifies for these benefits, how to calculate which is a better option for your family, and a strategies to help you take advantage of both the FSA and some of the child-care credit if you have two or more kids.
5. Benefit from special deals on other insurance coverage. You may also be given the choice during open-enrollment season to buy extra life insurance, disability insurance and long-term-care insurance beyond any coverage already provided by your employer. You usually have to pay for this extra coverage yourself, but you could benefit from a group discount. However, the quality of these deals can vary a lot, depending on the type of insurance.
Employers Are Not Paying as Large a Share of Workers’ Health Insurance Premium.
March 3, 2016 by
Employees still have high expectations that their companies will pay a large portion of their health insurance premiums, believing that the responsibility lies with them.
This expectation is not waning even though employers are increasingly shifting a larger percentage of health insurance costs to their workers. A recent survey by Aflac found that 52% of employees expect their employer to pay at least 80% of the cost of their medical insurance, and another 14% said they expect an employer to pay the total cost or 100% of their health insurance.
“These expectations may be just a bit too high, as the average employer pays about 70% of an employee’s health insurance premium, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,” said Matthew Owenby, chief human resources officer at Aflac, the Columbus, Ga.-based supplemental health insurance company.
After a decade of moderate growth, premiums for both individuals and families of employer-sponsored health insurance increased by an average of 4% this year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) 2015 survey. Premiums haven risen an average of 5% annually since 2005, compared to 11% annually between 1999 and 2005. The average annual premium for single coverage is $6,251 with workers paying an average of $1,071. The average family premium is $17,545 with workers on average contributing $4,955.
Since 2010, both the share of workers with deductibles and the size of those deductibles have increased severely. The combination of these two factors result in a 67% increase in deductibles since 2010, much faster than the rise in single premiums of 24% and about seven times the rise in workers’ wages of 10% and general inflation of 9%, the Kaiser survey found.
“With deductibles rising so much faster than premiums and wages, it’s no surprise that consumers have not felt the slowdown in health spending,” Foundation CEO Drew Altman said.
Your Employer Health Insurance Plan May Change in 2016.
September 14, 2015 by
Most employers are passing along at least some of the premium hikes. But you may see more generous incentives if you participate in wellness programs.
What changes can I expect from my employer’s health insurance plan during open enrollment for 2016?
Employers are just starting to announce their health insurance options for 2016, and you may need to make your decisions during open enrollment in the next month or two. The National Business Group on Health recently came out with its annual survey of large employers, which offers the first glimpse of the changes employees are likely to see in their health plans for 2016.
1. Higher premiums. Large employers expect their health care costs to increase by about 5% for 2016 – the same size increase they expected in 2014 and 2015. They plan to pass along some of the extra cost to employees but more of it to dependents, with employees contributing 20% of their own premiums and 24% of the premiums for dependents (higher-income employees may pay more). About one-third of the companies plan to add a surcharge for spouses who could get coverage elsewhere but don’t. But very few (only 4%) plan to exclude spouses who have similar coverage available through their own employer.
2. More high-deductible health plans. Employers are continuing to try to contain rising costs by forcing employees to take more control of their health care: 83% of large employers plan to offer a consumer-directed health insurance plan in 2016 (primarily high-deductible health insurance paired with a health savings account). Half of the employers plan to offer the high-deductible plan as an option, and 33% plan to offer it as the only option. More than half contribute to employees’ HSAs, giving them tax-free money for medical expenses; some add more if you participate in a wellness program or take a health risk assessment.
3. Restrictions on expensive drugs. Employers identified the cost of specialty drugs as one of the major causes for health care cost increases, and they’re imposing more restrictions on coverage. More than three-quarters of the employers surveyed plan to use prior authorization for some of these specialty medications – requiring physicians to fill out forms explaining why you need the specific drug. Three-quarters plan to use step therapy, covering the drug only after you’ve tried a list of less-expensive medications first.
4. New telemedicine options. Nearly three-quarters of the employers will offer telemedicine, which provides virtual visits with a doctor, as an option. “It’s still primarily phone-based, but the video component is starting to take off,” says Karen Marlo, vice president of benchmarking and analysis for the National Business Group on Health. “You can take a picture of a rash with your phone and e-mail it to someone who can look at it, for example. It’s a good way to provide good quality care at a lower cost, and it improves access in parts of the country where you have to travel a long distance to go to a physician.” A telemedicine doctor’s appointment may cost $40 or $50, while an actual office visit may cost $150.
5. Cash for wellness programs. Employers continue to focus on plans to improve your health, which they hope will ultimately help lower their medical expenses, and they’re giving employees more incentives to participate. Thirty-nine percent plan to offer a break on health insurance premiums or cost sharing for employees who participate in a wellness program, health assessment or biometric exam. Thirteen percent plan to offer breaks for participating in a disease management program, which provides special care and resources for people with complex conditions, such as diabetes. You may also get more money in your HSA: Nearly one-third of employers plan to contribute to an HSA for employees who complete a wellness or health education program, and 8% plan to make HSA contributions if you achieve a health goal
Top 10 Financial To Do’s During Open Enrollment Season.
September 7, 2015 by
Top 10 Financial To Do’s During Open Enrollment Season.
With these challenging economic times, it more important than ever that you make smart money decisions with your benefits package. Here are 10 things to look at when your open enrollment period comes this fall. Don’t wait until the day before to check your options!!
- Compare Your Coverage Against Your Spouse’s/Partner’s Coverage – If you and your partner both have company benefits make sure to weigh the pros and cons of your health insurance and overall benefits package. Since premiums can change significantly in smaller and medium sized companies based upon last year’s health claim ratings, one company’s insurance programs can be cheaper than other even though it may have been more expensive than the year before. Be sure to check that you doctor takes the new health carrier if you decide to make a change.
- Compare Your Regular Medical Plans Against A Health Savings Account (Review Your Out Of Pocket Medical Expenses) – You should compare the total out of pocket costs you spent last year in medical expenses, and the cost of your overall medical expenses. An HSA plan will be significantly cheaper than your normal HMO, POS, or PPO type medical plan, and can potentially give you other tax advantages.
- Examine How Much To Put In Your Flexible Spending Account (FSA or MSA account) – If your company has a Flexible and/or Dependent Care Savings Account, this could help you reduce your overall tax liability. Be sure to examine your out of pocket expenses closely as these programs are not use or lose.
- Understand Your Life Insurance Needs – Your company may allow to purchase additional term insurance for you, your spouse, and your children through work. This is a great time of year to determine whether your overall financial situation has changed, and whether you need more or less life insurance rather than just signing up for the same amount you did the year before.
- Consider Buying Supplemental Disability Insurance – Most regular group long term disability plans cover 60% of your base salary only (not commissions, bonus, or stock options). Larger companies offer the ability to purchase supplemental long term disability insurance through work. This can be an important part of your overall financial plan as your income is really what drives reaching your financial goals.
- 401(k) or Roth 401(k) (or both?) – To Roth or not to Roth, that is the question. Many employers have not added the Roth 401(k) provision to their overall 401(k) plan. With many tax changes coming up in 2011, this is a great time to determine how much money to put away pre-tax and post-tax for your retirement.
- Examine Your Withholdings – Did you get a refund last year or did you owe money? Did you have a new child this year? Did you get married or divorced this year? Asking these questions will allow you to determine the right amount of withholdings from your paycheck so you don’t get too large a refund or owe too much money come tax time. Many people fill their withholding forms out once, and then never change them again.
- Review Your Beneficiaries – This is an important thing to do on a yearly basis. Purchases you make through work such as life insurance and your 401(k) plan allow for both a primary and a contingent beneficiary. If your family situation has changed at all, it will certainly merit making a review of your beneficiaries.
- Get Rid Of Accidental Death And Dismemberment Insurance – You need a certain amount of life insurance . . . period. You don’t need more insurance if you die accidentally. A sound financial plan should allow you to avoid these little extra insurance costs.
- Learn What Happens With Your Benefits If You Get Laid Off – With unemployment officially around 10%, be sure you understand what benefits are portable if you get laid off. Some programs may be able to extend after your job is terminated while other benefits may just go away. This is important to review whenever any job transition occurs as your financial situation or your health may have changed that could potentially put you in a precarious position should a lay off happen with your position.