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… longer be available. But that may be it legislatively until 2021. It’s clear that both parties are happy with giving voters universal good news. But the kind of changes that make a real impact will change the equilibrium. With the required pay-for, it will be tough in this election year to address the biggest concern of the average American: worsening benefits resulting in higher out-of-pocket costs. I read a recent report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) on how higher deductibles are impacting families, with out-of-pocket costs for maternity skyrocketing. While

With the rising popularity of high deductible plans, understanding Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) has become an important component of financial management. HSAs offer triple tax benefits: tax-free accumulation, tax-free earnings, and tax-free distribution if you follow the rules. Distributions made prior to age 65 are subject to a 20% penalty and current income tax but those age 65 and over can withdraw freely from their HSA and only pay current tax. This is similar to a 401(k) or other pension plan except deposits are not subject to Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes. Viewpoints from Craig …

… protections in place against surprise balance billing, these are limited by federal law. Most of our clients don’t have an issue finding in-network care but it has the potential to be very problematic if gone unaddressed. Typically, alternative arrangements can be made when an in-network provider is not available to an employee, and their provider will be treated as in-network for a service or series of treatments. This applies if the employee truly cannot find a provider – not that they just don’t like any of the in-network choices in their area. Often, the insurance

Polls continue to show healthcare as one of the most important election issues. A recent study indicated that 137.1 million, or more than one-third of all Americans, are facing financial hardship due to medical costs. In 2018, 27.5 million Americans (8.5%) were uninsured and this excludes those who illegally entered this country. Viewpoints from Craig Hasday As my colleague pointed out in his recent blog post, despite the massive cost and market upheaval of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), our country is not making much progress in reducing the uninsured, but the underinsured issue compounds this …

Another year of Health Insurance Marketplace enrollment has passed and once again, there has been a decline in the exchange enrollment. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released preliminary data on the number of individuals who have enrolled in the federal exchange and the number is down from 8.5 million enrollees last year to 8.3 million this year. This comes despite the fact the actual cost of insurance has stabilized with average premiums falling by about 4% according to the government; and the fact that the 12 state-based exchanges (SBEs) have remained flat relative to …