Don’t worry about health insurers. They’re doing just fine under the ACA.
Do you ever just want to say “quit yer bellyaching” to the insurance companies that complain about ACA drawbacks? After all, health insurers are doing much better than they’ve led you to believe. Open Enrollment for 2019 insurance coverage on the healthcare.gov...
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Is Copay Assistance Over?
Will pharmaceutical companies continue to offer copay assistance as prescription benefits change? A trend that is attracting growing concern is that of insurance companies changing pharmacy benefits in a way that significantly affects the affordability of prescription...
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Are High-Deductible Health Plans a Good Idea?
Premiums are rising, but is a high-deductible health plan something your employees will struggle with? It’s nearly open enrollment season, and Benefits Directors are gearing up. Unsurprisingly, health plan premiums are on the rise and after speaking with your plan...
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What You Should Know About Your Health Insurance Provider Part 4: Profits Come First
What exactly does your health insurance provider do, and what does it matter to you? In this multi-part series, we discuss in detail the 8 primary functions of your health plan: Negotiate prices with a network of doctors and hospitals. Design insurance plans. Set...
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Do You Even Need Health Insurance Coverage? Read This Before Going Uninsured.
Sometimes the cost of health insurance leads Americans to risk going without it. A growing number of Americans are choosing to forgo health insurance coverage, instead finding other healthcare solutions or banking on their current good health. Why? Rising costs, which...
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Prescription Drug Price Transparency Initiatives Prior to the 2019 Open Enrollment Period
The latest on efforts to improve price transparency of prescription drugs. Ahead of the 2019 Open Enrollment period, consumers have many questions regarding the affordability of their prescription drugs. “How much will this drug cost me? Are there rebates or is co-pay...
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Are Wellness Programs A Benefits Savior?
Wellness programs offer cost reductions and employee incentives that drive engagement. But can they save the current state of rising healthcare costs and workers’ reliance on greater employer benefits? For quite a few years now, one standard answer to rising...
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When It Comes to Choosing a Health Plan, It’s Not a Matter If Your Health Plan Will Screw You But How Part III
Free money for your insurance company from the fully-insured employer market In the previous posts in this series we explored the economics of health insurance policies, from the predictable to the unknowable. And how the latter, known as “cost-sharing,” prompts those...
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What You Should Know About Your Health Insurance Provider Part 3: What If You Actually Use Your Health Insurance?
What exactly does your health insurance provider do, and what does it matter to you? In this multi-part series, we discuss in detail the 8 primary functions of your health plan: Negotiate prices with a network of doctors and hospitals. Design insurance plans. Set...
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One Thing Payers and Consumers Agree On: Lowering Drug Prices
A quarter of new prescriptions aren’t filled by patients due to cost, a problem for consumers, health insurance companies and drug manufacturers. “About 25% of new prescriptions go unfilled by patients due to increasing drug costs. These unfilled prescriptions are...
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