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I usually don’t make predictions, unless they are backed up by the kind of statistical modeling we often produce. But here are three predictions I am confident about that form the basis of this latest column. GROUP HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS WILL CONTINUE TO RISE AT HISTORICALLY MODERATE LEVELS, AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT FEW YEARS. One reason for this is the lingering effect of the recession. Employers will have little trouble attracting workers in the…
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) recently issued its long-awaited report on defining the essential health benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As expected, the committee preparing the IOM report did not recommend which specific services should be covered, but rather discussed what the process should be for defining the essential benefits, which all insurers selling coverage to individuals and small businesses will have to provide beginning in 2014. Somewhat unexpected was their recommendation to set a…
Various market watchers have reported that the use of health care services has not been growing recently as it had in the past, resulting in lower than expected health care claims for people with private insurance and higher than expected earnings for insurers. A look at physician office visits by nonelderly patients with private insurance over the past decade illustrates the change in the use of services (See the chart below). (This analysis was prepared…
Final update made on November 11, 2013 (no further updates will be made) Establishing the Marketplace On July 17, 2012, Governor Steven L. Beshear (D) issued Executive Order 587 establishing the Kentucky Health Benefit Exchange (KHBE) after the Supreme Court ruled to uphold the Affordable Care Act (ACA).1 In May 2013, the state announced that its online Marketplace would be called kynect. Prior to the Executive Order, the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services led Marketplace…
Final update made on September 30, 2013 (no further updates will be made) Establishing the Marketplace After the New York State legislature failed to pass exchange legislation, Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) signed Executive Order 42 on April 12, 2012, to establish the New York Health Benefit Exchange.1 In August 2013, the state announced that the online marketplace would be called NY State of Health.2 Structure: The Executive Order establishes the New York Health Benefit Exchange…
NEWS RELEASEThursday, October 27, 2011 New 50-State Survey Finds Cuts In Provider Payments And Changes In Delivery Of Services WASHINGTON, D.C. - Faced with the end of stimulus money and a continuing weak economy, Medicaid officials in virtually every state are enacting a variety of cost cutting measures as states’ spending for Medicaid is projected to increase 28.7 percent this fiscal year to make up for the loss of federal funds, according to a new survey…
Premiums for employer-provided health insurance, where 150 million Americans get their coverage, jumped 9% in 2011 while workers’ wages grew just 2%, according to our annual employer survey. The average family policy now costs more than $15,000 per year, more than the cost of a Chevy Aveo or a Ford Fiesta. Since we began doing this survey thirteen years ago, worker contributions to premiums have increased 168%, wages 50%, and inflation 38%. Critics of the…
Final update made on September 27, 2013 (no further updates will be made) Establishing the Marketplace On July 1, 2011, Governor Dan Malloy (D) signed SB921 (Public Act 11-53) into law establishing the Connecticut Health Insurance Exchange.1 Legislation altering the composition of the Exchange Board passed in June 2012.2 3 In December 2012, the Exchange announced that its new name would be “Access Health CT.” Structure: The legislation defines Connecticut’s Health Insurance Exchange as a quasi-governmental organization, specifically "a…
Health insurance premiums have increased rapidly over the recent past, growing a cumulative 138% between 1999 and 2010 and outpacing cumulative wage growth of 42% over the same period.1 These figures, which have been widely cited to demonstrate the growing burden of health insurance costs on employers and employees, illustrate overall trends in health benefit costs, but they do not show how this growing burden is affecting employers and employees in different settings. To address…
NEWS RELEASEJune 21, 2011 Free HIV Testing, Targeted HIV/AIDS Resources at Walgreens Stores in Heavily Affected Areas Walgreens is teaming up with Greater Than AIDS, a national campaign in response to HIV/AIDS in the United States, to distribute informational resources and specialized HIV-related services at more than 300 Walgreens pharmacies in heavily affected communities. At these specialized pharmacy locations, Walgreens has pharmacists on hand to offer one-on-one medication counseling and other support services that provide…
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