Industry News

Employers Respond to Higher Health Care Costs

Employers expect medical and pharmacy benefit expenses to grow 5.2% in 2022, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson. A similar survey by Mercer finds that employers expect health benefit co...

Enhancing Benefits Can Reduce Turnover

Forty-nine percent of U.S. executives are seeing much higher than usual turnover in the past six months. Eighty-four percent say openings are going unfilled for longer than before the pandemic, ac...

Employers Have Expanded Pre-Deductible Coverage with HSA-Eligible Plans

In response to IRS Notice 2019-45, 76% of large employers with HSA-eligible plans have expanded pre-deductible coverage for medications and services that prevent the exacerbation of chronic cond...

COVID-19 Is Driving Benefit Choices

An Aflac survey reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic is driving benefit choices among employees; anxiety and burnout is widespread; and many employers underestimate their employees’ financial challe...

Metlife's 19th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study

For globally-mobile employees, it has been an exceptionally stressful year, compared to their domestic peers. However, globally-mobile emploees are more engaged with their employee and report high...

House Bill Could Significantly Alter Health Benefits

The House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce committees have advanced parts of the Democrats' $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package, also known as the Build Back Better Act. " According ...

More Employers Offered Health Benefits in 2020

Contrary to some predictions, the ACA did not cause most employers to drop health coverage. Since 2013, about 99% of employers with 1,000 employees or more have offered health benefits to workers....

Overwhelming Majority of Employers Plan to Boost Benefits

Over 90% of businesses surveyed by Principal® say they plan to increase at least one benefit in the next 12 months. They surveyed 500 employers from companies with two to 10,000 employees in a di...

How the Pandemic Has Affected HSAs

Annual individual Health Savings Account (HSA) contributions fell in 2020, according to a study by the Employee Benefits Research Institute. HSA balances increased modestly by $400 as average annu...

Employers Go into Overdrive to Attract and Retain Talent

The number of employers that are taking action to attract and retain talent has increased sharply. It’s a trend that’s expected to continue into 2022, according to a Willis Towers Watson surv...

CMS Proposes Higher Price Transparency Penalties for Hospitals

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes to increase the penalty for some hospitals that don’t comply with the Hospital Price Transparency Final Rule. There is a wide variatio...

HHS Issues Rule on Surprise Medical Bills

The Biden Administration issued an interim final rule to restrict out-of-pocket costs from surprise billing and balance billing. The regulations will take effect for health care providers and faci...