September 10, 2019
Costs by Industry | 2019 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
The government/education/utilities sector has the priciest plans, at $12,125 per employee, up just 1.5% from last year. Total costs per employee for the construction/transportation, retail, hospitality, and health care sectors are all lower than average, making employees in these industries ...
September 5, 2019
Compliance Recap | August 2019
August was a relatively quiet month in the employee benefits world. The Department of Labor (DOL) issued its updated Medicaid / CHIP Model Notice. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) revised its Medicare Secondary Payer User Guide and changed reporting requirements regarding ...
September 3, 2019
Costs by Region | 2019 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
Overall average costs per employee rose 1.3% from $10,313 in 2018 to $10,447 in 2019 (compared to 3.8%, from $9,934 in 2017 to $10,313 in 2018). Regional cost averages vary from the national picture, making it essential to benchmark both nationally and regionally. For example, a significant ...
August 29, 2019
Final 2020 Benefit Payment and Parameters Rule
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its final rule and fact sheet for benefit payment and parameters for 2020. According to CMS, the final rule is intended to reduce fiscal and regulatory burdens associated with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) ...
August 27, 2019
Health Plan Costs & Premium Increases | 2019 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
Average health plan costs rose a modest 4.6% in 2019, compared to the nearly 10% increase seen in 2018, a ten-year high. Good negotiation is key in securing the best final rates. UBA Partners reported that the average initial or proposed rate increase was 8.6%, with final rate increases ...
August 22, 2019
Top 10 Trends for 2019 | UBA Health Plan Survey
For 14 years, United Benefit Advisors® (UBA) has surveyed thousands of employers across the nation regarding their health plan offerings, including analyzing hundreds of data points related to cost, funding methods, enrollment, plan design, coverage features, wellness, prescription drug ...
August 20, 2019
Dependent Coverage | 2018 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
Dependent enrollment increased significantly, by 35.2%, from 44.3% in 2017 to 59.9% in 2018. This was a reverse of the trend seen in previous years of decreased dependent enrollment. This could signal a trend to watch, as individual or Marketplace premiums rise quickly with the sunset of the ...
August 13, 2019
Deductible Costs | 2018 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
Following initial assessments, median in-network deductibles for single coverage remained steady across all plans for 2018 at $2,000, although median in-network PPO deductibles increased from $1,500 in 2017 to $2,000 in 2018. The overall median out-of-network deductibles for single coverage saw ...
August 10, 2019
Compliance Recap | July 2019
July was a busy month in the employee benefits world. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released a notice that expands the list of preventive care benefits a high deductible health plan can provide without a deductible or with a deductible below the annual minimum deductible. The IRS also ...
August 6, 2019
Enrollment by Plan Type by Region | 2018 UBA Health Plan Survey Trends
PPO plans have the greatest enrollment in the Central U.S. (beating out the West region from 2017, which saw a surprising shift by employees to CDHP plans this year). The Northeast continues to have the lowest enrollment in PPO plans. After several years of decreases, HMO enrollment is on the ...
