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May 20, 2013
Melissa Healy: Genetic copies of living people from embryos no longer science fiction
Jewz in the Newz by Nate Bloom : Jews Inducted into Rock Hall of Fame; Anton Yelchin co-stars in New "Trek" film; Kutcher (but not Kunis) visits Israel; Jewish TV Star Praises Jewish Rap Star
The Kosher Gourmet by Cathy Pollak: WARNING: This WALNUT CAKE WITH PRALINE FROSTING, perfect for afternoon coffee, is addicting
May 13, 2013
Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo: Why the giving of the document that would permanently change the world could only be done in desolation
David G. Savage: Church-state, literally? Supreme Court weighing public school graduation in a church
May 10, 2013
Rabbi Berel Wein: Be all that you should be
May 8, 2013
Peter Ford: Why China is welcoming both Israel's Netanyahu and Palestinians' Abbas
Warren Richey: Obama administration quietly backs out of appeal over new contraceptive mandate
Fred Weir: At Kerry-Putin meeting, US-Russia relations thaw --- a tad
The Kosher Gourmet by Leela Cyd Ross : Almost too pretty to eat, this colorful salad with Sicilian inspiration will tickle the taste buds and delight your visual sensibility
May 6, 2013
May 3, 2013
Kids, kittens the Same? With employee perks at struggling Internet pioneer Yahoo! it's hard to tell
Sandy Kleffman: Artificial kidney offers hope to patients tethered to a dialysis machine
April 29, 2013
Roy Gutman: Poland's new Jewish museum celebrates life, doesn't revisit Holocaust
Mark Clayton: Terrorism in America: Is US missing a chance to learn from failed plots?
Kim Murphy: Boston Bomber's 'Svengali' Revealed
Pete Spotts: Tiny satellites + cellphones = cheaper 'eyes in the sky' for NASA
April 26, 2013
Clifford D. May: Defense in the Age of Jihadist Terrorism
Sharon Palmer, R.D.: How to feel your best -- with plenty of energy, a healthy weight and optimal mental and physical function -- without driving yourself batty
April 24, 2013
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Jewish World Review
Make the most of health insurance changes for 2013
By
Kimberly Lankford
What's going to happen to employer health insurance prices and coverage during open enrollment this year? Do you have any advice on picking the best plan?
The National Business Group on Health conducts an annual survey of health benefits offered by many of the largest employers nationwide, and it always provides a first glimpse at health-plan changes for the coming year. The big headline is that employers expect benefit costs to rise by an average of 7 percent in 2013 -- on top of increases of about 7 percent in both 2011 and 2012.
Sixty percent of employers say they plan to pass along a portion of the increase in the form of higher premiums in 2013; in general, premiums will increase less than 5 percent. Large employers still subsidize a big portion of premiums, typically covering about 80 percent, leaving employees to pay the remaining 20 percent. The premium split for dependent coverage is usually 70 percent for employers and 30 percent for employees. Smaller companies generally pay a smaller proportion of costs.
Employers are making other adjustments to costs and incentives that may make a big difference in your expenses. Here are some changes to look out for and strategies for making the most of them:
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1. EXTRA OUT-OF-POCKET EXPENSES
Many employers are shifting additional costs to employees: 40 percent plan to increase in-network deductibles, 33 percent plan to increase out-of-network deductibles, and 32 percent plan to boost their out-of-pocket maximums. Also, 13 percent of employers plan to increase the co-payment for buying drugs at a retail pharmacy (with a smaller increase for mail-order prescriptions), and about 8 percent plan to increase the coinsurance rate for primary and specialist care (coinsurance is the percentage of the bill you pay yourself).
Compare overall costs -- premiums, coinsurance rates and deductibles -- when picking a policy. And be careful to choose providers and pharmacies that participate in your plan; otherwise, your deductibles, as well as your co-payments, could be higher.
2. MORE HIGH-DEDUCTIBLE PLANS AND HEALTH SAVINGS ACCOUNTS
In 2013, more than half of employers plan to offer a consumer-directed health plan (usually a high-deductible health plan paired with a health savings account), which is similar to the numbers offering such plans over the past five years. But a big change is in the number of employers that plan to offer a high-deductible plan as their only option -- 19 percent in 2013, up from 7 percent in 2009.
Employers are also making larger contributions to HSAs to encourage people to pick these plans: 43 percent of employers contribute a fixed amount to the HSA for each participant (average: $500), 40 percent make contributions based on completing a wellness program (average: $400), 21 percent put seed money into new accounts, 12 percent make matching contributions, and 10 percent make contributions based on progress toward a health goal. Only 14 percent make no employer contributions.
Don't leave free money on the table. Find out what you'd need to do to qualify for employer contributions, and factor in your employer's contribution to an HSA when picking a plan.
3. BETTER TOOLS TO COMPARE HEALTH CARE COSTS
It's always been difficult to compare prices for medical procedures, especially because each insurer has different deals with providers. But as insurers boost deductibles and coinsurance to help reduce their expenses, you have more of an incentive to become a savvy health care consumer. And more health plans and employers are providing tools to help you research how much each provider under their plan will charge you for a procedure.
Sixty-five percent of health plans now provide online price-transparency tools, and 14 percent offer the information through a third-party provider. Only 21 percent provide no tools to help you compare costs. Make the most of these resources when choosing a provider, hospital or facility for medical tests and urgent care.
4. STRONGER INCENTIVES TO PARTICIPATE IN WELLNESS PROGRAMS
Nearly half of employers are using incentives to encourage participation in wellness programs, and 29 percent reward specific health outcomes (such as achieving certain goals for body mass or cholesterol levels). The incentives for participating in wellness programs have increased over the past few years, with maximum payouts averaging $450 for employees and $375 for dependents in 2013, up from $250 for employees and $203 for dependents in 2011.
It may not have been worth the hassle to participate in a wellness program in the past, but the bigger rewards may now make them worth a second look. On the flip side, you could lose by choosing not to participate. About one-fourth of employers plan to apply surcharges to employees for not participating in certain programs.
5. REDUCED FLEXIBLE-SPENDING LIMITS
Ninety-four percent of the companies said they will have to lower their medical flexible spending account ceilings to comply with the $2,500 maximum for 2013 written into the health care reform law (many employers currently let employees contribute $3,000 to $4,000 to these tax-advantaged accounts).
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Comment by clicking here. Kimberly Lankford is a Contributing Editor at Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
All contents copyright 2012 The Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc. Distributed by Tribune Media Services. All rights reserved.
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