WHY SELF-FUNDING IS ABOUT MORE THAN JUST SAVINGS
BY NELSON GRISWOLD The more sophisticated employee benefit advisers I know and consult with are increasingly discussing self-funding of the health plan with mid-size employers. With self-funded plans – either fully self-insured or partially self-insured through a group captive – the employer is told that self-funding includes some financial risk but, when implemented correctly for the right employee group, can also provide substantial cost savings to the employer. True. But that misses a value proposition far more compelling to company leadership. The issue is not about simply risk versus reward, but more essentially about control. Self-funding the health plan can give the employer more – indeed, maximum – control over the plan design and, most important, the plan’s utilization data and, by extension, the health behavior of the employees.
PPACA BIRTH CONTROL RULES FINALIZED
BY BYRON ACOHIDO (Bloomberg) — Some U.S. companies will be able to claim religious objections to avoid covering birth control for their employees, under rules finalized Friday that provide a formal framework after a Supreme Court decision last year. The rules, which build on a case tied to the Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. chain, say the boards of closely held firms would need to formally adopt a resolution stating their objection to contraception in order to qualify. The rules also include a way for women employed by those firms to obtain birth control coverage, the Department of Health & Human Services said Friday. Read: PPACA cuts birth control costs by $1.4 billion
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