News to Know – June 2015
ANNUAL FAMILY HEALTH COSTS HIT NEARLY $25K
FAMILIES BEARING OF PLAN COSTS
BY DAN COOK
A family of four with employer-sponsored health coverage is shelling out substantially more since the advent of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The cost of family coverage also is rising so fast that even this standard employee coverage package could trigger the 2018 Cadillac tax.
These were among the findings of a recent analysis of the cost of providing coverage for a four-member family by the actuarial consulting firm Milliman Inc., which produces an annual medical index that tracks the various cost components of health insurance.
Not only is the average cost rising faster year over year, Milliman said, but the family’s share of the cost has also increased dramatically. And much of the increase can be attributed to the ever-rising price tag for prescription drugs.
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YET ANOTHER DATA BREACH IN HEALTHCARE
BY BYRON ACOHIDO
CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield stepped forward on Wednesday to disclose yet another major breach of a health care insurer, this one affecting 1.1 million people.
Hackers accessed a database to steal the names, user names, birth dates, email addresses and subscriber ID numbers of about 1.1 million current and former CareFirst customers and business partners.
The company said that no passwords were taken because those are encrypted and stored in a separate system, and that no Social Security numbers, medical claims or credit cards appeared to be compromised.
But Richard Blech, CEO of encryption company Secure Channels, was critical of CareFirst, saying the company trivialized what was hacked in the data breach.
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Here are Some Other Great Articles We’ve Been Reading
PPACA Dropouts Cut Enrollment by 1.5 Million
Many Health Insurers Go Big with Initial 2016 Rate Requests
7 Ways to a Better Work Comp Plan
Speculation Grows Over Possible Humana Acquisition
