In an effort to revive an important promise made to the American people prior to his election in 2016, President Trump recently signed 3 executive orders aimed at bringing the cost of prescription drugs more in line with what consumers in other countries pay. One order, directed at Medicare Part D plans, would require that PBMs pass discounts or manufacturer’s rebates directly to consumers rather than to their health plans.
A second order would permit individuals to import lower cost drugs from other countries, including Canada, and re-import insulin. The third order is intended to provide uninsured or underinsured individuals with life-saving medications such as insulin and epinephrine. It is doubtful that these executive orders will yield any immediate relief to consumers since legislative bodies and federal agencies will need to follow government protocols in order to put the orders into practice.
Inflation-adjusted limits for contributions to health savings accounts and high deductible health plans for the coming year were just announced. According to the announcement, eligible individuals with self-only HDHP coverage will be able to contribute $3,600 to their HSA in 2021, an increase of $50 from 2020. Those with family coverage will be able to contribute $7,200 in 2021 and those who are 55 years of age or older will be able to make an additional “catch-up” contribution of $1,000 to their HSA.
America’s Health Insurance Plans, a national trade association whose member companies provide insurance coverage and health-related services to consumers and businesses, has released a study revealing the breakdown of today’s healthcare premium dollar, as follows:
As reported by The Phia Group on March 29, 2019, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. ruled that the new Department of Labor rules expanding the marketing of Association Health Plans (AHPs) violate existing law. TPAs, brokers and employers see this as a significant blow to AHPs, especially new self-funded AHPs that have been preparing to launch on April 1, 2019.
There is a lot of misinformation surrounding medical cannabis, which can make it difficult to establish a plan document that accurately outlines its use. One particular obstacle is the lack of verified and sourced research regarding the medicinal use of cannabis, creating confusion around what the drug can and should be used for.
In October, a bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill that would ease the ACA reporting mandates for employer-sponsored health plans. The bill would roll back the reporting requirements of Section 6056 and replace them with a voluntary reporting system. The bill would also allow payers to transmit employee notices electronically rather than having to send paper statements by mail.
The gradual transition to high deductible health plans is having a significant impact on out-of-pocket costs, according to a study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation/Health Research & Educational Trust. In 2016, for the first time, just over half of all workers (51%) with single coverage faced a deductible of at least $1,000. The study also showed that 29% of workers were in high-deductible plans compared to just 20% two years earlier.
If you haven’t interacted with a doctor by smart phone, email or webcam recently, you’ll be interested to know that the American Telemedicine Association reports that more than 15 million Americans received some kind of medical care remotely last year.
