As Enrollment Season Heats Up, Workers Facing Higher Health Spending
“Long gone are the days when you thought your insurance—even if you were paying higher premiums—was going to cover you very well,” Bettina Deynes, vice president of human resources for the Society for Human Resource Management, tells The Wall Street Journal. Also, a new survey suggests growing public discontent with the cost and quality of insurance, and California is offering a new tool to help consumers find a plan that works for them.
The Wall Street Journal:
Employers Shift Higher Health-Care Costs To Workers
Open enrollment season is under way, and when workers get their health-plan information, many of them can expect higher out-of-pocket costs. As employers cope with rising health costs, some are shifting more of the burden onto their workers, often in the form of health insurance plans that carry high deductibles. To help rein in expenses, businesses also will ask their employees to take part in cost-cutting drug programs and use new services that provide Skype-like video consultations with doctors, according to several studies tracking employer health care. (Silverman, 10/11)
The Fiscal Times:
Millions Of Americans Skip Medical Care, Even Though They Have Insurance
Americans are voicing growing discontent with the quality and cost of their health insurance coverage. Nearly one in three voters recently surveyed by Morning Consult said that their health insurance coverage has become worse in the past year, while just 15 percent said that it had improved. (Pianin, 10/11)
Kaiser Health News:
Everything Californians Wanted To Know About Their Health Plan (But Were Afraid To Ask)
It can be well worth the effort to go up against your health plan if it denies you treatment you think you need. That’s just one of the many lessons California consumers can glean by using a new online tool unveiled last week by the state Department of Managed Health Care. It shows that last year, nearly two-thirds of Anthem Blue Cross enrollees who filed an appeal with the department to challenge a denial of care ended up getting the medical services they requested. (Ibarra, 10/12)
