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If You Build It…
The headlines are full of hope and optimism, as well as dread and doom. October 1 is upon us and no one knows for sure what is going to happen. Both public (presumably) and private health exchanges are built, in place and ready for action. Will they come? Will enough people enroll to make it [...]
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October 1 is Fast Approaching – Are We Ready?
Weighing the Risks of Non-Compliance with the ACA As an employer, if you tried to work your way through the potential implications and possible penalties related to not complying with the Affordable Care Act, we feel your pain and we have the same headache that you do. You know you’re in trouble when someone has [...]
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Same as it Ever Was
And you may ask yourself, well… how did I get here? A wise and all-knowing oracle told me recently that we are in an era of great confusion and that success will come from ease and simplicity. Oracles never lie. The current healthcare and benefits acquisition landscape has become ever more complex with the confusion [...]
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Health Care Consumerism Radio
Listen to John Reynolds and Pierce McNally discuss their book “Overdose: Your Health My Money” on Health Care Consumerism radio network. Lots of good information in this program! Listen here:
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Not a Cookie Cutter World Any More!
There’s no doubt that the face of health care will change, that we will all be managing and handling our well-being differently in the months and years to come. No delay in the Affordable Care Act or regulatory revisions will impact the inevitable. As more and more employers move to a defined contribution model within [...]
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CieloStar Comments on Employer Mandate Postponement
The US Treasury Department announced last week that the Obama administration had decided to postpone the Affordable Care Act mandate requiring employers with more than 50 full time employees to provide affordable and compliant health care coverage (or face a penalty) to their employees by 12 months. The mandate will now be effective on January [...]
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ACA Summer Holiday Reading List
As Fourth of July week fast approaches and we contemplate an overabundance of hamburgers, hotdogs and ice cream, let’s take a moment and add a few items to our reading list as we lounge in the backyard hammock. We know this is a lazy hazy time, but if you’re looking for something more challenging that [...]
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Broken Record – Healthcare Costs are High
My esteemed colleague Pierce McNally came into my office the other day to share a new article on the cost of healthcare. It seems we uncover them almost daily. As he left he said, “at the risk of sounding like a broken record, affordability of healthcare is eating away at this nation.” And with that [...]
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What? We’re Paying Too Much?
When Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced recently that they are developing a new program that will provide consumers with detailed information on what hospitals charge, we weren’t sure whether to stand up and cheer or just hold our breath and wait to see what happens. The impetus behind the new program came [...]
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Charles Pinot Publishes Cielostar’s New Book
SONOMA, Calif. – Charles Pinot announced a deal today with Minnesota-based Cielostar to publish a cutting edge book that will illuminate the future of healthcare in this country. Entitled ‘Overdose: Your Health, My Money’, the new book will assuage anxiety for corporations struggling to understand what the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) means for their companies. Cielostar, a [...]
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Product Briefs
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State Implementation of Health Insurance Exchanges
As of April 23, 2013 Kaiser Family Foundation reports on its statehealthfacts.org website the latest exchange decisions for each state. Seven states are planning for partnership exchange, seventeen have declared a state-based exchange and twenty six are defaulting to the federal exchange. Source: Statehealthfacts.org
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Inefficient System and Rising Costs Underscore Need for Action
The increased cost of health insurance premiums is at the core of health policy discussions. The Kaiser Family Foundation has compiled premiums for single and family coverage (see chart). From 1999 to 2012, premiums for family coverage increased threefold from $5,791 in 1999 to $15,745. While uninsured and “under-insured” bear the brunt of blame for [...]
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More Health Spending Not Yielding Value
Excerpt from OVERDOSE: Your Health, My Money by John Reynolds & Pierce McNally Health spending as a share of U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) has climbed steadily over the past half-century. Today it constitutes 18 percent of GDP, up from 14 percent in 2000 and 5 percent in 1960, and we are well on our [...]