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Employers Are Beefing Up Mental Health Benefits

More employees have been using mental health service since the Covid pandemic began, and employers are responding by beefing up their programs, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation survey. More...

Covid Shakes Up Wellness Initiatives

In response to Covid, 55% of firms with 50 or more employees adjusted wellness programs by changing incentives, expanding service locations, or adding new services, vendors, or digital content, ac...

2021 Sees A Huge Jump in Small Firms With Level Funded Plans

Forty-two percent of small firms in 2021 have a level-funded plan compared to only 13% last year. The trend may reveal a significant shift in the small group market toward health-status-based rati...

Health Plan Premiums Jump in 2021

In 2021, average single and family premiums increased 4% over the past year. At the same time, wages increased 5% and inflation increased 1.9%. The average premium for family coverage has increase...

Cigna + Oscar Offers Q4 Bonus Plus More For Early Submissions

Cigna + Oscar 2022 bonus program rewards you for going big this year! They want to be the easiest carrier to work with during your busiest time of year, so they are keeping things simple: Q4 Bonus ...

Kaiser Permanente Update on Strike Notices

Kaiser Permanente has received strike notices from some of their labor unions. A strike notice does not necessarily mean a strike will happen, but if strikes do take place, they are expected to begin ...

Employers Urged to Comply with Vaccine Mandate

The White House is urging employers to comply with a new vaccine mandate even though a federal appeals court has temporarily blocked the requirement. Under the OSHA rule, employers with at least 1...

Employers Often Overlook the Benefits of an HSA

It’s clear that employers need help educating employees on health savings accounts (HSAs). Fifty-six percent of employers don’t know that an employee needs a high deductible health plan (HDHP) to ...

Compliance Alert: OSHA Releases Emergency Temporary Standard Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its highly anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) requiring businesses with at least 100 employees to...

Sharp Health Plan Rate & Portfolio Update Q1 2022

Sharp Health Plan has released their Q1 HMO rates and all plans will increase by 0.2%. Some plans experienced minor benefit changes. See 2022 benefit summaries. Recent Underwriting Changes DE...

Anthem Blue Cross of CA 2022 Anniversary Month Changes

Anthem has released their 2022 Anniversary Month Change form for groups wishing to add Vivity to their offerings. Groups can request to change their anniversary date with the following conditions: ...

One-Third of Employees Stay for the Health Insurance

As record numbers of Americans leave their jobs in the "Great Resignation," a new survey finds that health insurance is holding back some workers from joining the wave. Thirty-three percent say th...

Employees Face Rising Costs and A Need for Mental Health Benefits

While the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on mental health, only 31% of employees say their employers have stepped up efforts to address employee wellbeing, according to a survey by the Employe...

Aetna Launches Network for Treatment of Rare Genetic Diseases

Aetna launched a national network for members to access new therapies for rare genetic diseases. Beginning January 1, 2022, the Gene-based, Cellular, and Other Innovative Therapies (GCIT) network ...

Covered California Small Business Q1 2022 Update

Covered California for Small Business (CCSB) Q1 rates are now quoting. As always with CCSB, actual rate changes may vary greatly by plan and region. Check out the bonus for January effective groups...

Webinar: Introducing Anthem's Vivity Network for Small Groups

Just in time for Q1, Anthem Has Introduced the Vivity Network for Small Groups. The Vivity Network combines integrated care with cost savings. Learn how Amwins Connect can help you bring this innovati...

Employers Respond to Higher Health Care Costs

Employers expect medical and pharmacy benefit expenses to grow 5.2% in 2022, according to a survey by Willis Towers Watson. A similar survey by Mercer finds that employers expect health benefit co...

Enhancing Benefits Can Reduce Turnover

Forty-nine percent of U.S. executives are seeing much higher than usual turnover in the past six months. Eighty-four percent say openings are going unfilled for longer than before the pandemic, ac...

Sutter Health Plus Change to PBM Effective January 1, 2022

Effective January 1, 2022, Sutter Health Plus is changing their pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) to CVS Caremark® from Express Scripts®. CVS Caremark will manage the pharmacy benefits for members, inclu...

UnitedHealthcare Expands Access To More On-Demand Fitness Benefits with Apple

UnitedHealthcare is expanding its work with Apple to provide millions of fully insured members with access – at no additional cost – to Apple Fitness+, the first fitness service built entirely around ...

Covered California for Small Business Announces Broker Bonus Program

Covered California for Small Business (CCSB) is offering a Broker Bonus Incentive Program. New small groups with effective dates from December 1, 2021 to January 1, 2022 are eligible for group bonuses...