J and J's Corporate Wellness Efforts

Kaiser Health News today reports on Johnson and Johnson's corporate wellness efforts.

From KHN,

"Dr. Fikry Isaac, executive director of global health services at Johnson and Johnson, runs the company's wellness program. He spoke recently with KHN's Jenny Gold about Johnson and Johnson's program and how corporate wellness could be incorporated into the current effort to overhaul the nation's health system."

Read the complete story here.

House Democrats Unveil Health Reform Bill

Yesterday, House Democrats released their 1,990-page version of health reform legislation. With the Senate bill set to be released soon, both chambers of Congress are now preparing set for a heated and momentous debate. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the House bill will provide coverage to 36 million people, cost $1.05 billion over 10 years, and cut the budget deficit by $104 billion over ten years. Of note, the public option plan, if passed in its current form, will negotiate rates with providers instead of using Medicare reimbursement rates and imposes an income tax surcharge on families making over $1 million.

The Hill reports on more details of the bill here.

The following articles provide more detailed information:

• New York Times
• Wall Street Journal
• The Hill
  

Employers and Wellness Incentives

A recent story by Employee Benefit News reports that the average cash incentive in corporate wellness programs has increased from $204 in 2008 to $329 in 2009. In the study conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers and Health2Resources, a health communications firm, researchers also found that in 2007 only 14% of employers were measuring ROI, but in 2009 73% are monitoring their results. In a separate PricewaterhouseCoopers study, those companies that offered gift cards or cash with less than $50 value in exchange for taking a health risk questionnaire had a 42% participation rate, versus the 49% participation rate for those companies offering between $50 and $299.

Read the complete article by clicking here.

NYS Attorney General Announces New Reimbursement Database and Pricing Website

Yesterday, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the creation of a new consumer reimbursement system for out-of-network charges. The new reimbursement database and website with health care pricing information will be based out of Syracuse University and is called FAIR Health, Inc. The extended research network consists of SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Cornell University, and the University of Rochester.

From the Office of the Attorney General:

Today’s announcement arises from a wide-ranging investigation by Cuomo’s office into how the health insurance industry reimburses consumers for out-of-network health care charges. The investigation uncovered a fraudulent and conflict-of-interest ridden reimbursement system affecting millions of patients and their families and costing Americans hundreds of millions of dollars in unexpected and unjust medical costs.

Read the complete article at: http://www.oag.state.ny.us/media_center/2009/oct/oct27a_09.html

Health Care Reform - House Bill to Reach Floor Soon

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) is reportedly set to introduce the health care reform bill that will make it to the full House floor, according to The Hill newspaper. House Democrats want to bring it to the floor so it can be voted on next week. Because they pledged to give 72 hours notice to review the bill, House leaders are expediting their progress. Hill staffers indicate however that a CBO score of the bills need to be released before a bill could formally be introduced.

Read the complete story here: http://thehill.com/homenews/house/64941-house-dems-on-verge-of-bringing-health-bill-to-floor

Health Care Reform - Senate Bill to Include Opt-Out Public Option

In an announcement Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) articulated that the melded Senate Finance and HELP committee health reform bill will include a public option. States, however, under this draft, will be able to opt-out of the public health plan option program. Senate leaders are preparing to submit the legislation to the Congressional Budget Office as soon as Monday to be scored. Details of the new bill haven't been set, but an outline is becoming clearer.

The Wall Street Journal reports on how this legislation would affect employers:

Employers with more than 50 workers wouldn't be required to provide health insurance, but they would face fines of up to $750 per employee if even part of their work force received a government subsidy to buy health insurance, this person said.

Read the complete article at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125658273270408669.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond

The New York Times article can be found at: http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/reid-to-announce-opt-out-public-plan-today/?hp

Thanks for coming out last night!

Thanks again to all who came out for NYBGH's first-ever social media and health care event! We had a great turnout and two wonderful speakers!

Visit nybgh.org for more information on upcoming events!

Stuart Altman, PhD is speaking about federal health reform at our Annual Meeting on Nov. 18th, 4:00pm - 7:00pm. Check out the details on nybgh.org!

New GINA Rules Impose Restrictions on HRAs

On October 1st, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury jointly released an advanced copy of the interim final regulations on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The interim final regulations were posted to the Federal Register on October 7th and clarify several aspects of GINA as it relates to health risk assessments.

The rules become effective December 7th, 2009. GINA’s provisions for group health plans are effective for plan years beginning on or after May 21, 2009. Thus, the effective date for calendar year plans is Jan. 1, 2010.

Read the rest of this story at: http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/new-gina-rules-impose-restrictions-on-health-risk-assessments-2682139-1.html

Successfully Implementing an HSA

Employee Benefit News recently released a podcast by OptumHealth's Todd Berkley on successfully incorporating an HSA into a client's health benefit offerings.

Find the podcast by clicking here.

Senate Finance Committe Bill Approval Press Release with Provision Descriptions

In a press release issued by the Senate Finance Committee, a recap of each of the major provisions of the Baucus bill are outlined. Without having to dissect the actual bill and its language, one can get a sense of what each provision is actually proposing.

Find the press release at: http://finance.senate.gov/press/Bpress/2009press/prb101309b.pdf

HealthPass in Wall Street Journal

In the October 14th edition of the Wall Street Journal, NYBGH subsidiary HealthPass gets a nod in a front page story. The article, as part of the Healthy Consumer series, profiles a number of businesses facing changes to their health benefits offerings this year as costs continue to rise and the consequences for their employees.

Find the article at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703790404574471290259603238.html

Visit HealthPass at: http://www.healthpass.com/

Health Care Reform - Senate Finance Approves Baucus Bill with One GOP Vote

In a 14-9 vote, with Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) as the only Republican voting with the Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee, the landmark Baucus health care reform bill has cleared the panel and is now set to be merged with the Senate HELP committee health reform bill that was approved in July.

For the NYT story, click http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/health/policy/14health.html?hp

For the WSJ story, click http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125543637111982309.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTTopStories

Open Enrollment Season - Choosing Health Insurance

In Saturday's New York Times Well Blog, journalist Tara Parker-Pope writes about NYT Patient Money columnists Lesley Alderman and Walecia Konrad and their new series on choosing health insurance during this year's open enrollment season. Available with the articles are open discussion forums where benefits managers and administrators can discuss changes they're making this year.

Access the article at: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/choosing-health-insurance-during-open-enrollment/

Health Care Reform - Five Key Numbers from CBO Score

A posting on the Wall Street Journal Health blog highlights five key numbers from the CBO scoring of the Senate Finance Committee health bill.

CBO estimates the cost to be $829 billion over 10 years while shaving off over $80 billion from the federal deficit over ten years as well.

Find the article at http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/10/07/five-key-numbers-in-cbos-score-of-the-senate-finance-bill/

Health Care Reform - CBO Scores Baucus/Senate Finance Bill

The cost analysis is in! Sen. Max Baucus' Finance Committee bill will cost $829 billion over ten years, up from an initial estimate of $774 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The Finance Committee is now expected to move forward with voting on the bill, which will then get moved to the full Senate floor to be merged with the Senate HELP committee bill that was finalized in July.

The NYT story: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/health/policy/08health.html?_r=1&hp

The WSJ reports: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125494356104171425.html

WSJ's Health Blog's take on the five important numbers in the CBO score: http://blogs.wsj.com/health/2009/10/07/five-key-numbers-in-cbos-score-of-the-senate-finance-bill/