Insurers to disclose information regarding their efforts to improve medical care this year

Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that consumers will begin receiving information on how their premiums are being spent this year. The Affordable Care Act requires insurance companies to spend no less than 80% of the money they collect from premiums on improving medical care. The federal law also requires insurers to inform consumers on how this money is being spent and how much has been spent thus far. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius believes that this is a major step toward keeping insurance companies accountable…

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Franchises to face a potential struggle from burden associated with health insurance tax

Franchise owners who are struggling to come through the economic crisis in an environment where poverty is rampant, and are starting to wonder if their ability to improve the employment situation may be related to the health insurance tax that was established as a part of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and which will begin as of 2014. The health insurance tax will require employers with 50 or more employees to pay a tax of $2,000 per worker, if the company chooses not to offer health insurance…

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