Month: September 2022

All signs are pointing toward significantly higher health costs in the employer market next year, which will translate into larger-than-normal premium increases.

Why it matters: Employers will have to choose between taking the hit or passing the added cost to their employees — a decision that’s particularly difficult in a tight labor market.

Driving the news: Seven in 10 employers expect moderate to significantly increases in the cost of health benefits over the next three years, according to a recent Willis Towers Watson survey.

• “There’s this terrible reality that they’re trying to increase affordability at the same time the actual total cost is going up more than they expected,” said WTW’s Jeff Levin-Scherz.
• More than half of survey respondents said they plan to address rising costs by using programs or vendors that would reduce total spending. Less than a quarter said they will shift costs onto employees through higher premium

When you reach retirement age, Medicare insurance offers basic medical insurance protection for your health needs. However, this coverage is basic and does not cover all of the costs for covered medical services and supplies. Medicare supplemental insurance policies are known as “Medigap insurance” and they fill in the gaps in Medicare coverage.

A financial advisor could also help you create or adjust a financial plan for your medical care needs in retirement. Let’s break down the average cost of Medicare supplemental insurance.

What Is Medicare Supplemental Insurance?

Medicare supplemental insurance plans cover the costs that you’re responsible for with Original Medicare. These policies are offered by private insurance companies and are on top of your Part A and Part B benefits. Supplement insurance policies offer a predictable monthly expense versus the unknown cost of visiting a doctor or going into the hospital.

Original Medicare insurance policies

Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday said he doesn’t want big health insurance premium increases for public workers to “become an annual event” and called a last-minute move to ease a bit of the pain for some of those workers “a fair deal.”

A New Jersey health board on Wednesday approved rate hikes for health plans that cover more than 800,000 public workers. The vote calls for boosts in premiums on state health plans by about 21%, and local government plans by nearly 24%.

After Wednesday’s vote by the State Health Benefits Commission, five labor unions issued a joint-statement saying they had reached an agreement with the Murphy administration that will limit the increase on state employee contributions to 3%, shifting the rest of the financial burden to the state.

As part of the compromise, state employee co-pays for specialists will double from $15 to $30 and co-pays for urgent care

Eight workers at the Port of Long Beach, a business owner and one of her employees were charged this week in federal court in connection with a scheme to fraudulently bill the dockworkers union’s health plan for sexual services and falsified physical therapy claims, prosecutors said.

All of the defendants except for one dockworker submitted plea agreements. The alleged ringleader, 46-year-old Sara Victoria of San Pedro, admitted in her plea agreement to owning three businesses between 2017 and 2021 that provided sexual services as well as chiropractic and acupuncture treatments.

Knowing that the health insurance is provided by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union – Pacific Maritime Assn. generally covered

New Jersey’s labor unions were undeterred by rain clouds over Trenton Tuesday as hundreds of government workers descended on the Statehouse in labor’s latest push to fend off massive rate hikes on health insurance premiums.

A coalition of at least 14 unions organized the rally after Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration signaled it would move forward with a vote Wednesday on proposed rate increases of more than 20% for state health plans.

A deep of union members filled the outside corridor of the Statehouse annex and spilled into West State Street, where crowds of off-duty police officers and firefighters gathered, listening to the handful of speakers lined up for the event.

“Governor Murphy, hear our call,” the crowd shouted, as chants echoed off the annex walls.

New Jersey state troopers blocked off a section of the roadway between Calhoun and Barrack streets, where a line of buses sat empty after

The State Health Benefits Commission on Wednesday approved rate increases of about 21% on state worker health plans and nearly 23% on local government benefits.

But a last-minute deal reached after the meeting could ease a bit of the pain for some public workers.

The new rates will affect the health plans that cover more than 800,000 state and local government workers, and it could have financial implications for millions of New Jersey taxpayers.

After Wednesday’s vote, five labor unions issued a joint-statement saying they had reached an agreement with Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration that will limit the increase on state employee contributions to 3%, shifting the rest of the financial burden to the state.

As part of the compromise, union leaders said they agreed to double co-pays for specialists from $15 to $30 and increase co-pays for urgent care from $15 to $45.

The agreement only applies to plans