https://www.hctrends.com/rss/rss.aspx HCTrends.com - Resource Postings en-us All materials © Copyright 2002 - 2022, HCTrends.com 4098 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=63717870-43C3-439A-B7E9-9237302AB877 webmaster@hctrends.com Premiums for Wisconsin employers increased by an average of 4%-5% percent in 2021, with four out of 10 employers reporting increases of less than 3% and one in 8 employers reporting increases greater than 10%. Those are among the findings of the 2021 Wisconsin Employer Health Care Benefits Survey conducted this spring by HCTrends. More than 300 employers, representing an estimated 170,000 employees, participated in the on-line survey, which was produced in cooperation with Hausmann-Johnson Insurance, the Benefit Services Group (BSG®), BSG Analytics™ LLC, the Business Health Care Group and the QTI Group. Other findings from the survey: • Increases in health plan costs were uniform throughout all regions of the state • Small employers had slightly higher plan cost increases. One in five employers with fewer than 50 employees experienced plan increases greater than 10%. • 26% of employers increased employees’ share of the premium in 2021, while 21% increased employee co-pays, deductibles or coinsurance • 63% of employers say telemedicine is a key part of their health plan strategy • The median deductible for single plans is $1,000-$1,999 and the median deductible for family plans is $4,000-$5,999 • The majority of companies allow employees to choose between a traditional health plan and a plan with a Health Savings Account (HAS) or Health Reimbursement Account (HRA). HSA arrangements are far more popular than HRAs. • Less than 40% of employers say they offer wellness plans. Employers in northeastern and southeastern Wisconsin were more likely to offer wellness plans than employers in southern, northern or western Wisconsin. Self-insured plans were also more likely to offer wellness programs than self-insured or level-funded plans. 2021-06-02T07:46:28-05:00 4097 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=F99472B3-2E3C-4B34-B6BD-A60FB23486C6 webmaster@hctrends.com 2021-05-20T08:18:13-05:00 4091 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=EEC5D577-7EF3-4BBD-A191-EA8FFB7FD8A3 webmaster@hctrends.com Gov. Tony Evers has signed legislation allowing physicians assistants to collaborate with doctors, rather than be supervised by them. The law eliminates a ratio limiting one doctor to four physician assistants and creates a Physician Assistant Affiliated Credentialing Board to replace the current physician assistant oversight structure. In order to give regulatory agencies time to create a licensing board, review current rules and promulgate revised rules, the legislation has a one-year delay and will take effect March 27, 2022. 2021-05-20T08:00:06-05:00 4090 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=DFB5E2FC-A922-4E9C-A14D-EF16C49D0496 webmaster@hctrends.com Gov. Tony Evers has signed legislation regulating pharmacy benefit managers. The new law bans pharmacy benefit managers from including gag clauses in their contracts preventing pharmacists from informing patients of lower-cost alternatives and prevents pharmacy benefit managers from charging a copay that is greater than what they would charge a patient who does not use insurance. Pharmacy benefit managers would also have to provide 30 days written notice of drug formulary changes that would remove an individual's prescription drug from the formulary or reassign the drug to a benefit tier with a higher deductible, copayment or coinsurance. In addition, pharmacy benefit managers will have to be licensed by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance and submit annual reports on the dollar amount of rebates they get from pharmaceutical companies, as well as the percentage they do not pass on to consumers as savings. The legislation requires pharmacies to post signs informing customers of legal drug substitutions. 2021-05-20T07:58:24-05:00 4089 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=7C7271DA-88E9-48E1-B7C2-48FCFB161D9D webmaster@hctrends.com The Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state's mask mandate on a 4-3 vote Wednesday, ruling that Gov. Tony Evers exceeded his legal authority by declaring multiple public health emergency declarations over COVID-19. The court ruled the Legislature has the sole legal authority to end or deny the extension of a state of emergency beyond 60 days. The court heard oral arguments in November. 2021-05-20T07:55:32-05:00 4088 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=9032D74D-B92C-4851-AE86-BBCDADA40E23 webmaster@hctrends.com Children’s Wisconsin and Rogers Behavioral Health plan to collaborate to serve teenagers between ages 13 and 18 with chronic pain and mental or behavioral health challenges. Teens who are managing the impact of chronic health conditions such as debilitating headaches, musculoskeletal pain, complex regional pain syndrome, and abdominal pain will be supported by child and adolescent psychiatrists and behavioral health staff from Rogers, as well as health psychologists, physical therapists and pain medicine experts from Children’s Wisconsin. The intensive outpatient rehabilitation services will provide medical evaluation and management, experiential therapy, and one-on-one and group physical therapy sessions. Additional assistance will be provided through family therapy meetings and parent education groups. The service components of the Integrated Healing Program are provided separately and independently by the health systems. 2021-05-20T07:51:58-05:00 4087 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=AD1B99FB-A3BC-44C9-AE1C-F42AAFA15865 webmaster@hctrends.com The Joint Finance Committee voted to eliminate Medicaid expansion from Gov. Tony Evers' budget plan. The expansion would have made people with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty limit eligible for Medicaid. Currently, only people with incomes up to 100% of the federal poverty limit are eligible. 2021-05-20T07:50:10-05:00 4086 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=7B788BDD-D9C0-4F75-B8E4-9B895AE63B12 webmaster@hctrends.com Marshfield Medical Center-Neillsville, a 16-bed hospital that also includes an emergency department, 28 clinical exam rooms and six-room infusion suite opened today. It will offer oncology, cardiology, endocrinology and ear, nose and throat services. It also includes several rooms designed for telehealth consults. Marshfield Clinic Health System committed to building a new hospital when it acquired the existing hospital in 2018. 2021-05-20T07:47:38-05:00 4085 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=DB33BA76-DE2F-48AC-8544-784780A0C4C3 webmaster@hctrends.com The Business Health Care Group (BHCG), a coalition of employers primarily located in eastern Wisconsin, officially announced its partnership with Centivo, which offers a new type of primary care-centered health plan. The plan will be offered exclusively as an option for BHCG self-funded member employers effective Jan. 1, 2022. BHCG and Centivo will present details about the health plan during a virtual product rollout meeting on June 16 from 9:00 – 11:00 am. 2021-05-20T07:44:14-05:00 4083 https://www.hctrends.com/library/lib_article_display_by_id.aspx?id=1AD82659-E881-412E-8F5F-B629E370AF00 webmaster@hctrends.com The Wisconsin Group Insurance Board has approved Aspirus Health Plan’s application to offer health plan coverage to state government employees and local governments that participate in the state health plan program. 2021-05-20T07:39:39-05:00