WASHINGTON, DC – "For over a year, the American Benefits Council has endorsed the idea of universal paid leave – as long as the program retains a role for employer-sponsored programs," Council President James A. Klein said today. "That means any program must offer multistate employers – and their employees – consistent national rules and protection from numerous existing and future state laws."
The American Benefits Council will hold a one-hour The Latest Webinar on Wednesday, September 15, at 12 p.m. (noon) Eastern Time, to discuss employee benefits-related policy developments and advocacy efforts leading up to the end of the year.
Policymakers must consider implications for employer-provided health insurance in effort to achieve universal coverage, lower costs
WASHINGTON, DC – "If the end goal is to achieve universal coverage and lower health care costs, a public option that makes employer health care coverage more expensive and that fails to address the root causes of rising health care costs will not accomplish this objective," American Benefits Council Senior Vice President, Health Policy, Ilyse Schuman said today in response to a recent request for information from two key members of Congress.
Over the past 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a severe toll on families, businesses, and national economies. Against the backdrop of this tragedy were extraordinary efforts and achievements to overcome the crisis and keep us healthy.
From the heroism of frontline workers to the ingenuity of vaccine developers and producers, to the durability of infrastructure supply chains, the pandemic has revealed strength, creativity and resilience.
WASHINGTON, DC – "Crisis is clarifying, in that it reveals one's true character. The COVID-19 crisis revealed the remarkable durability of employer-sponsored health care coverage and the responsiveness of the companies that provide it," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said upon unveiling the Silver Linings Pandemic Playbook, a collection of employers' good works over the past 18 months.
WASHINGTON, DC – "It is no surprise that public polls reveal the popularity of job-based health coverage, because we all know it is the high-quality, affordable coverage that people want to keep," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said today. "Less well known is that employer-provided health coverage is an enormous bargain for American taxpayers," Klein said. "A simple calculation shows that U.S. companies spend more than $5 on health benefits for every $1 of tax revenue lost."
On July 1, the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS), Labor, and Treasury (the Departments) issued interim final regulations (IFR), implementing the surprise billing provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (CAA). The 411-page IFR, which was required by statute to be issued by July 1, is the first piece of formal guidance in what will be a series of regulations on this topic. Some of the rules were issued by the Departments and parts of the rule were HHS-only rules (i.e., those focused on provider requirements). Below is a summary of the IFR for Council members.
WASHINGTON, DC – Health care payers and patients will now be better protected from unexpected medical bills, according to the American Benefits Council's analysis of interim final regulations (IFR) issued today by the Biden Administration. Surprise medical bills refers to bills for out-of-network emergency services and out-of-network providers in in-network settings, where the provider bills the patient for often substantial amounts above what the plan pays.
The American Benefits Council provided comments in connection with the Fiscal Year 2022 Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System and Long Term Care Hospital Rates Proposed Rule ("2022 IPPS Proposed Rule"), issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), reiterating support for, and emphasizing the vital importance of, price and quality transparency in health care.
Good morning. My name is Jan Jacobson and I am senior counsel, retirement policy for the American Benefits Council. The Council is a national non-profit organization dedicated to protecting and fostering privately sponsored employee benefit plans. Its approximately 440 members are primarily large, multistate employers that provide employee benefits to active and retired workers and their families. The Council's membership also includes organizations that provide employee-benefit services to employers of all sizes. Collectively, the Council's members either directly sponsor or provide services to retirement and health plans covering virtually every American who participates in employer-sponsored benefit programs.
"With the latest legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) dispatched by the U.S. Supreme Court on the basis of absence of 'legal standing,' the health care policy world returns to a state of cautious certainty," American Benefits Council President James A. Klein said today.
