The LA Times reported last month, "Employers are dramatically shifting healthcare costs onto workers so much that the average annual deductible for an individual surpassed $1,000 for the first time this year," according to a survey of about 2,900 companies conducted by benefits consulting firm Mercer.

 The data indicates that the amount employees must pay on average for out-of-pocket expenses before their health insurance coverage begins paying a share has increased 17 percent to $1,001 from $859 last year. The survey also showed that employer healthcare costs rose 6.3% Nationwide to an average of $8,482 per worker this year.

Healthplansny has just partnered with Assurant Benefits which provides dental plans for individuals and families. It's not easy finding a good dental plan nowadays and if you do happen to have dental insurance, chances are that you have it through your employer. But not every employer offers dental insurance and if you're like the many people who work for a small business that doesn't offer dental insurance, Assurant Benefits has come up with a very nice dental package that might make you smile. :)

When the Rep from Assurant sent over his "spec" sheets for me to look over, the first thing I said to him was, "I might even be interested in buying one of these plans." I already have dental insurance for my family but if anything were to happen where my current coverage became too expensive or if for some reason I lost my coverage, my first phone call would be to Assurant. They really have some nice dental packages and their pricing is very reasonable. They also make it very easy to find a participating dentist and you can sign-up effortlessly right online.

If you have been looking for a low-cost, quality dental plan, you really need to check out Assurant Benefits. You can visit their site here: Assurant Dental Plans Tell them Healthplansny sent you.

The New York State Insurance Department released a letter stating all New York insurers are expected to recognize same-sex marriages performed in jurisdictions where such unions are legal, even if they take place out of state.

Employers who offer group health insurance under a state policy are required to offer benefits to spouses in a same-sex union to the same extent as an opposite-sex union. Failure to do so may run afoul of New York’s Executive Law, which targets unlawful discrimination.

Employers with self-insured plans may be exempt from this requirement, as the Insurance Department lacks the authority to directly regulate employers; however, depending on how the term “spouse” is defined in the plan’s policy, the sponsor may be required to provide benefits to same-sex spouses anyway.

Earlier this year, New York Gov. David Paterson instructed all state agencies to review their policies, and ensure language like "spouse," "husband" and "wife" encompassed same-sex couples as well as opposite-sex couples.

Aetna has released 6 NEW! low cost health plans exclusively for New York City and the 5 Boroughs small business owners. The new program is called, "NYC Small Business Options" and rates start at $248.00 per month for single coverage. This new pricing structure is pretty incredible. We haven't seen rates this low since the 1990's.

The catch is that these are "in-network" plans only, which means your doctor or hospital must be in the Aetna network. But not to worry, Aetna has one of the largest provider networks in the Tri-State area and even across the Country. If you are a New York City business owner, you must check out Aetna's new pricing here.  For full details about the program, just click this link: "Small Business Options Program,"  For more information or to learn how to enroll your company, call us directly at: 914-633-1717.

As 2008 draws to a bloody close, the new year holds changes to how employers will be offering health care benefits to their employees. Presently there are 158 million employees receiving health care benefits from their employers. After polling thousands of employers and human resource managers Nationwide, here is how they see the future of health care.

• Employees who receive health care benefits can expect more cost sharing in the form of higher co-pays and more out-of-pocket expenses and higher premiums. 
• Small employers with 2-10 employees will increasingly drop group sponsored health care and require employees to purchase individual plans.
• Mini-med plans and Medium med plans will see large membership gains as cash strapped employers look for ways to keep premium costs under control.
• Voluntary coverage such as cancer coverage, serious illness policies, and short term disability provided by companies such as AFLAC and Colonial Life will become increasingly popular with employees.

Source: Benefits Selling Magazine

When Congress passed the "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act" of 2009, most of us remember this as the Wall Street Bailout Plan, it also made sure that health insurance providers offer equal coverage to people with mental illness and substance abuse disorders.

Simply put; beginning after December 21,2009 the legislation requires that health insurance providers must include mental health and substance abuse coverage on par with physical illness coverage in terms of reimbursement and treatment. Currently, most health insurance plans limit the number of visits for psychiatric care or outpatient/inpatient substance abuse coverage. Under the new law such restrictions are prohibited.

It should be interesting to see how the health insurance industry will handle this. We know in most cases, it will probably drive our health insurance premiums up. As if health insurance isn't costly enough, along comes Congress and mandates these new benefits be implemented into our health plans.

Some may see this new law as a good thing, thinking that they can go to their psychiatrist or psychologist an unlimited amount of times and be reimbursed for treatment. Just keep in mind, "freedom" always comes at a price.  

Here is an interesting piece of information that I came across the other day, "The Overall Insurance Company Complaints List." If you want to know how many complaints your insurance company gets and how well they are handled to a resolution, download this PDF Document and see if your company made the list.

In defense of the insurance companies, this list is from 2005. For the last few years, many insurance companies have been working hard at reducing consumer complaints and are making good improvements towards customer satisfaction, but it's still interesting to see which companies have the most complaints.