Marketplace News: Private Health Insurance Exchanges; Health Costs Rise For Big Firms
Issues in the health care marketplace are making news.
NPR: To Changing Landscape, Add Private Health Care Exchanges
We've been reporting a lot lately on the troubled rollout of President Obama's signature health care law. But at the same time, there are rumblings of a major shift in the way companies offer private health insurance to workers. It involves what are called "private health care exchanges." These are similar to -- but completely separate from -- the public exchanges you've heard so much about (Arnold, 11/27).
Related, earlier story about private exchanges: Some Employers Already Sending Workers To Exchanges to Buy Health Insurance (4/29/11)
Los Angeles Times: Health Care Costs At Big L.A. Firms Up 4.5% This Year, Survey Shows Health care costs for Los Angeles employers climbed 4.5 percent this year to $11,625 per employee, a new survey shows, and firms expect a bigger increase in 2014. Nationwide, health-benefit costs in the workplace rose just 2.1 percent in 2013 to $10,779 per worker, which includes employer and employee contributions for medical, dental and other health coverage. The figures come from a survey of employer health plans by Mercer, a benefits consulting firm (Terhune, 11/26).
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