Allen Steinberg : Perspectives

Employee benefit plans—especially retirement and health care—have become an increasingly important part of the employment relationship. For employers, these plans represent an important part of the total compensation package, a tool for retention and recruitment, and a growing financial and compliance burden. For employees, these plans represent a key part of their overall financial security and wellbeing, a financial burden, and a source of complexity and frustration. In effect, it’s complicated. Our firm is dedicated to helping employers manage these complexities and focus on the important things.

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Allen Steinberg

24.08.2017 06.53 CDT

Healthcare costs continue to absorb an increasing share of benefits funding. This is forcing employers to find new ways to do more with less help employees meet other key needs. This blog explains the different approaches available to employers in meeting these needs and building employees’ human capital.

Human Capital: Enabling Employees to Build Their Resources

Employers are finding new ways to meet employee needs as healthcare costs crowd out amounts available for employer-funded programs.

employee benefits Human capital voluntary benefits

Employee benefit plans are a way to build “human capital” – defined as the abilities and qualities of people that make them productive. As healthcare costs absorb an increasing share of benefits funding, employers need to find new ways to help employees become secure in their ability to obtain health care, to meet other life exigencies, and to finance their needs in retirement. This blog explains the different approaches available to employers to do more with less in building employees’ human capital.

Allen Steinberg

16.08.2017 09.11 CDT

It may be helpful for members of Congress to remember some key actuarial principles as they continue to consider changes to the health care system.

Large Numbers, Risk Pooling and Congress

As Congress continues to discuss changes to the Affordable Care Act, it may be helpful to share some actuarial and insurance fundamentals.

ACA repeal health care legislation

As Republican legislators continue their efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, they keep on looking for new ways to separate portions the insurance markets into different segments. These efforts run counter to some key actuarial and insurance principles: segmenting the risk pool increases volatility and that creation of different risk pools based on health status can lead to increased premiums for many.

Allen Steinberg

02.08.2017 09.57 CDT

As more Americans work past 65, it is increasingly important to understand how employer coverage and Medicare affect each other.

Medicare and Your Employer Health Coverage: Too Much of a Good Thing?

Avoiding Traps in Coordinating Medicare and Employer Health Coverage

insurance late retirement Medicare

As more Americans work past 65, an increasing number are able to join Medicare and retain employer coverage. However, the intersection of Medicare and employer coverage has a number of traps for the unwary and some of these traps come with significant financial consequences. It is important for individuals – and employers – to understand Medicare’s complex rules and to be alert to these traps.

Allen Steinberg

13.07.2017 06.27 CDT

Senate Republicans have released a revised version of their health care proposal. The Senate version is substantially similar to the bill released by the Senate Republicans in June, but with a handful of changes intended to win support from key Republican holdouts.

Senate Revises Health Care Bill

The much-anticipated revision of the Republican Senate health care proposal has arrived.

ACA repeal health care legislation Senate proposal

Senate Republicans have released their revised proposal to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. The revised proposal makes a handful of significant changes to the Senate proposal released in June.

Allen Steinberg

29.06.2017 12.43 CDT

Proposals to repeal and replace the ACA contain many provisions to shift health care costs. Unfortunately, they do not do enough to actually reduce costs.

Don’t Confuse Cost Shifting with Cost Savings

Legislative Efforts to Repeal ACA Do Not Reduce Health Care Costs

ACA repeal AHCA health care legislation

The Congressional proposals to replace the Affordable Care Act create winners and losers - and may reduce insurance premiums for some of these winners. But shifting costs around does not really reduce national health care costs. This represents a missed opportunity – there are things Congress could do to that might actually lower costs.