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San Francisco Health Access Plan Effective Date
Pushed Back:
On March 14, 2007 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed an amendment that postpones the effective date
(from July 1, 2007 to January 1, 2008) for the implementation of minimum employer healthcare expenditures for San Francisco
employees. This change applies to employers with 50 or more employees.
The effective date for employers with less than 50 employees is postponed to no sooner than April 1, 2008. Additional guidance on compliance requirements is expected to be issued by the City and County of San Francisco during the summer of 2007.
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State-Mandated Health Benefits on the Rise:
The Council for Affordable Health Insurance (CAHI) has identified more than 1,900 state and regionally mandated benefits that impact coverage, which must be provided by insured health plans. The publication
points out that while mandates make health insurance more comprehensive, they also increase costs significantly. CAHI reports that mandated benefits currently increase the cost of basic health coverage by as much as 50%, depending on the state. Most mandates are individually estimated to add less than 1% to the cost of insurance, but the cumulative impact of the mandates can be significant. Among the higher
cost mandates are those related to fertility benefits, prescription drugs, mental health benefits, obesity treatments and certain preventive services.
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Improved Technology Can Mean Increased Costs:
Over the last 30 years, health care spending has grown at an average of about 2.5 percentage points faster
than the overall economy. A recent report released by the Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that technological change is likely responsible for over half of the increase in real medical spending. The report cites a number of benefits directly attributable to the increase in spending; citing that 50% of the 7 year increase in life expectancy between 1960 and 2000 is derived from improvements in healthcare.
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Americans Find Shopping More Important than Reviewing Benefits:
According to research conducted by the Guardian Life Insurance Company, almost half of working Americans spend at least double the time holiday shopping (4.9 hours), doing their taxes (2.8 hours), preparing for Thanksgiving (2.7 hours) than on reviewing their benefits (1.4 hours). The survey findings underscore the challenges that employers face as they seek to raise employee awareness of new strategies, including consumer directed healthcare and population health management.
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