LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill., Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Driven by changes under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), most employers are reevaluating their retiree health care strategy and are considering implementing strategies that open access to the individual Medicare plan market through health care exchanges, according to a new survey by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources solutions business of Aon plc. (AON).

According to Aon Hewitt's 2012 survey of almost 450 private and public plan sponsors representing 5.8 million retirees, 6 in 10 employers have reviewed or are currently reviewing their retiree health care strategies and are considering alternatives in order to leverage opportunities created by the PPACA.

Of those employers planning changes,63 percent are currently implementing or are considering moving towards an individual market strategy, where they would leverage a health exchange partnership. Aon Hewitt estimates that approximately two-thirds of Medicare-eligible retirees in the U.S. are already enrolled in a Medicare plan through the individual market.

"With the Supreme Court ruling largely upholding the PPACA, plan sponsors have the opportunity to reassess their role as a provider of retiree health care benefits and consider changes that will better position their retiree health care programs for the future," said John Grosso, health care actuary and leader of the Aon Hewitt Retiree Health Care sub-practice. ""The combination of changes to the Medicare Part D and Medicare Advantage programs, along with the choice, competition and generally favorable rating rules, have made the individual market very cost-effective compared to the group insurance program. We expect that there will be a similar opportunity for pre-Medicare retirees beginning in 2014."

Aon Hewitt's survey found that 65 percent of plan sponsors said they will at least consider leveraging an exchange strategy for their pre-Medicare retirees some time after 2013, with or without a subsidy, in order to take advantage of the opportunities created through new state-sponsored health care exchanges and additional PPACA market reforms.

In addition to an individual market strategy, Aon Hewitt's survey shows that employers are currently pursuing two other general retiree health care strategies in response to provisions under the PPACA:

Medicare Part D StrategiesPrompted by the elimination of the tax-favored status of the Retiree Drug Subsidy (RDS) under the PPACA, a majority of employers (61 percent) expect to change either their Medicare Part D or broader strategy for Medicare-eligible retirees. Of those plan sponsors, 17 percent made changes in 2011 or 2012, another 11 percent will make changes for 2013, and nearly three quarters (72 percent) are currently exploring what actions to take and when.

Of the employers who have already decided to make changes to their retiree drug program, 62 percent are moving forward with a group-based Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan (PDP/EGWP). Thirty-two percent are leveraging the individual Medicare-eligible health insurance market in some manner.

"Changes to the tax-favored status of the RDS, in conjunction with improvements to the Medicare Part D program over time, are driving significant change in the employer-sponsored retiree health care market," explained Grosso. "These enhancements allow for cost savings for both plan sponsors and retirees, while still preserving retiree benefits."

Excise Tax Mitigation StrategiesTo mitigate the cost of the excise tax on high-cost health plans in 2018, Aon Hewitt's research shows that 29 percent of plan sponsors anticipate changing plan features such as deductibles, copayments and coinsurance. Twenty-two percent would favor sourcing coverage through the state exchanges, and 18 percent favor changing retiree premium cost-sharing in some manner.

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Aon Hewitt Survey Shows Most Employers Considering Move Towards Exchange-Based Individual Market Strategies for ...

By NBC's Garrett Haake

TOLEDO, OH -- Mitt Romney on Wednesday pointed to the health care reform law he enacted as governor of Massachusetts as proof of his empathy and care for the American people.

In an interview with NBC News, Romney referenced an element of his record he almost never invokes on the campaign trail to answer a question about how he can better connect with Americans and prove he understands the lives and trials of middle class Americans.

"I think throughout this campaign as well, we talked about my record in Massachusetts, don't forget -- I got everybody in my state insured," Romney told NBC's Ron Allen in an interview before his rally here tonight. "One hundred percent of the kids in our state had health insurance. I don't think there's anything that shows more empathy and care about the people of this country than that kind of record."

Romney's health care law in Massachusetts has long been a lightning rod issue for conservatives, who unfavorably compare it to President Barack Obama's own federal law and as a damning reflection on Romney's conservative bonafides.

The former Massachusetts governor also touched on another portion of his biography that he seldom discusses to connect with average Americans: his time as a Mormon pastor.

"I think people have the chance, who watched our Republican convention, to see the lives that I've had a chance to touch during my life, to understand that as I served as a pastor of a congregation with people of all different backgrounds and economic circumstances that I care very deeply about the American people, people of different socio-economic circumstances," Romney told Allen.

Taking the stage for the final rally of his two-day Ohio bus tour moments later, Romney also spoke about the importance of compassion in his speech and said his interactions with Americans from all lots in life have shown him the greatness of America -- and that everyone has challenges of their own.

"You look around, you see everybody, they look happy, and you think everybody else is doing just fine, and you're the only one with problems. But the truth is, most people that you see have some real challenges in their life of one kind or another. I understand that," Romney said. "And I've seen that inside the heart of the American people, despite our challenges, is a conviction that this nation is the greatest nation in the history of the earth."

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Romney: Massachusetts health care law is proof of empathy

NEW YORK, Sept. 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue:

Health Care Equipment & Supplies: Global Industry Guide

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Health Care Equipment & Supplies: Global Industry Guide is an essential resource for top-level data and analysis covering the Health Care Equipment & Supplies industry. It includes detailed data on market size and segmentation, textual analysis of the key trends and competitive landscape, and profiles of the leading companies. This incisive report provides expert analysis on a global, regional and country basis.

Scope of the Report

* Contains an executive summary and data on value, volume and segmentation

* Provides textual analysis of the industry's prospects, competitive landscape and profiles of the leading companies

* Incorporates in-depth five forces competitive environment analysis and scorecards

* Covers the Global, European and Asia-Pacific markets as well as individual chapters on 5 major markets (France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the US).

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Health Care Equipment & Supplies: Global Industry Guide

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Employers will soon be offering workers their yearly opportunity to make changes to their health care benefits. All too often this open-enrollment period has required combing through pages and pages of confusing insurance terms.

But this year workers will receive help translating that jargon thanks to a new requirement that insurers provide a user-friendly coverage summary of all health plans. Combined with innovative wellness plans that reward employees for staying health, experts say millions of workers should be able to make smarter benefit decision and save money in the process.

"There's a $5 or $10 bill just sitting there," says Jody Dietel, chief compliance officer with WageWorks. "They have to do a little bit of homework, but that $5 or $10 is theirs for the taking."

More than 55 percent of insured workers estimate they waste up to $750 each year because of mistakes during open enrollment, according to a recent survey by insurance provider Aflac. Those wasted dollars are more crucial than ever. Even three years after the recession ended, 62 percent of middle class Americans tell the Pew Research Center they have been forced to cut back on spending in the past year.

Here are ways to make sure you're getting every dollar's worth from your health benefits:

MAKE TIME

"I think people spend less than an hour on (open enrollment) not because they don't want to but because they feel it's overwhelming and complicated," says Rebecca Madsen, a senior vice president with UnitedHealth Group. Open enrollment generally starts in October or November for plans that begin Jan. 1.

Many insurers are trying to present benefit information in interesting, more user-friendly ways. UnitedHealth runs the website http://www.healthcarelane.com , which lets visitors explore a virtual town, where each person they encounter offers information and advice about a different health plan offering. The Department of Health and Human Services offers a more straightforward website designed to demystify health care topics: http://www.healthcare.gov .

This year's open enrollment should be easier to navigate even for those who get their information from paper and ink sources. Starting this month insurers are required to provide standardized 8-page summaries that explain key terms and cost details of their plans. The rule was passed as part of the Obama administration's health care overhaul and is intended to make it easier to compare policies and the costs and benefits of various plans.

STAY FIT, SAVE MONEY

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Saving money with smart open enrollment changes

President Barack Obama signs the health care bill in the East Room of the White House in March 2010. (Photo by Charles Dharapak, The Associated Press)

It still divides us, but most Americans think President Barack Obama's health care law is here to stay. More than 7 in 10 say the law will fully go into effect with some changes, ranging from minor to major alterations, a new Associated Press-GfK poll finds. Only 12 percent expect the Affordable Care Act "Obamacare" to dismissive opponents to be repealed completely.

The law covering 30 million uninsured, requiring virtually every legal U.S. resident to carry health insurance and forbidding insurers from turning away the sick remains as contentious as the day it passed more than two years ago. There's still more than another year before its major provisions go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014.

Although the overhaul survived a Supreme Court challenge in June, the November election appears likely to settle its fate. Republican Mitt Romney vows to begin repealing it on Day One while Obama pledges to carry it out faithfully.

But the poll found that Americans are converging on the idea that the overhaul will be part of their lives, although probably not down to its last comma. They don't totally buy what either candidate is saying.

"People are sort of averaging out the candidates' positions," said Harvard School of Public Health professor Robert Blendon, who tracks polling on health care issues.

Forty-one percent said they expect the law to be fully implemented with minor changes, while 31 percent said they expect to see it take effect with major changes. Only 11 percent said they think it will be implemented as passed.

Americans also prefer that states have a strong say in carrying out the overhaul.

Sixty-three percent want states to run new health insurance markets called "exchanges." Open for business in 2014, exchanges would sign up individuals and small businesses for taxpayer-subsidized private coverage. With GOP governors still on the sidelines, the federal government may wind up operating the exchanges in half or more of the states, an outcome only 32 percent of Americans want to see, according to the poll.

Developed with researchers from Stanford University and the University of Michigan, the poll also found an enduring generation gap, with people 65 and older most likely to oppose the bill and those younger than 45 less likely to be against it.

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Health care law will be implemented, most say in poll