More than one-third of the nation’s employers surveyed (36 percent) are already focusing on possible changes to health-care benefits as they anticipate the upcoming excise tax, which takes effect in 2018.

That’s according to a survey entitled “Health Care Reform: The Road to Implementation” that Mercer conducted in May 2013. Mercer is a New York City–based human resource and financial-services consulting firm.

Often referred to as the Cadillac tax, the excise tax is a 40 percent levy on the cost of medical coverage above thresholds that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) sets.

Under the terms of the ACA, so-called “Cadillac” health-insurance plans worth more than $10,200 for individuals or $27,500 for families face a 40 percent excise tax starting in 2018.

“It’s 40 percent on the amounts over [those totals], so it would be the excess benefit over that dollar cap,” says Thomas Flynn, principal with Mercer based in its Pittsford office.

The numbers are different for retirees or those in high-risk professions, including $11,850 for single coverage and $30,950 for family coverage, he adds.  

The tax will be permanent and apply to both fully insured and self-funded employer plans, according to the website of Minnetonka, Minn.–based UnitedHealthcare, which operates an Upstate office in DeWitt.

The upcoming excise tax on high-cost health plans is proposed to both slow the rate of growth of health costs and finance the expansion of health coverage.

“If they’re [subscribers are] willing to keep the plan, then we’re [the federal government] going to put a penalty that’s really going to make them think not just twice but maybe five times about not changing it,” Flynn says.

The seeks to shift consumers’ belief that if they have to pay more expenses themselves, through higher deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses, they’ll avoid unnecessary or overly costly procedures.

The federal government is saying if the nation wants to start controlling health-care costs, then consumers “have to stop being insulated from costs,” Flynn says

“These high-cost plans are normally the ones where that exists, either totally or with the majority of services rendered,” Flynn says.

Application of the health-care excise tax is based on cost of the premiums, or the premium equivalents under a self-funded plan, he notes.

It’s applied based on what the employee pays, flexible-spending account contributions, and health-reimbursement account and health-savings account dollars that are part of the plan, he says.

“This tax looks at the full complete cost of the plan,” Flynn adds.

The Mercer survey also included statistics about what steps employers are taking to avoid the tax in 2018.

More than half have introduced a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP) or taken steps to increase enrollment in an existing CDHP; 48 percent plan to add or expand health-management programs; and 28 percent indicated they would drop a higher-cost health plan, the survey found.

When employers look at all the costs of health-care reform, they’re starting to ask consultants such as Flynn about what other costs are “out there.”

“The excise tax is certainly one of those ones that people want to get out in front of just for those reasons,” Flynn says.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

SYRACUSE — St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center formally opened a training center at 500 N. Salina St. in Syracuse on Feb. 28.

The hospital announced the event in a news release distributed March 7.

Crews renovated the site, which was previously home to a branch of HSBC Bank, to create 19 classrooms. St. Joseph’s is preparing its employees for the launch of a new electronic health-record system on May 1.

The center, which includes 50 certified trainers, welcomes its first class on March 3, St. Joseph’s said.

“The new training center provides a foundation for growth through employee education and leadership development across the organization, now and in the future,” AnneMarie Czyz, vice president for clinical and educational services and chief nursing officer, said in the news release.

ITHACA — Dr. David Skorton, president of Cornell University, will leave in mid-2015 to become the next secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the university announced on March 10.

Smithsonian Institution, located in Washington, D.C., is the world’s largest museum and research complex, Cornell said in a news release. Cornell is Central New York’s largest employer, according to CNYBJ Research.

The Smithsonian board of regents voted to approve Skorton’s appointment on March 9, Cornell said.

Skorton, who is also a board-certified cardiologist, will remain president and continue all the duties and activities of his office at Cornell through June 30, 2015, the university said.

Skorton and his wife, professor Robin Davisson, will relocate to Washington, D.C.

In reaction to the announcement, Skorton said in the Cornell news release that he is “honored to be chosen.”

“The mission of the Smithsonian, ‘The Increase and Diffusion of Knowledge,’ resonates deeply with me and mirrors the collective mission of the remarkably talented community of scholars, students and staff with whom I have had the privilege to collaborate at Cornell these past eight years. While I look forward to beginning my new assignment, I am delighted that the timing will enable me to commemorate Cornell’s sesquicentennial as president,” Skorton said.

Robert Harrison, chairman of the Cornell University board of trustees, in the news release called Skorton’s tenure at the school “stellar.”

 “When he departs next year, he will leave Cornell in a historically strong position, having regained its financial stability, elevated its rankings across key disciplines, increased student access, and greatly expanded its presence in New York City and around the world,” Harrison said.

Harrison will soon appoint a committee to lead the search for Cornell’s 13th president, the school said.

Skorton became Cornell’s president on July 1, 2006. He holds faculty appointments as professor in the departments of medicine and pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City and in biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering on Cornell’s Ithaca campus.

In addition to his work as an administrator and a cardiologist, Skorton is also a biomedical researcher, musician, and an advocate for the arts and humanities, Cornell said.

Skorton earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1970 and his medical degree in 1974, both from Northwestern University.

He completed his medical residency and fellowship in cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, according to Cornell.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

UnitedHealthcare (UHC) Community Plan announced it has added four additional upstate New York counties to its service area for Medicaid Managed Care and Family Health Plus.

The addition of Lewis, Seneca, Wayne, and Ontario counties brings the number of New York counties in the service area for UHC Community Plan to 38, the health insurer said in a news release.

Medicaid Managed Care and Family Health Plus are state-government sponsored health-insurance programs, UHC added.

The programs are available throughout Central and Western New York, along with the Hudson Valley, Long Island, and in New York City, according to UHC.

In addition to Lewis, Seneca, Wayne, and Ontario, the 38 counties also include Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Clinton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, St. Lawrence, and Tioga in Central New York and the Southern Tier.

Additional counties include Albany, Bronx, Chautauqua, Columbia, Essex, Fulton, Genesee, Kings, Monroe, Nassau, New York, Niagara, Orange, Queens, Rensselaer, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Ulster, Warren and Westchester, UHC said.

UnitedHealthcare Community Plan offers programs for adults and children who may qualify for Medicaid and Child Health Plus. These programs offer “comprehensive” health coverage, including preventive care, primary care, hospitalization, prescriptions and other services, “often with little or no cost,” according to UHC.

UnitedHealthcare continues expanding its service area and wellness programs so more eligible New Yorkers and their families can access “affordable, quality” health-care [coverage], particularly preventive care, Pat Celli, president of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of New York, said in the news release.

The company last August announced plans to hire more than 60 new employees to support its recent expansion in New York.

In that news release, UHC indicated it employs more than 4,000 people in 18 locations across New York, following “significant” expansion in its Kingston and Tonawanda locations during 2012.

The health insurer hired more than 1,000 employees to support growth at these two locations alone, the company said.

UnitedHealthcare, a business of Minnetonka, Minn.–based UnitedHealth Group, Inc. (NYSE: UNH), serves nearly 4 million New York residents with a care-provider network of 232 hospitals and more than 58,000 physicians and other health-care professionals statewide, the company said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com

Total enrollment in private health-insurance plans through state and federal exchanges rose to more than 4.2 million as of March 1, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) reported on March 11.

That’s up by 943,000 since Feb. 1, the agency said. The pace of sign-ups was below the 1.1 million registered in January and 1.8 million in December.

To meet the HHS’ original target of 7 million people enrolled in health plans under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by the end of March, 2.8 million people would have to sign up for plans this month alone.

HHS also broke out its data by state. According to the numbers, 244,618 people had selected a private health-insurance plan from NY State of Health, the Empire State’s exchange, as of March 1.

However, the NY State of Health website (https://nystateofhealth.ny.gov) indicates that 590,639 individuals had enrolled in health plans as of March 10. Of those, 299,836 signed up for private insurance and 290,803 were eligible for Medicaid.

National numbers breakdown
Of the 4.2 million signed up for private health insurance as of March 1, 1.6 million were in state-run exchanges like New York and California, while 2.6 million were in the federally run exchange, the HHS said. The demographic breakdown or health-plan enrollees was as follows:

• 55 percent are female, 45 percent are male;
• 31 percent are age 34 and under;
• 25 percent are between the ages of 18 and 34;
• 63 percent selected a Silver plan, while 18 percent picked a Bronze plan; and,
• 83 percent selected a plan and are eligible to receive government subsidies

To read the full Department of Health & Human Services report on health-plan enrollment,  visit:http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2014/MarketPlaceEnrollment/Mar2014/ib_2014mar_enrollment.pdf