Cutting spousal benefits may not be cost-effective; ACA employer mandate delayed again; one employer puts new twist on biometric screenings: 3 things you need to know in employee benefits

Study finds that cutting spousal benefits may not cut costs

To save on health care costs, a growing number of employers are eliminating benefits eligibility for employees’ spouses who have access to other coverage. However, an NPR report citing research from the Employee Benefit Research Institute suggests that this might not be the best idea.

In 2012, “only 4% of large employers reported not covering spouses who had other coverage available,” according to EBRI. “But by early 2013, another 8% reported that they planned to exclude spouses.” The trend is on the rise—slowly but surely, the nonprofit finds—but may not be a sound cost-cutting strategy over the long term.

Economists for the study explain that as companies shrink spousal coverage, spouses are forced to rely on their own insurance—thus virtually sending every employee back to their own employer. Employees who cover dependent spouses pay higher premiums, though, and employers lose those funds along with spouses, who may be healthy and help to decrease a group’s overall risk.

Obama administration delays employer mandate … again

We’ve figured it out: The Obama administration likes to coincide Affordable Care Act announcements with holidays. Announcing a one-year delay in ACA’s employer mandate occurred on the eve of last year’s July 4 holiday. Also in 2013, the administration released ACA guidelines for how employer plans could qualify as “excepted benefits”—on Christmas Eve.

Now, just in time for Valentine’s Day, the White House announces this week that employers 50–99 employees now have still another year to provide affordable coverage under ACA, delaying the employer mandate until 2016. Also, CNN reports, “larger companies are getting a bit of a break too: They must offer insurance to only 70% of full-time workers in 2015, rather than 95%.”

Aside from covering essential and necessary medical benefits, affordable insurance means that a worker doesn't have to spend more than 9.5% of his income on premiums for employee-only coverage.

This week’s hidden gem: One employer exceeds wellness program expectations

After losing two colleagues to heart disease and an undetected medical problem, Joe Mina, a captain in the Harford County (Md.) Sheriff’s Office—and the department’s wellness coordinator—vowed to implement broader wellness screenings to target heart disease.

In a report in Employee Benefit News, Mina details his partnership with Life Line Screening to offer employees a broad swath of cardiovascular screenings, including tests for stroke/carotid artery disease, peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm and atrial fibrillation. Employees could even customize their tests based on health risks or concerns.