Cost-Containment

Whether the legislation will gain traction is far from clear, but advocates say it represents the most comprehensive effort to date in articulating a GOP vision for replacing the PPACA.

Assessments will be levied against employers that fail to offer insurance to workers or whose plans do not meet Obamacares standards for affordability or minimum value.

Let's start with the idea that the assessment may be cheaper than offering coverage.

The emphasis on confidentiality goes back decades to the earliest factories. It was a way for managers to maintain control. That's no longer practical.

While the average company in a survey by Towers Watson saw the cost of their health care plans increase by 5.5 percent, TW's best performers reported an increase of only 1.6 percent.

The contract being negotiated covers full-time hourly employees at the worlds most-popular theme-park complex.

The Texas firm hopes to help employers cut medical costs by offering ways to help their employees make healthier lifestyle choices and manage chronic illnesses.

The board wants insurers to get an 80 percent coinsurance rate for 2015.