Just got the new company health benefits package. Includes all the new ACA requirements.

Our company went through a major restructuring last year, spun off 2/3 into a new company, and we just finished the process last month, so we went from 50K+ employees to around 14K. Major change in negotiating power, which can potentially cost more out of pocket with the ACA requirements.
But we ended up with what looks to be a better plan...

Medical
First of all, they changed from regional mix of Aetna, Cigna, and Dominion non-HMO plans to a blanket Anthem medical package to cut costs across the board - reducing the cost to the company as part of their premium, and it also lowered the deductibles and out of pocket maximum by over 1/3 to 1/2 from last year.
They kept the Kaiser for the HMO, and the "cats and dogs" plans for overseas and special - the Hawaii Medical Service Association, the Cigna International, and the TRICARE Supplemental.

Deductibles went from 1500/3000 to 1000/2000 and out of pocket max (including deductibles) went from 6000/12000 to 3000/6000.
Co-pays remained the same across the board, except for hospitalization, which dropped from 25% to 20% between deductible and max out of pocket. Coverage remains the same, from what I can see; we have to check about max for specialist visits.

Mental, Ambulance and Therapeutic services
Remains the same. No limit visits. Therapist and Psych visits are charged same as any other specialists.

Pharmacy
Amount of drugs accepted in the prescription service formulary went up by 1/3; they now include approved biologics (yeay!) at 20% of cost after deductible is met. Hoping the spouse's prescription is now included in the formulary, it wasn't last year, and we were stuck facing paying full price of $2200 a month if we wanted to give him real relief from his degenerating arthritis through the plan.
Unfortunately, this year he had to go without for ten months after the last of the 3-month mail prescription we had gotten in late December 2012 a 3-tier system (with max cost of $45 a month) ran out. We couldn't even afford to get him into one of those "drug assistance plans" - they required full payment of the first month up front to get the rest of the year at $10 a month.
He's basically chair-ridden right now, but next month his doctor can start giving him samples to make it until next year when the new system kicks in.

Dental
Dental plan and coverage remained the same, but the deductible and max out of pocket dropped - that Rawks! (Deductible - $50/Max - $1500 vice Deductible - $150/Max $2500)

Vision
The company provides us with VSP. No change in coverage or premium.

Dependents -
Uses most IRS definitions for dependency. Excludes "live-in" dependents who are not relatives or otherwise legally bound to the employee, even if they can be counted as a dependent for tax purposes.
Plan now waives student requirement or un-married requirements for legal dependent child to age 26. A legal dependent child now includes a younger sibling if orphaned, child of covered domestic partner and any grandchildren that are being supported for more than 50% by the employee, covered spouse, or covered domestic partner.
A covered domestic partner is any adult partner sharing living spaces under either a marriage license, a legally filed common law marriage notification, or domestic partnership contract.

Premiums.
Medical - Self, Spouse/Domestic Partner and Dependents. Up $5.00 a paycheck, or $10 a month.
Dental - Self, Spouse/Domestic Partner, and Dependents. Up $10.00 a paycheck, or $20 a month. (guess we have to pay for the lower max out-of-pocket somehow...)
Vision - Stays the same.

So, my premiums have gone up $30 a month under the ACA, making it approximately $700 a month I have to pay in premiums for 4 people. Well, that's a pain, but it's bugetable. Other costs are going down, so it's not quite as bad.

HSA/FSA -
HSAs are a great way of managing the payment of medical bills without interfering too much in your household budget.
This year, we can legally allot $1000 more pre-tax, and the company will still kick in $1K on top to start us off at the beginning of the year. Also, since I turn 55 next year, we can put in up to an extra $1000 a year post-tax. I'm asking all the relatives who send Xmas presents to send money this year...
(Our HSA is in a BNY Mellon account with a quarterly return of around 2%, which adds up quicker than most savings accounts, rolls over into the next year, and is not taxable so long as there's a medical receipt associated with any withdrawals or payments...and they have a visa card for the account which can be used instead of trying to get reimbursed for out of pocket expenses.)
I'm going to be putting in an additional $30 a paycheck, bringing the outlay for the HSA to around $516 a month. But that will be worth it not to have to worry about a medical bill that goes over what is in the HSA at the time, or spreading out doctor's visits so that we aren't hit with having to pay for a visit or treatment "out of pocket" and waiting until enough paycheck allotment accumulates to be able to get re-reimbursed for that medical bill.
Because we have an HSA, our FSA is limited to Dental and Vision costs. I'll probably go for $2400 this year; I need a bridge replacement, and I'm think the kidlet will need a root canal. If not for those concerns, we'd probably have it around $840 to cover glasses for two people and routine dental for four.

So, my household of four with an estimated 2014 gross income of around $60K still has to pay $16K for medical costs over the next year. But this is all pre-tax, so when our gross is now around $44000 for tax and income estimate purposes. But at least we don't have to "pay" medical bills and can budget around that income.

Anyway, that's my Benefits package.

"Gee, Thanks Obama!"

Haele