Open Enrollment Season. Employers that sponsor health insurance plans for employees must give participants and beneficiaries a summary of benefits and coverage for each plan as well as a glossary of common health insurance and medical terms. Other rules that apply to employers during open enrollment, including rules for handling grandfathered health insurance plans and covering same-sex spouses. For more information, follow this link: http://www.bna.com/ready-benefits-open-b57982059240/

Health Costs for Retirees Rise to $245K. Bloomberg News (10/8) reports that the average 65-year-old couple "retiring this year will face health-care costs of $245,000 in the years ahead, up 11 percent from a 2014 estimate of $220,000, according to a new report" from Fidelity Investments. The estimated annual increase in "medical and prescription expenses stands at 4 percent to 5 percent, about the same as last year." According to Bloomberg, Medicare Part B and D premiums make up 34 percent of the $245,000 figure.

PA. After the October 1 hearing convened by the PA Insurance Department to examine a practice known as balance billing, it supplied a link for those seeking to review testimony presented at the event. http://www.insurance.pa.gov/Pages/Balance-Billing-Hearing-Oct-2015.aspx#.VhKzwH1qO2B Balance billing occurs when a patient learns that he or she received medical care services from a health care provider not in the network and is charged the higher rate. (LEG REG REVIEW by Phillips Associates, 10/16)