Medicaid is a healthcare assistance program for the categorically needy and medically needy. It is administered jointly by state and federal governments. Tri-Care makes healthcare benefits available to active and retired military personnel and their dependents. Employers Mid-sized and large employers frequently subsidize or pay the entire bill for healthcare coverage for their active and retired employees and carry worker s compensation insurance if they employ a specific number of employees. Depending upon the company s size and the number of hours worked by employees, employers may or may not provide health insurance coverage for employees.
Some companies prefer to self-insure their employees for healthcare.
Additionally, employers often purchase pharmaceutical coverage for their employees. Separate companies called pharmacy benefit management companies often administer pharmaceutical insurance. Insurance companies and large corporate employers are offering an increasing number of managed care plans. Despite the move toward managed care, healthcare benefit costs for employers are increasing. As a result, employers are seeking newer approaches for managing healthcare benefit packages for their employees, such as using Internet companies to facilitate information sharing and a defined-contribution approach by which employees use vouchers to select and buy coverage on their own.