Beginning in 2014, health care exchanges are expected - indeed mandated – to play a key role in the implementation of reform legislation. Exchanges are intended to serve and address consumers who don’t have employer-sponsored coverage or cannot afford employer-sponsored coverage. The basic concept of the exchange is to facilitate the interaction between insurance companies and consumers, using a common platform for comparison of qualified health plans.

On Friday, President Obama announced that his Administration will implement a policy that seeks to accommodate religious liberty while protecting the health of women. Under the new policy, women will still have access to free preventive care that includes contraceptive services – no matter where she works. And as previously announced, churches and houses of worship will be exempt from the requirement to refer or provide coverage for contraception. But if a woman’s employer is a charity, hospital or other religious organization that has a religious objection to providing contraceptive services as part of its health plan, her insurance company – and not the hospital or charity – will be required to reach out and offer her contraceptive care free of charge. This policy has earned praise from a wide range of individuals and organizations, including many organizations that will be directly affected by this policy.

In an effort to help consumers make more informed health insurance decisions, the Obama administration released new rules requiring insurers to provide clear, consistent and comparable summary information about their health plan benefits and coverage. Insurers must communicate what each health plan will cover, what limitations or conditions will apply, and what each service will cost, all in standardized and straightforward language.

This week, the United States Senate Committee on Finance approved legislation that would reverse cuts to the monthly pre-tax transit benefits available to commuters who use public transportation and vanpools. If approved by Congress, the bill will restore the monthly amount that can be set aside for public transportation expenses to $240 a month, rather than $125, saving commuters annual costs of up to an additional $550 this year.

 A new report from Highlands, a leader in employer health care compliance and benefits management, finds that less than half of U.S. employees are ready to comply with healthcare reform provisions that call for the distribution of standardized Summaries of Benefits and Coverage (SBCs).