Healthcare

Medical tourism is gaining traction among Americans, and it can be a tool for brokers seeking to keep their self-funded clients’ health care costs down.

There may be a convergence of public and private exchanges and if that happens carriers need to adopt a more holistic approach and consider multiple retail channels to distribute their products as part of a multi-carrier approach or alliances such as those seen within the CO-OP market.

Commentary: More disclosures and transparency is not a bad thing, but how does this ruling truly help make things easier to understand and provide the leadership needed for retirement readiness, asks EBA columnist John Ludwig.

While debate continues about the long-term effects of the Affordable Care Act, many employers report minimal changes in their health care premiums as a result.

When prompted with direct financial incentives, including contributions to their HSAs, employees tend to show much stronger involvement in workplace wellness offerings.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a proposed rule today on wellness programs, removing what at least one business group calls a “big cloud” that has been hovering over employers as they struggle to ensure their wellness incentive programs don’t run afoul of the EEOC.

It's the “Big B, little b” conundrum. Big B benefit plans are usually subject to ERISA and require specific administration. Little B “benefits” are those perk and extras we offer to employees to be competitive in the market or to improve employee morale.

The Department of Labor finally revealed its proposed fiduciary standard rule on Tuesday after weeks of anticipation and speculation. The rule is intended to deter brokers from pushing “backdoor payments” and hidden fees in the products they recommend to clients.

Ownership of life insurance has been on a steady decline, and the reason many experts point to are other more pressing financial priorities — particularly with retirement income becoming such a hot priority.

The past year was not a good one for the top 100 corporate pensions, according to research by Towers Watson. Falling interest rates and increased liabilities from updated mortality assumptions combined in 2014 to eradicate most of the gains from the previous year, Towers Watson found. The average funded status of the Towers Watson Pension 100 fell from 89% to 81% in 2014, even though plan assets gained in value. One bright note was that plan sponsors…