Healthcare

From the Land of 10,000 Lakes to the Land of Enchantment, two more states have taken steps toward establishing their own health insurance exchanges.

A close observer of the health care consumerism movement was somewhat surprised by the reaction to his bold prediction that a proposed elimination of health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) from private health exchanges for most active employees would sabotage this model.

It is estimated there are more than 100 private exchanges in existence, with each one promoting unique or distinguishing characteristics in a crowded marketplace. Given the enormity of services offered to employers of many shapes and sizes, there are bound to be some conflicting claims that require an asterisk to eliminate any confusion for prospective customers.

Transforming employees’ experience with their health care can pay big dividends, particularly as the benefits industry moves toward a more consumer-driven model, says one official with a health assistance and advocacy company.

So I came across this article in Wired’s Good Design is Good Business that says: “A mix of factors, ranging from commoditization to evaporating barriers to competition, are conspiring to push design to the fore of business thinking”

The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation announced a new proposal that will reverse its 2009 proposal and thereby reform and reduce reporting requirements for more than 90% of companies and pension plans.

As HR/Payroll outsourcers look to continue to attract more and in some cases smaller businesses to their outsourced model they increasingly look to build data integration with third party systems to gain efficiencies and drive down costs. Thus the intersection between Human Resource/ Payroll software and retirement services recordkeeping software (plan administration) is heating up.

Americans continue to hold their purse strings tight and favor cautious choices with their money, according to research from Northwestern Mutual.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report Wednesday saying that employees switching jobs often receive guidance by 401(k) companies to roll their accounts into an IRA, even when that might not be the best course of action. But what does this mean for advisers?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirmed yesterday, following the release of proposed rules on Navigators and what they’re calling non-Navigator assistance personnel, that the information is not necessarily intended for brokers