Healthcare

Prudential Group will discontinue sales of new group long-term care insurance policies effective Aug. 1, 2012, except in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and South Dakota, where it will continue for a period as required by state law. In March, the carrier announced that it would discontinue the sale of individual LTC products to focus solely on its group line.

As California goes, so goes the nation, according to an old axiom. But will optimism about relief from pending health insurance rate hikes for tens of thousands of small businesses in the Golden State spill into other states or be buoyed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)?

Federal health care reform legislation and the desire of employers to limit their health insurance costs are likely to fuel interest in “defined contribution” (DC) health benefits and private health insurance exchanges, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Employers must be prepared to field employee questions and take appropriate action in the event that health insurance carriers fail to comply with the Medical Loss Ratio threshold under PPACA and must issue “rebates” beginning next month.

Data collected from the 13th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey makes it clear that the effects of the “Great Recession” have taken their toll on not just retirees, but the unemployed and underemployed as well.

More than three-quarters of plan participants (78%) know it is important to determine how much to save for a secure retirement but only a third claim to have the knowledge to determine that amount, according to a survey released Wednesday by State Street Global Advisors.

Pennsylvania is joining a growing movement across U.S. states to overhaul public pensions, but even while the state’s governor says the need for reform is urgent, he advocates action only after great deliberation.

Several leading health care advocacy groups are helping advance the use of outcomes-based incentives in worksite wellness or health management programs that are encouraged by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Alaska will not set up a program allowing residents to buy health insurance across state lines as envisioned under the Obama administration's new health care law, leaving that task to the U.S. government, Gov. Sean Parnell announced Tuesday.

Voluntary accidental death and dismemberment coverage received the highest rating (43%) from leading carriers selecting it as a ‘very profitable’ product line, according to The Frontline Report, Worksite/Voluntary Product Trends 2012.