Healthcare

Every year brings something new in this business, but the changes you'll see this year - and the ones you'll be anticipating - could be dramatic. That's thanks to a bevy of new regulations, some final and some still in the proposal stage, from the Department of Labor.

Beginning in 2014 all employers with at least 50 employees must buy comprehensive heath insurance for all full-time employees or pay a penalty of $2,000 dollars per employee.

According to WellPoint Inc. research, 83% of American employees think more highly of employers that offer voluntary insurance benefits than those that don't.

Most economists seem to agree that we are in the middle of a slowly expanding economic recovery. What will be the long-term impact of this historic financial collapse and recovery on the employee benefit and voluntary landscape?

In recent years, employers increasingly have embraced the opportunity to enhance their employee benefit packages by offering access to voluntary benefits such as dental, long-term care, and property and casualty insurance.

Work environment may be one of the biggest factors affecting the well-being of U.S. employees, according to research released last fall at EBN's 23rd Annual Benefits Forum & Expo.

If you're a dessert lover like me, you may have celebrated at the news that Mark Haub, a Kansas State University nutrition professor, lost 27 pounds and lowered his cholesterol levels by eating a 10-week diet of mostly Twinkies and Doritos and adding no extra exercise.

Have you ever tried to speak with your teenagers about saving money?

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) treatments are all the rage lately for consumers, and many carriers are catching on to the trend by offering discounts on or coverage of certain benefits.

The shift to health consumerism hasn't escaped dental benefits. And if health care costs continue to squeeze benefit budgets, then more employers might start turning to voluntary dental plans.