Insurance

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday on a legal challenge that could affect the future framework of employer pregnancy benefits and associated work accommodations.

While it’s on the DOL agenda for January, many in the industry anticipate additional postponements before the new rule is released.

In anticipation of the 2015 tax season, TurboTax is enabling imports of the 1095-A forms, one of the many new tax forms associated with the Affordable Care Act.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners has released highly anticipated draft regulations expected to impact the makeup of health plan provider networks on a state and federal level, including on the ACA exchanges.

Whether plan sponsors like it or not, employees’ expectations of the health insurance purchasing process are being shaped by influences outside of their control.

Employers are taking a more engaging and firm approach to making sure employees take retirement saving seriously, making use of automatic enrollment and escalation, as well as personalized tools. And both employers and retirement plan providers are noting changes in the savings attitudes of employees.

Employers looking to amplify their employees’ retirement prospects might look to the growing individual retirement account field, as involvement in employer-sponsored retirement plans remains largely unchanged.

In exclusive interviews, Mercer’s Julio Portalatin and the heads of several other top brokerages — Gallagher, Lockton, Higginbotham, Willis and Pacific Resources —speak with EBA about their strategies for sustained development and staying ahead of the competition.

The IRS has issued a notice, regulations and other guidance related to the ACA, including information on getting a hardship exemption from the individual mandate for health insurance coverage.

With mental illness and substance abuse costing employers an estimated $100 billion annually in indirect costs alone, benefit decision-makers are seeing value in promoting employee assistance programs as a means to improve their workforce’s mental well-being.