Insurance

Towers Watson has spent nearly a billion dollars of its own capital to build out its private exchange offering, OneExchange, through acquisitions. Jim Foreman, Towers Watson’s director of exchange solutions, shares how voluntary continues to grow in a private HIX marketplace and why more and more employers are expressing interest in the offerings.

HHS proposes making some significant changes to the ACA in 2016, including controversial new requirements for brokers and agents that some say put them at an unfair disadvantage.

With its sights set on maintaining lifetime retirement income for the American workforce, a new final rule from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation hopes to limit any obstacles participants face when rolling over their 401(k) money into traditional pension plans.

A randomized controlled trial found that users of the SmartQuit program, created by Seattle-based 2Morrow, Inc., were 2.5 to three times more likely to quit smoking than those who tried to quit on their own. The program will be offered through employers, health plans and states.

Perhaps the hottest trend in benefits right now is the exchange distribution model. In EBA’s ongoing series of discussions with heads of the country’s top brokerages, these leaders share their approach to the exchange system and how they see private exchanges impacting the future of benefits.

No short-term effects are expected from House GOP’s ACA subsidy lawsuit, but industry experts expect long-term implications on presidential authority and upcoming elections.

HHS is proposing to make some significant changes to the rules governing the Affordable Care Act, including a shortened time period for open enrollment and training requirements for brokers and agents.

Prenatal and postpartum care programs are not only a benefit for employees who are expecting, they can also help employers avoid unnecessary costs related to preterm births.

Wizened consumers who are able to analyze their entire out-of-pocket exposure. That’s the goal of ConnectedHealth’s private exchange, says Joe Donlan, the company’s president. However, he predicts that increased consumer engagement is just part of the wave toward more employers adopting private exchanges. Donlan shares his view on where the industry is headed and how brokers fit into the exchange system.

Americans’ approval of the Affordable Care Act is at a record low yet those uninsured who purchased coverage through the exchange are overall pleased with the quality of coverage they obtained.