Insurance

The House has agreed to pass legislation that makes possible a repeal of the ACA’s controversial expansion of the definition of a small employer — a bill hailed by the benefits industry for protecting the small and mid-size businesses they feel the expansion threatens to harm.

Offering a supplemental plan for retired military employees can save employers from potential claims — and it also helps brokers add value to their clients and increase their book of business.

Health Republic Insurance of New York, the Affordable Care Act insurer that got $265 million in U.S. loans, will stop selling policies and eventually cease operations under orders from New York and federal regulators.

When it comes to benefits management, the most important number for any small to mid-sized business to know is how many full-time employees plus full-time equivalent employees it averaged in calendar year 2014.

Questions over program effectiveness, legality and data storage have employers hesitating to implement such plans.

The IRS has posted a webpage, dubbed the ACA Information Center for Applicable Large Employers, which features information and resources for employers on how the health care law may affect them.

Health insurance carriers have not poached healthier customers from the exchanges for plans sold outside the exchanges, which some feared would lead to adverse selection in the public exchange market, concludes a recent issue brief.

If an employer says they don’t have concerns about the Affordable Care Act’s looming excise tax set to go into effect in 2018, they’re probably fibbing.

The ruling is not likely to affect demand for individual fixed indemnity products, which have been on the decline, nor to have impact on overall health insurance market, experts say.

Zenefits announced today it is offering small and mid-sized employers an ACA compliance tool for free. Some industry experts say the offering raises the bar again for competing benefit brokers, but others claim it is too little, too late.