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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told contractors not to cooperate with Congress’s efforts to investigate work related to the Obamacare website, a top Republican lawmaker said.

More than 250,000 Americans selected private health insurance plans through Obamacare enrollment systems last month, better than twice as many as in October when the exchanges opened amid technology errors and outages.

Industry leaders discuss brokers’ to-dos for 2014, including technology developments and pending, unexpected competitors during a panel at Workplace Benefits Transitions.

President Barack Obama’s health agency said it has spent $319 million building an online health-insurance marketplace through October.

Lou Faiola takes relationships to a new level. From carriers to brokers to beneficiaries, his commitment to benefits is apparent to all whose lives he touches.

Emails obtained by the Republican majority of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce reveal that the Obama administration knew this summer that the federal SHOP exchange would likely not be ready for launch on Oct. 1.

The health care website’s improved performance has both U.S. political parties shifting strategies, with President Barack Obama’s team preparing a January advertising blitz and a wave of celebrity promotions to boost enrollment, allies said.

Obamacare is no longer a political issue. Like it or not, that fight has largely been fought. It is, however, a human behavior issue.

With the ACA requiring even more communications to employees, many employers might consider shifting to electronic means for all disclosure notices, but there are many rules here and employers and their advisers should be careful.

It’s been 70 years since benefits originated, and brokers would be wise to remember that innovation as inspiration to keep their businesses in the future.