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Group medical premiums continue to increase nationwide, according to the May Employee Benefits Market Survey conducted by The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers. Since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was enacted last year, many carriers and brokers blame the legislation for the increase rates, states a CIAB news release.

Rep. Jim McDermott, D-Wash., has introduced bipartisan legislation that aims to bring parity and equal treatment under the tax code for health plan beneficiaries who are domestic partners and non-spouse dependents.

Plan sponsors say that they “find comfort” in their advisers and the services they deliver, according to preliminary results from a comprehensive study to research the benefits that plan sponsors gain from working with professional retirement plan advisers.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration has extended the deadline for 401(k) plans to disclose fees and expenses to participants to 120 days after the Jan. 1, 2012 deadline. Originally, the deadline was 60 days after the effective date. As a result, plans now have until April 30, 2012 to provide the information.

Americans' use of medical services has not yet rebounded during the weak economy, health insurers say, in a trend that keeps the companies' costs down and could bolster their profits further this year.

Here’s a recent roundup of promotions and staff changes in the industry.

One of the more contentious issues of last year’s health care reform debate, whether health insurance companies should be allowed to sell policies across state lines, was subject to a congressional hearing last week.

Chief financial officers at some of the nation's largest banks and financial services firms are downright bullish on the U.S. economy's overall outlook but nagging concerns about health care reform and the uncertainty of those costs are tempering their optimism.

The mid-size market is a bright spot for voluntary sales in an otherwise stagnant economy, according to LIMRA research.

New steps to reduce premiums and make it easier for Americans to enroll in the federally administrated Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan risk pool were announced May 31 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.