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In December, I blogged about how voluntary benefits can help employers increase employees’ comfort level with CDHPs. For example, studies have shown that employees are generally uneasy about high out-of-pocket medical cost exposure. They appreciate having voluntary programs such as accident, cancer or critical illness Insurance to help supplement their CDHP coverage in the event of high dollar, unexpected claims. …

As a sales leader, it’s critical for brokers to understand how to help their team realize their potential and become the most effective salesperson. Kevin Trokey explains why brokers should commit to all four steps to become one of the most valuable resources in their organization.

Employers and brokers should step back and look at the benefit products that are being used and ask: “If we were designing these plans in 2012, what would they look like?” Today, we use dental plans designed over 50 years ago, and vision plans designed over 25 years ago. Both of these predate HRAs, HSAs, and FSAs. All plans from all insurers are almost identical: Same design Mostly insured Multiple rules on frequency, procedures, age, and limits PPO networks …

Employee engagement is the goal of just about every wellness and health management program. You need to engage employees to be more active, eat better, get more sleep. … You get the idea. So why is engaging employees so hard? Maybe it’s because we haven’t really thought about it from the perspective of the employee – the end-user of the wellness initiative. According to research from a partnership of Aon Hewitt and The Futures Company, most…

The final ruling for the insurance exchange portion of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is out. The 644-page rule mandates that all 50 states must be ready with an exchange by October 2013. “So far, there are only about 20 states making measurable progress toward the deadline,” says Bob Laszewiski of Health Policy Strategy Associates, LLC. “Most conservative states – 29 states have Republican governors – are sitting on the sidelines waiting to…

Wellness and health management programs can be scaled to fit the needs of companies of almost any size, as long as you have the data to help identify what the needs are. In today’s BeAdvised Mercer’s George Lane shares three simple programs that will not only heighten awareness of health issues to employees but will send the message that their employer’s concern for them extends beyond what’s included in their job description.

What is one of our fundamental roles as an adviser? In today's BeAdvised Andrew Torelli challenges you to an exercise that will help you become better simplicity maven.

Because so much of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is still unclear, one specific caveat must be made. BeAdvised contributor Sam Fleet addresses how PPACA will effect fixed indemnity plans.

As the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls travel across the country to make their case for the White House and health reform moves forward, have you looked into the future of YOUR business? Have you considered the potentially devastating impact to your business? How about the possibilities and tremendous opportunities to continue making a difference in the lives of your clients and prospects?

Perhaps the most important and critical thing Mark Lacher has learned is that implementation is not only critical, it may be more important than setting strategy. He shares two suggestions to help you implement so you can run a more successful business.