Practice management

Commentary: Critical considerations that make a stop-loss plan successful for clients of all sizes, according to Sun Life’s Brad Nieland.

Although most employers who move to private exchanges are seeing some cost savings below trend in their initial years, that is not sustainable over time, says Rob Harkins, practice leader, private exchanges at Willis Group. For Willis, the exchange is not designed to be a long-term money-saving product on its own, but rather part of a larger program for its clients to manage health and wellbeing.

Commentary: Employers who start revising their FMLA policies to address this change should also use it as an opportunity to review their benefit plan language to make sure it accurately reflects the updated definition.

Earning less money and a lack of financial knowledge make saving more difficult for women, who are turning to advisers for help, research shows.

Commentary: CMS has issued a special enrollment period for certain individuals to sign up for health care coverage on the exchanges. Blogger Craig Hasday wonders if the administration's leniency is also hurting its credibility.

Commentary: There’s much to learn from rapidly growing firms. Columnist Jack Kwicien shares the business philosophies that make market leaders successful.

Controlling rising health care costs is crucial for all employers, and conducting regular dependent eligibility audits can help.

Commentary: True employee engagement comes from understanding the decision-making process and the broker’s critical, proactive role, says columnist Nelson Griswold.

Commentary: It’s time to start thinking outside the box and considering life insurance and fixed indexed annuities as alternative investments or sub investment classes within fixed income for retirement plans.

Commentary: Getting started on better engagement can be a daunting task. Columnist Wendy Keneipp shares three areas to focus on in order to begin creating stronger connections with your employees.