Wellness

A fix is in the works to ensure agents and brokers can identify themselves and therefore receive commissions for their work on the federally-facilitated marketplace, an agency official at The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight said Tuesday.

Wearable wellness is here to stay, yet precisely how the devices will affect employer programs remains to be seen.

With an endorsement from the Affordable Care Act, outcomes-based wellness programs are gaining popularity. In the process, the way employers incentivize participation is changing in step with evolving user-friendly technologies.

Walmart’s announcement this week that it will drop health care coverage for its part-time employees reiterates that employer-sponsored health care coverage is changing, and those benefit advisers who plan to remain relevant to clients must change, too.

EBA’s annual Workplace Benefits Summit, held last week in Boca Raton, Fla., included a celebration of our Advisers of the Year, strategy and marketing tips from benefit professionals, and the presentation of our inaugural Most Influential Women in Benefit Advising awards.

The more things appear to change, the more they appear to stay the same. That’s what a consumer health advocacy group in Florida is saying about double-digit health insurance premium increases that it says have been predating, and now post-dating, the passage of the Affordable Care Act.

Encouraging the use of video game-styled features on smartphones to boost participation in your wellness program might get employees off to a good start, but these tools might not be the best long-term solution to building engagement.

Walmart Stores Inc. the world’s biggest retail chain, plans to stop offering health benefits to employees who work less than 30 hours a week, a move that will affect about 2% of its U.S. staff.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s new focus on employer wellness programs has many health and benefit managers scratching their heads on what is acceptable when it comes to voluntary health screenings and incentive rules under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

EBN’s annual Benefits Forum & Expo, held last week in Boca Raton, Fla., included a special focus on wearable wellness and an inspirational keynote address from marathon swimmer Diana Nyad. In case you missed the event, here’s our coverage.