Wellness

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced training and registration dates, along with requirements, for benefit advisers and brokers who want to enroll small business employers on the federally facilitated SHOP exchange.

Benefit advisers are poised to close the gap between employers’ need to control health costs and comply with the health law and employees’ lack of interest in taking ownership of their health care choices.

Benefit insiders predict a steep decline in small business group health insurance sales in the coming years, which could prove harmful for many independent brokers and agents.

The IRS this month clarified for benefit advisers and their clients that employers cannot escape ACA penalties and taxes via pre-tax premium reimbursement plans.

Benefits managers struggle to measure the real returns on wellness initiatives; achieving the goals of cost savings, cost avoidance and employee engagement requires a well-orchestrated plan. But it's not an impossible task.

Benefit broker compensation problems, an existing health law and a tough exchange board have forced advisers in this state to take a backseat to the implementation of Obamacare.

If your wellness program consists of a health risk assessment and nothing else, you may be missing the bigger picture. While the tools can yield important information, they may ignore broader factors in employees’ lives that are influencing the unhealthy behavior.

Commentary: An additional option is available for certain consumers to continue to enroll in the ACA marketplaces, guest blogger Laura Kerekes explains.

Evidence shows that more insurers bring down premiums on the ACA exchanges, which could ease conversations benefit brokers have with the uninsured about affordability of coverage.

Final regulations implementing the ACA’s nondiscrimination rules for wellness programs became effective in January, but many employers are still unclear about how the regulations have changed. The changes are subtle, but noncompliance can carry heavy penalties.