Advisor strategies

Nelson Griswold provides four tips for making sure you make the right decision for your client.

The choices that benefits professionals make now about the ACA are crucial.

Computer servers hosting a key piece of Obamacare’s insurance enrollment program fails Sunday, leaving federal and independent state exchanges unable to provide most services.

Despite a CMS report Friday that nearly half of all applications completed so far are from the federally-run state exchanges, brokers on the front lines have a different perspective.

The state-run exchanges in Washington and Kentucky have received positive press about their websites working in comparison to the federal, but brokers haven’t had much hand in the success.

Acknowledging Thursday that the exchange system “wasn’t tested enough,” CMS’ director of communications responded to issues brought up by government contractors earlier in the day on Capitol Hill.

A recent survey conducted by the National Business Group on Health shows surprisingly different results about employee ACA knowledge than a similar poll the organization commissioned in the summer.

As intelligence emerges about failed and rushed testing in the weeks leading up to the Oct. 1 launch of Healthcare.gov, an expert close to state-run exchanges says these issues may not be as easily fixed as the president alluded to on Monday.

President Barack Obama said the widespread flaws afflicting online insurance exchanges under his health care law represent only a portion of the program, as he sought to fend off critics of his signature legislative achievement.

The “bugs” that have plagued the rollout of U.S. health insurance exchanges will be fixed by Dec. 15, said Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, the lead author of the 2010 health care law.

In the most populous state in nation, agents are not happy with the way the state-run health care exchange is treating them and there are many more road bumps to cross in the near future, said a San Diego-area broker Friday at AHIP’s State Issues Conference.

The shutdown is over and the debt ceiling has been vaulted, but those watching the deal come out of Congress say just because the ACA and employee benefits were largely left out of the fray, it doesn’t mean they won’t feature prominently in future budget debates.

After the partisan passions and heated rhetoric, the disruptions of a government shutdown and displays of dysfunction, Congress did what it could have done weeks ago: voted to fund the government and lift the debt limit.

Exactly how bad are things on the federal health care exchanges? Sunday’s New York Times brought a deeply reported piece from Robert Pear, Sharon LaFraniere and Ian Austen.

State-run exchange sees small drop as agent certification picks up, with ‘big win’ for agent community about to be revealed.

The U.S. health care law’s tax penalty for not carrying medical coverage next year may catch millions of Americans off-guard.

Eleven days into the federal government shutdown, employee benefits attorneys assess the short-term and long-term potential implications for your business and benefits strategy.

Cigna has instructed brokers to halt selling insurance to individuals who are subsidy-eligible through its federal health care exchange broker portals.

A LIMRA study shows an overwhelming majority of small employers are eager to work with advisers, and the man who helped create the ACA has a message for how brokers can be successful.

California said 28,699 people were signed up in the state’s health insurance exchange in the first week, while New York had more than 40,000 sign up. But what did brokers have to say from the front lines?