Private exchanges tackle disease management
Attention has shifted from improving enrollment numbers to changing employee behavior on these fast-growing delivery systems.
By
Bruce Shutan
Bruce Shutan
Contributing writer
Has the time come to add in-house counsel?
Given the growing regulatory climate, some brokerages are finding it makes financial sense to employ their own lawyers.
By
Bruce Shutan
Wellness ties make brokerages ‘one-stop shops’ for the community
Health and wellness initiatives present a golden opportunity for advisers to strengthen local bonds and develop new business connections.
By
Bruce Shutan
Brokers seen as trusted guide for employer outsourcing needs
Trends in employee benefits and HR outsourcing bode well for brokers and advisers who are poised to guide their clients through increasingly complicated healthcare and compliance challenges, according to new industry research.
By
Bruce Shutan
Mercer alliance brings fertility benefits to market
A new strategic alliance in the employee benefit space between a top consultant and specialty provider spotlights the convergence of healthcare cost-containment strategies and talent management involving a highly specific workforce demographic.
By
Bruce Shutan
EPIC acquisition of Ascende reflects shifting market
A highly competitive brokerage landscape has leading firms teaming up to enhance resources.
By
Bruce Shutan
Wellness ROI comes under fire
With increasing attention being given to the difficulty of measuring wellness program ROI, do wellness benefits get held to a higher standard than other types of benefits?
By
Bruce Shutan
Missed opportunities abound in HSA usage
Systemic problems are keeping HSA balances from meeting their full investment potential, experts say.
By
Bruce Shutan
How should robo-advisers be regulated?
These automatic retirement plan programs have been disrupting the industry with computerized investment formulas and low prices, but do they have an unfair advantage at the regulatory level?
By
Bruce Shutan
Liazon exchange new option for Aflac brokers
Brokers who partner with Aflac can now offer their large employer clients nationwide another comprehensive open-enrollment option through an agreement with Liazon, which operates the private benefit exchange Bright Choices.
By
Bruce Shutan
Will new fiduciary rules hurt smallest accounts, broker-dealers?
Broker-dealers are waiting to see whether the Department of Labor softens its stance on the best-interest standard in proposed fiduciary rules. If so, then it could quell industry threats to cut loose their smallest brokerage retirement client accounts.
By
Bruce Shutan
Zenefits touts free payroll
Zenefits is back in the spotlight with news of slower than expected revenue growth. The company also this week announced it will offer a free payroll option. The announcement follows a months-long public dispute with payroll giant ADP.
By
Bruce Shutan
Rising out-of-pocket costs demand greater broker involvement
Employee education is critical to health care cost management, says United Benefit Advisors Les McPhearson, who addresses rising plan costs in the companys annual health plan survey.
By
Bruce Shutan
Critical illness coverage reaches tipping point
While advances in medicine are helping more patients survive critical illnesses, nearly half of U.S. households have insufficient savings to cover a major medical condition.
By
Bruce Shutan
Health care transparency measures moving beyond price
Employers can play an influential role in shaping their benefit design so that it encourages employees to look at high-value providers and use tools that help make the health care decision-making process more transparent.
By
Bruce Shutan
Illinois exchange pares down for austere times
As public health insurance exchanges run by states or in partnership with the federal government edge toward financial self-sufficiency in 2016 as stipulated under the Affordable Care Act, adjustments are being made to achieve greater operational efficiencies for their third annual open-enrollment season and beyond.
By
Bruce Shutan
Technical glitch costly for Vermont exchange
A technical glitch with Vermont Health Connect dating back two years was finally corrected in a recent software upgrade, but it proved to be both time-consuming and costly for the state-based health insurance exchange described as once-beleaguered.
By
Bruce Shutan
CO-OP model under scrutiny with latest failure
With nearly two dozen CO-OPs created under the Affordable Care Act continuing their financial struggles, attention is turning toward why theyre experiencing such difficulties.
By
Bruce Shutan
Will Cadillac tax steamroll FSAs?
Flexible spending accounts have long been a favorite tool among working Americans to help budget for out-of-pocket costs but they could be an unintended casualty of health care reform.
By
Bruce Shutan
Hospital consolidation tied to higher exchange costs
Hospital consolidation is driving up public exchange bills in mostly urban areas and could jeopardize quality of care.
By
Bruce Shutan