Michael Giardina

As open enrollment for marketplaces on Healthcare.gov will conclude at the end of the month, federal health officials have nabbed NBA star LeBron James to shoot up a buzzer beater that will garner more attention from Americans in need of affordable health insurance.

Joining the suite’s smartphone app launch last year and its mobile Web functionality, the Boston-based investment company says that it will begin to offer the iPad and iPad Mini options to workplace participants and individual mobile tablet users.

With the Affordable Care Act expected to force employers to find more nimble ways to curb health care costs, Gov. Scott Walker has signed the “Healthy Jobs Act” into law, a new proposal that would offer tax credits to companies that provide workplace wellness programs.

More and more employers are looking to wellness programs to help relieve the expected burden of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on their high-cost plans. While 35% have already taken action to add or improve these supplemental programs, approximately 47% say they are considering this option, according to a new employer survey from Mercer.

As employer-sponsored retirement plans are expected to see premium increases from the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation this year, along with a possibility of an unsteady market economy and longevity issues, retirement officials are urging plan sponsors to consider de-risking techniques.

New data indicates that target-date funds are used by roughly 55% of the participants in 401(k) plans at Vanguard, referencing a growing attraction to balanced investment options that automatically cuts down risk with age.

The percentage of Americans who currently obtain health insurance coverage through their employers continues to drop, indicating an ongoing trend among benefit plan sponsors and HR decision-makers to shift costs to public and private exchanges.

A new wellness mindset is brewing at the Palmyra, Wisc. headquarters of Standard Process, a whole food supplements distributor established in 1929. The health organization is planning to open its doors to employers across the country that are looking to incorporate organic strategies to improve the health of employees by including the services of an onsite chiropractor.

Fidelity Investments has concocted a new educational product suite – to be available on your nearby desktop computer – that will ease the burden that faces both defined contribution plan sponsors as well as plan participants in managing future saving needs.

Despite a reported 4.4% increase in employer health care costs in 2014, the majority of large U.S. employers say they are more inclined to maintain benefits to active employees, but will modify plans and continue to shift over costs to their employees.

House Republicans’ attempts to stay the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate continued yesterday as they argued for a contentious bill that would delay implementation of penalties for failing to comply with the health insurance mandate.

Connecticut lawmakers are considering a new plan to offer individual retirement accounts to private sector employees in a need of future retirement assistance.

The Affordable Care Act’s ongoing rollout is likely to spark many employers to take action within their benefit plans. Whether it is utilization of a high-deductible health plan or emphasizing voluntary options, employers say that a change is imminent, according to a new study’s findings.

When employers focus on incorporating financial education and other wellness programs into their company’s culture, it turns out increasing engagement – as well as having the right tools in place – is a shared goal among both conventional employers and unique businesses such as the NFL Players Association.

As Affordable Care Act health plans continue their rollout, a new nationwide analysis finds that public health exchanges continue to exclude the same medical services, across the board.

Moody’s Investors Service issued a credit negative rating to health insurers that offer Medicare Advantage plans as 2015 Medicare rates are expected to be detrimental to enrollment and earnings.

A new TIAA-CREF survey of employee-sponsored retirement plan participants uncovers a divide in that Americans are either not familiar or dissatisfied with their investment options.

A new report from The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finds that approximately 11 million Americans on small employer health insurance rolls will see increases in premiums as a result of the Affordable Care Act, a larger proportion than those actually seeing declines.

A company with a strong culture of health is more likely to have happy, health-conscious employees than those businesses not promoting wellness, according to a new study’s findings.

Employees treasure their workplace benefits more than ever, yet employers are increasingly asking workers to shoulder more of the costs of providing those benefits, finds a new survey of benefit plan participants and employers.