Employer Strategies

Anthem Inc., the second-biggest U.S. health insurer, said it’s going to take about 10 to 14 days to figure out who was affected by a data breach and begin notifying those people.

The most common vector of cyberattack is still poor habits by associates, says Joseph Smith, former CIO of Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Not all corporate data breaches are of the spectacular variety that health insurer Anthem recently announced, involving 80 million members. But any company that offers a wellness program needs to take special precautions to ensure employee health information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

For some employers the move to a private exchange is as much about the role of benefits as an attraction and retention strategy as it is about saving money over the long term.

Broker information was not compromised as part of a cyber-attack on Anthem’s IT system and the carrier says it is working with brokers to assist and inform their clients about the breach.

Commentary: Step up your game or your clients may choose to become your competitors, says the head of Pittsburgh Business Group on Health

The distribution model for employee benefits is changing, and adapting to the rapidly developing landscape presents new questions and challenges for all players.

Good recordkeeping is important to avoid paying for benefits for ineligible recipients.

The information compromised includes names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, street and e-mail addresses and employee data, including income, Anthem said.

As traditional defined benefit plans go the way of the dinosaur and 401(k) plans take their place, plan sponsors should keep an eye on the next 15 years as the first generation of workers who will rely most on their 401(k)s to fund their retirements begin to turn 65.