Employer Strategies

When making decisions about benefit plans, plan sponsors should take some time to consider what role they are playing. I am working with a company that is terminating its health plan and the distinction between "settlor" functions and "fiduciary" functions became very significant. So I thought I might share some thoughts on the topic. …

In a new report, titled “Opportunities in Reaching the Middle Market with Life Insurance,” Conning estimates the middle market life insurance protection gap to be $10.2 trillion — a 56% increase when compared to the firm’s last study of the middle market in 2006. The total protection gap across all income brackets has more than doubled.

Ironic as it may be, despite record-high unemployment and the perception of a surplus of talent, human resources professionals may be forced to choose from limited quantities of high-skilled workers, a new Deloitte study shows.

Anticipating the impact of health care reform, nearly four in 10 health plan members with employee-sponsored insurance say they would shop for coverage through a health insurance exchange if they had the opportunity, according a survey released yesterday.

A large annual survey of consumer satisfaction with health plans finds 41% of members of employer-sponsored insurance plans would shop for coverage through a private health insurance exchange if their employer provided vouchers for purchasing insurance independently.

About 44% of employers believe they will provide employee health benefits through a corporate exchange in the next three to five years, according to a new study.

It’s an appealing proposition, to set a certain price to what you’ll spend on employee’s health care costs. Long gone may be the days of having to wait an entire year to know what your numbers are for this year and basing future strategy on numbers you don’t have. It’s the appeal of an exchange, where employers could release their employees to the winds to choose what kind of coverage they want.

The Obama administration on Monday released broad new operating rules for state-run health insurance exchanges, which form a key part of the 2010 federal health care reform law that will face landmark Supreme Court hearings in just two weeks.

The Obama administration on Monday released broad new operating rules for state-run health insurance exchanges, which form a key part of the 2010 federal health care reform law that will face landmark Supreme Court hearings in just two weeks.

House Republican leaders are looking for a way to reshape the debate over the administration's new rule on birth control insurance coverage before moving ahead with a bid to nullify the requirement.