Employer Strategies

Without delving too deeply into philosophy, it is probably safe to say that some people are compelled to do the right thing only because of the fear of punishment. As a young child, if I had the opportunity to take an extra cookie and not get caught, I may very well have taken full advantage of the situation. However, more often than not, the fear of getting caught with my hand in the cookie jar prevented me from doing it.

From analyzing the developing definition of fiduciary to discussing the best ways for advisers to differentiate themselves from the competition, the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries' "10th anniversary 401(k) SUMMIT" gave more than 950 attendees plenty of tricks of the trade to improve their business and stay informed on industry developments. Held March 6-8 in Las Vegas, the SUMMIT drew a range of retirement advisers, recordkeepers, plan administrators and others from across the country.

The 2010 annual enrollment season saw the opening of the floodgates regarding dependent eligibility, as employers were required under the health care reform law to extend coverage to all dependent children - regardless of student status - to age 26. This includes both married and unmarried dependent children, as well as those who are no longer dependents on their parents' tax returns.

Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, all plans must cover certain preventive care services with no member cost-sharing - with an exception for grandfathered plans - as of plan years beginning on or after Sept. 23, 2010.

In this post-health care reform environment, benefit advisers - and their employer clients - face a new world order. For instance, with new restrictions on capping lifetime maximum benefits, the burden of managing the potential financial risk posed by even one employee's catastrophic illness looms large.

Cigna Corp is expanding its business that provides health coverage to those working abroad by offering a product directly to individuals.

U.S. private employers added more than 200,000 jobs in March while planned layoffs fell, underscoring expectations that momentum in the labor market will help underpin the economic recovery.

Wal-Mart got a sympathetic hearing from several Supreme Court justices on Tuesday as the retailer sought to prevent female employees from bringing the largest class-action sex-discrimination lawsuit in history.

The U.S. labor market is finally improving, just when many of the other economic indicators are wavering.

The Thomson Reuters 100 Top Hospitals study evaluates performance in 10 areas: mortality; medical complications; patient safety; average patient stay; expenses; profitability; patient satisfaction; adherence to clinical standards of care; post-discharge mortality; and readmission rates for acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), heart failure, and pneumonia.