Employer Strategies

An executive at a software firm for personal health records recently told federal officials that too often, providers and payers use privacy and security issues as excuses to not permit patients access to their own information.

The number of individuals enrolled in consumer-driven health plans hit 22 million in 2010, reflecting a 1% increase compared to 2009, report researchers from the Employee Benefit Research Institute and Mathew Greenwald and Associates.

A Senate panel last week deepened a probe of co-pay based mini-meds that raised pointed questions about the plans' value and transparency for workers, even when employers are unable to sponsor more comprehensive coverage.

Standard Insurance Company, whose group product line includes disability, life, AD&D, dental and vision coverage, now offers the Protector Platinum individual disability income insurance plan in 20 states.

A recent Aflac survey of 1,000 working Americans suggests there will be increased opportunities for brokers and advisers to sell voluntary dental plans, particularly among those between the ages of 35 and 54 in a post-health care reform market.

What happens when a division of the nation’s second-largest payroll company teams up with the creator of an online benefits education and enrollment platform for group insurance products in the voluntary marketplace?

There are many moving parts to reducing health care costs, but one expert believes employers should focus on five benefits strategies for 2011.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and Reconciliation Act includes a provision that amends the Fair Labor Standards Act to require employers to provide nonexempt nursing mothers unpaid breaks to express breast milk in a private place other than a restroom for up to one year after the child's birth.

The Internal Revenue Service has published guidance relating to rollovers from 401(k) plans to designated Roth accounts in the same plan.

Every company has a few: a Negative Nellie or Nelson who, no matter what you do, would never be happy. Like, if you offered every employee a million dollars, they'd be upset it wasn't given to them in small bills.