Exchanges

In the Land of 10,000 Lakes, concern has been mounting that Minnesota’s state-run HIX is slowly sinking into insolvency exacerbated by downward revisions in projected enrollment and speculation that it could be supplanted by Healthcare.gov at some point.

There is a unique opportunity in retiree health benefits, one that brings a potential windfall for advisers willing to embrace the market.

With the Affordable Care Act hitting its five year birthday and the second open enrollment period nearly finished, Americans are turning their attention and wishes for Congress and the Obama administration to a focus on prescription drugs.

There may be a convergence of public and private exchanges and if that happens carriers need to adopt a more holistic approach and consider multiple retail channels to distribute their products as part of a multi-carrier approach or alliances such as those seen within the CO-OP market.

After nearly five years of waiting, the DOL has released its proposal to amend the regulation governing ERISA’s fiduciary definition. The proposed fiduciary rule aims to expand fiduciary duties to those who provide investment advice. With expert analysis and reaction, EBA is covering the highly anticipated unveiling of the rule. Here you can find our complete coverage on the proposed rule.

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor released its much-anticipated rule proposal extending a fiduciary standard to thousands of brokers and advisers providing investment advice to clients on retirement accounts. As the days follow, check back for coverage and analysis of what to expect during the 75-day notice and comment period.

The much-anticipated rule that provides a new definition of who is a fiduciary was released by DOL this week to much fanfare. And while most people agree there won’t be much impact on plan sponsors, there are passionate groups on both sides of the aisle fighting for or against this new proposal.

Commentary: The new proposal will provide greater transparency regarding fees and a uniform definition of who is a fiduciary.

Although interest in private exchanges is growing slowly among large employers, many still have reservations about whether exchanges will offer more value than the plans they already offer. So, how does a large employer determine if a private exchange is the right move?

Technical difficulties may have marred public exchanges' first year of operation, but at least providers were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief about not being inundated with a sharp increase in new or sick patients scheduling appointments.