Healthcare

Sam’s Club, the big-box members-only warehouse, decided to offer health insurance to its customers through a private health care exchange because those small business owner-members were asking for it. In October, the retail chain said it was partnering with Aetna to offer health insurance to members through a private exchange to small businesses.

The Jan. 1, 2015 ACA compliance deadline for large employers is quickly approaching and your employer clients may have unanswered questions. Here are some of the most common employer concerns still looming and the answers you can provide them.

As if employee benefit brokers and advisers in California haven’t had enough uphill battles trying to preserve their standing along the changing HIX landscape, some of them also now have to worry about being paid for helping enroll more than 500,000 residents in the state-run public exchange. But at least one industry insider believes it’s much ado about nothing. …

With the help of predicative analytics, employers, and more importantly their HR and benefit departments, are now able to better administer health and benefit plans to their employee populations.

Open enrollment has been an annual headache for employers, even before the presence of the Affordable Care Act and the numerous plan changes towards more employee consumerism that followed.

Does the rising use of HSAs pose a threat to the 401(k) as the deferral vehicle of choice? The two products can work hand-in-hand to position employees for a better future, if implemented effectively.

Increased competition in the HIX marketplace is expected to pave the way for branded health options with strategic tiers or regional provider partnerships that offer a leg up on narrow networks, especially with 25 million Americans projected to sign up for exchange plans over the coming decade.

Employers racing to keep up with changing regulations and stay ahead in the talent war are increasingly turning to their benefit advisers for help. In EBA’s ongoing series, executives at some of the top brokerages share challenges the industry is facing, as well as tips for firms of all sizes on how to tackle those challenges head-on.

Anyone who thinks private exchanges are a new fad should speak with Choice Administrators, the organization that runs CaliforniaChoice. It’s been around close to 20 years, since 1996. President and CEO Ron Goldstein talks with EBA about the business model and how grandmothered plans under the Affordable Care Act could make a big impact in the new year.

The Internal Revenue Service needs to improve the security of the health care information submitted by health insurance providers and pharmaceutical makers and importers on information returns, according to a new government report.