Healthcare

Columnist Jack Kwicien on how you go about selecting the right merger candidate.

Benefits broker John Garven juggles enrollment meetings while using Twitter to amplify his business.

As most global employers plan to send more employees on short- and long-term jobs around the world in the next two years, they should be aware of what it takes to manage costs and run international programs. In light of the challenges employers face managing the global work force, Mercer offers 10 tips on handling this growing mobile population.

While employers expect to continue implementing cost-sharing measures in their health care plans in 2014, most plan on keeping group coverage for the next year. And just 5% of employers anticipate moving employees to a private exchange, according to the 2013/2014 Verisight and McGladrey Compensation, Retirement and Benefits Trends Survey.

The most recent LIMRA survey reveals that approximately 60% of Americans who have used health exchanges so far to try to shop for health coverage say they sought out assistance when actually buying their health insurance plan.

High enrollment numbers increase phone hold times on state exchanges, as computer enrollment keeps pace

Much concern had been voiced about the ability for consumers and insurers alike to execute billing and payment between Dec. 23 and Dec. 31 for coverage effective Jan. 1. AHIP offered to extend that deadline to Jan. 10 on Wednesday.

Why small employers haven’t bought into private exchanges — yet

The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance on the application of rules in the Tax Code relating to health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts to same-sex couples in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s landmark decision earlier this year striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.

In what can be viewed as a victory for plan sponsors, the Supreme Court ruled that statute of limitation periods written into plan documents are valid, as long as those periods are “reasonable.”