Healthcare

Real estate company Keller Williams is one of the latest big firms to announce it’s offering associates access to a private health care exchange. Keller Williams’ independently owned and operated offices employ about 89,000 real estate agents — many of whom don’t have health insurance — across the country.

Recognizing the challenges (and headaches) involved in taking care of setting up their own benefits plans, a majority of small businesses say they recognize the need for an outside adviser to help.

California said 28,699 people were signed up in the state’s health insurance exchange in the first week, while New York had more than 40,000 sign up. But what did brokers have to say from the front lines?

Reform proposals from the Securities and Exchange Commission could have a significant impact on your clients and their plan participants.

Certain requirements must be met in order to terminate these small business plans.

401(k) plans are largely outscoring 403(b) plans in some key plan features, writes The Principal Financial's Aaron Freidman, who equates this to a pre-season football game.

As many of you may have predicted – or secretly feared, or even hoped for – October has indeed been one incredibly wild ride for anyone connected in even an ancillary fashion to the ACA. Or those of you who happen to have anything to do with the daily operations of the federal government.

Insurers are getting faulty and incomplete data from the new federal-run health exchange, which may mean some Americans won’t be covered even after they sign up for an insurance plan.

Staff at Walgreens stores will direct customers who ask about the exchanges to the GoHealth Marketplace, where they can shop and compare health insurance plans, enroll and find other tools and information.

Exchange prep, however, will go a long way to help employers prepare for the delayed employer mandate. Figure out whether you are an applicable large employer and if you are, start measuring. Otherwise, you could be left scrambling.