Healthcare

The second poll in a series of retirement pulse polls by Sun Life Financial suggests that discomfort over aging and hopes of remaining independent throughout the golden years prevent many Americans from planning long-term care. “Shut Your Eyes and Hope for The Best: American Attitudes Toward Long Term Care Planning,” surveys both mainstream and affluent Americans age 50 and older.

President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress last Thursday evening to present a jobs bill containing an expansion of the payroll tax cut, tax breaks for new hires and salary raises and other tax reform measures.

A U.S. appeals court handed President Barack Obama a victory for his signature health care law on Thursday, ruling against challenges by the state of Virginia and others seeking to invalidate the law as unconstitutional.

Well, it’s been quite an interesting renewal/marketing season already, hasn’t it? Trend factors are lower than they’ve been in years. Some carriers are out there offering premium holidays for new clients who sign up before January 1. And when’s the last time you saw a carrier offer a double-digit rate decrease right out of the chute? …

One of the first (and most popular) changes brought on by health care reform was the mandatory extension of health plan eligibility to adult children up to age 26 regardless of student status or dependence upon the employee. Most people predicted that the rate of ineligible dependents would decrease after this provision took effect. Based upon a study my firm recently completed, comparing similar populations before and after the implementation of this provision, we can…

The number of jobs waiting to be filled edged up slightly in July but hiring dipped, preventing a much-needed boost to the struggling economic recovery, government data showed on Wednesday.

Benefits and benchmarking go hand in hand, particularly for health and retirement plans. The National Compensation Survey on Health and Retirement Plan Provisions in Private Industry report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides benchmarking data for workplace health and retirement benefits.

South Carolina does not want any more federal money to set up an insurance exchange, the state's health regulator said on Thursday, citing fears about the strings attached to the funds.

Starting Sept. 1, health insurance rates for the individual and small group markets will face stricter scrutiny to determine whether they are reasonable under new rules required by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will review rates in nine states that lack the authority to adequately do so. The remaining 41 states will conduct their own reviews.

Half of America’s households (about 58 million) claim to be underinsured when it comes to life insurance, according to a new study from LIMRA. The study, “Trillion Dollar Baby Growing Up,” revealed as much as $17.5 trillion in untapped sales potential for the life insurance market.