Insurance

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants was a long time user of Liazon’s private exchange software, but this week launched its own exchange, developed in partnership with Hodges-Mace. Chris Duncan, EPIC’s chief growth officer, discusses the move and why exchanges may not be for everyone.

High deductible health plan sponsors, as well as employers considering making that switch, should review their employees’ health care purchasing patterns and their communication campaigns to encourage appropriate use of the plans.

Ending the Cadillac tax, simplifying the reporting process and eliminating the automatic enrollment requirement are a few of the legislative recommendations the American Benefits Council is urging Congress to act on.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ internal controls did not effectively ensure the accuracy of nearly $2.8 billion in financial assistance payments to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act during the first four months that the payments were made, according to a new government report.

Benefit advisers in several states have received new fee arrangements from Aetna that eliminate commissions on small-group business, causing an uproar among brokers, many of whom question the legality of such a practice.

HR departments lack a clear understanding of fees and commissions attached to private exchanges, with many early exchange adopters uncovering fees once they start using the model.

Vision and dental benefits can be harnessed to play a larger role in employee health than the sum of their parts.

Shares of health insurers from Cigna to Aetna surged on speculation that the industry is heading for a round of mergers to boost profits.

New consumer tools are in the works for Healthcare.gov, as the federal government focuses on the exchange’s long-term success.

HHS Secretary Burwell says a Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of subsidies on the federal exchange should shift the conversation about the ACA away from politics and toward improving access to affordable quality health care.