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A new broker-friendly private exchange is launching that will allow employees at companies with less than 50 lives to buy health insurance using pre-tax dollars.

Open enrollment is one of the busiest times of year for benefit managers. But don’t let the stress of the season get you down. Use these four strategies to fight back against the ill effects of stress.

Earlier this week, Walmart announced it was dropping health care coverage for employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, a move the company estimates will affect about 2% of its workforce. Here’s a wrap-up of our analysis, plus a look at the ways other large companies are handling rising health care costs.

The number of employees with long-term disability plans has dropped and employees paying more for coverage, despite the fact that that 1 in 8 will need it during their career.

At Alliance Resource Partners, 4% of the workforce is responsible for roughly 45% of the company's annual health care spend. The coal mining company is implementing new initiatives to better reach workers at remote mine sites.

Under the ACA, control group status could make your small-group client an applicable large employer subject to the employer mandate. It’s time to revisit control group rules.

The recent data breaches at Target, Home Depot, and Jimmy John’s have kept data privacy and security top of mind for consumers. Meanwhile, employment attorneys recommend employers act now to ensure their HR departments, company policies and data security programs are fortified.

Commentary: Have you heard of Medicare observation status? Columnist Craig J. Davidson says it is creating a payment nightmare for older plan participants with Medicare Part A as the primary payer. Educate your groups with Medicare beneficiaries, Davidson says, because the rule has real consequences.

Commentary: Good salespeople understand the impact of an effective opening statement. The Standard’s Doug Waters provides five examples of conversation starters to transition to IDI from another product.

With the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax just around the corner, some employers may be struggling with how to maintain the quality of their health care benefit plans and still avoid triggering the tax. Some innovative employers are looking at voluntary core benefits to limit health care cost increases.