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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has proposed two sets of regulations under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act relating to changes that will take effect in 2014.

Here’s a recent list of personnel accomplishments in the insurance industry.

As major market changes loom, one report says health insurance providers that wish to access this giant pool of potential customers will need to shift toward a consumer-focused model.

Although the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on July 12 tabled their support of H.R. 1206, a bill that would exclude insurance agents’ compensation from the medical loss ratio equation, “there’s a lot of work still to be done on this issue and we look forward to our continuing work with the NAIC, HHS and Congress to find a suitable solution,” says Brianne Mallaghan, director of communications for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

Given the current status of the bipartisan talks on raising the debt ceiling, I’m not sure how willing to flex and bend congressional leaders are at the moment. Still, I give members of the Society for Human Resource Management credit for trying to stretch lawmakers’ thinking on modernizing the 73-year-old Fair Labor Standards Act to allow employers and employees greater flexibility.

State insurance exchanges -- mandated to start operating in 2014 to offer one-stop health insurance shopping for individuals and small businesses --could sell up to $60 billion in policies during their first year and nearly $200 billion by 2019, according to estimates from consultancy/research firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Employers are feeling confident about their financial futures and that means more new hires, fewer layoffs, and an increase in retirement benefits and reinstatements of certain benefits, according to the 12th Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey released Tuesday.

Okay, maybe I’m just out of touch with today’s workforce. First, employees say they will take a promotion without a pay raise. And now, a new survey shows that job seekers are looking for a caring company over a high base salary. The poll, conducted by Monster.com and Unum, finds that the top-rated item on would-be employees’ wish lists was a company “that truly cares about the well-being of its employees.” …

Americans are expecting to retire later and work throughout it, according to a study sponsored by SunAmerica Financial Group in collaboration with Age Wave.

United States Labor Secretary Hilda Solis said Tuesday she knows that there are jobs out there that are not being filled because employers are looking for individuals that are flexible, adaptable and have the skill set to jump into another job.