Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

From broker business practices to the Affordable Care Act’s CO-OP program, EBA readers share their insight on this week’s news.

Pending and forthcoming legislation in Washington, D.C., promises to impact the benefit industry and employers in several ways, so it’s good to have friends on the Hill. Here are 10 broker-friendly legislators who have sponsored/cosponsored important legislation, belong to congressional caucuses that support the industry, and/or have personal experience with the industry, including serving as a benefit adviser.

Private benefit exchanges expect massive growth in the next few years. These executives from all parts of the industry are leaders in the space, forecasting trends and serving as ushers for what some are calling a new era of health care.

Adjectives such as ‘incompetent’ and ‘inept’ filled the comments section this week under a story addressing shortcomings of a CMS public exchange agent hotline. Here are other thoughts shared by EBA readers.

Election Day 2015 has come and gone, which means it’s time to turn attention to the legislative matters at hand for 2016. Employers and advisers continue to seek relief from certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act and other regulatory burdens through legislative action. Here are five bills brokers and agents should be watching for a potential impact on the benefits industry and the employer clients they serve.

Candidates have advocated for everything from repealing the ACA to lowering the cost of prescription drugs to reducing the role of government. With one year to go before the 2016 presidential election, here’s where the top seven candidates stand on health care issues.

The ADP-Zenefits lawsuit, wellness programs, workplace stress management and the ACA all made headlines this week. Here’s what EBA readers had to say about each topic.

Auto-escalation, which automatically increases the percentage of an employee’s salary that is contributed to a retirement plan, is getting more Americans on track for retirement, says Joleen Workman, assistant vice president in the retirement division of Principal Financial. Workman shares half a dozen ways advisers and employers can implement the practice within an employee population.

There is a direct correlation between closed sales and social media usage, according to sales consultancy A Sales Guy. In fact, nearly three-quarters of sales people using social media as part of their sales process outperform their peers. See what your colleagues are doing right on Twitter: EBA presents 30 top benefit pros to follow on the popular social media site.

Benefit insiders fear merger and acquisition activity in the health insurance industry is eroding market competition, a trend that could lead to increased premiums for employers and individuals. Recent research from the American Medical Association identifies the top 10 states with the least competitive PPO markets.