Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

EBA editor Elizabeth Galentine on why brokers should shift their focus.

A day in the life of Kristin Ash of Global Benefits Group

Sam Smith, a member of California’s SHOP exchange advisory group and president-elect of CAHU, predicts a bright future for adviser involvement in PPACA’s state health insurance.

Nelson Griswold on what insurance brokerages need to keep up with health reform.

John Lamb on how financial drivers of HIXs may outweigh traditional benefits approach.

Mel Schlesinger on how brokers, advisers can redesign a benefit proposal.

Jack Kwicien on how to engage clients in a meaningful way

Craig Davidson on what health insurance stores should look like under health reform.

According to most experts, the number is small and keeps getting smaller. We speak, of course, of the number of companies with 50 or more employees that will drop employer-sponsored insurance in 2014 - opting to send employees to state-run insurance exchanges and pay per-employee fines levied by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. After a McKinsey & Company study in 2011 famously concluded that 30% of employers would "pay" rather than "play," survey after survey has revealed that fewer than 5% of employers plan to eliminate employee health benefits. Even the Government Accountability Office, which originally reported as much as 20% of employers would drop coverage, now has backed off that estimate to around 2%.

The $64,000 question on state and federally managed health exchanges will be "what is the broker compensation?" Reliance on state and/or federal government to control your compensation is an uncontrollable factor that could lead to the demise of many brokers whose sole business is groups under 50 lives.