Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Just how will the fight in Congress over health exchange website glitches pan out? EBA spoke with former Capitol Hill staffer Drew Crouch, now director of government relations at Buck Consultants, about potential Republican strategies — and if tax reform that would impact employee benefits might still be on the table for this year.

Acknowledging Thursday that the exchange system “wasn’t tested enough,” CMS’ director of communications responded to issues brought up by government contractors earlier in the day on Capitol Hill.

CMS has granted 18 states a delay in enacting employee choice on the SHOP exchange, which some advisers feel is the only incentive for employers to enroll on the exchange at all.

Benefit brokers should be prepared to communicate ACA updates and answer questions both in-person and via new technology to reach employees.

Potentially a result of complaints from consumers and increased competition on the ACA exchanges, benefit brokers may be pleased to find more options on the 2015 plans.

With some state-run exchanges struggling, brokers and agents contemplate whether a national Healthcare.gov is possible and whether that would be a good or a bad thing for the insurance community.

Employees living paycheck to paycheck need solutions from their employers to meet financial emergencies, yet most employers aren’t aware financial wellness programs and lending solutions exist or that they’re credible.

Benefit brokers should be turning their sights to the capabilities of health care data to improve employer clients’ employees’ health. There are doctors asking for even more potential from computer algorithms to interpret such data and could provide a glimpse into the future.

Despite all the technical glitches with Healthcare.gov and state-run exchanges during open enrollment, a large majority of Americans researching health plan options relied on websites for information, but supplemented their research with other outlets for answers, including brokers and advisers.

While one of the most talked about rising employee benefits, brokers vary in their approach to offering this trend because of the realities of use, cost and profit.