Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

As a Texas-based benefit adviser, I can speak from experience about the article "Building value through health data transparency" (p. 14). In January 2008, Texas passed House Bill 2015, under which for groups between two and 50 lives I can get data on month-by-month covered lives, premium paid and claims paid. I can also get a listing of large claims in excess of $15,000. On groups with 50+ lives, I get all kinds of information on ER visits, office visits, prescription drugs, etc.

Some years ago, I was a researcher for a major employee benefits educational association. I learned that changes in federal legislation mean big business for advisers because of the demand they create for education. So here is my educated prediction for the new year: the equation in 2011 will be education equals sales.

With the new year in mind, I have a question for you: Are you working from a blueprint for success in 2011, or are you simply doing exactly what you did in 2010 and hoping for a different result?

Though January is just another month on the calendar, it is filled with hope - and sometimes, with trepidation. So in keeping with that spirit, here are some thoughts on what is likely to happen this year.

David Marom saw a need in the benefits marketplace, and he's using two decades worth of industry experience to meet it. This quarter, Marom Tech launches its Benefits Analysis Reporting application to help benefit advisers and consultants meet client needs through five avenues:

In a year replete with bad news, one of the most encouraging pieces of good news in 2010 was an uptick in the rate of growth of consumer-directed health plans. By the end of this year, more than 60% of U.S. employers are expected to offer a CDHP, according to a July 2010 GAO report.

With apologies to Sarah Palin, how's that change thing working out for you?

Peter Browne may well be one of the most distinguished individuals on the sales side of today's financial services industry. His career spans five decades as a manager and leading producer at Union Central Life and co-founder of Price Raffel and Browne of New York and Los Angeles.

Without a doubt, many of us working deep in the weeds of our organization's health plans are wary of the ever-mounting regulations surrounding health care reform. Recently, I attended a presentation that included a flowchart of implementation dates that looked sort of like a MapQuest depiction of lower Manhattan.

On New Years Day, millions of Americans will awaken to a very unpleasant surprise. Hundreds of medicines and drugs they were able to purchase just the day before on a tax-free basis will no longer be available tax-free.