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As they struggle to become financially stable, state-based health insurance marketplaces are lagging behind the federally-facilitated marketplace and are likely to continue to do so in the near future.

The ACA added new employer reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056, applying to employers that sponsor self-insured plans that provide minimum essential coverage regardless of size, and applicable larger employers.

Commentary: While in most cases, employees can be terminated at any time and for any reason, in almost all cases there is a reason — and if that reason doesn’t violate a law, isn’t in response to some type of legally protectable complaint or doesn’t violate someone’s contract rights — then it doesn’t really matter if the reason is a good one or not. The question becomes whether a lawsuit ensues to further test exceptions to at-will employment.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department have thrown a wrench into the pension de-risking plans of many corporations with new regulations aiming to eliminate the lump-sum payout option for retirees who already are receiving retirement benefits from their defined benefit plans.

Commentary: Your internal work environment may be holding you back from attracting top people and creating exceptional new experiences for clients. The definition of “work” is changing as quickly as technology emerges and millennials enter the workforce, moving into spheres of influence. None of us, including clients, are limited by a single idea of work and we need to re-imagine it altogether.

With 24 Republican senators up for reelection in November 2016, not to mention the presidential election, there is so much set to change for both public and private exchanges.

The Department of Labor issued fresh guidance on how businesses should distinguish between employees and independent contractors, noting misclassification of employees has been on the rise throughout the U.S.

As the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of gay marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges changed the landscape of employee benefits across the country, the question of how the court’s decision would affect domestic partner coverage moved center stage.

Marilyn Tavenner, who steered the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid agency through the rollout of Obamacare’s federal insurance markets, was named to lead the health-insurance industry’s lobbying group.

About 6.6 million U.S. taxpayers paid a penalty imposed for the first time this year for not having health insurance, about 10% more than the Obama administration had estimated – though a portion didn’t need to.

As the baby boom generation approaches retirement, employers will need to ask themselves what role a highly experienced, part-time workforce can play in their organization.

An organization’s culture doesn’t have to be an accident. Here are three ways to be deliberate about building a better workplace culture.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates that more than 77,000 brokers and agents assisted with enrollments on the federally-facilitated marketplace in year two open enrollment, up 46% from the year prior.

Clients are turning to their benefit adviser for technology support — something brokers have to provide. Choosing a partner with the same goals and understanding the entire process are essential.

When mistakes are made on benefit plan audits, plan administrators can experience significant hardships, including rejections of Form 5500 filings, which can result in fines of up to $1,000 per day.

Commentary: Hispanics comprise almost 17% of today’s U.S. population. This demographic represents the most significant population trend in Americans under 65 in the next 20 years. This isn't just a population trend, your sales depend on recognizing the cultural shift happening underneath your feet.

Companies are shifting their attention to health coverage for their pre-65 retiree population and exploring the opportunities public exchanges provide this population, now that the Supreme Court has upheld subsides on the federally-facilitated health insurance marketplace.

Holding people accountable for culture, empowering culture champions and communicating regularly are all ways in which employers can build better workplaces.

Millions are covered under employee stock ownership plans, which take a considerable amount of research and planning before implementation.

The $34.1 billion blockbuster deal between Aetna Inc. and Humana Inc. is seen as complementary to both health insurers in terms of helping grow their involvement in private and public health insurance exchanges.