Advisor strategies

Nearly half of newly insured Americans signed up for coverage off the ACA’s public marketplaces and benefit advisers have several theories as to why.

Brokers may be the best intermediary to communicate a matter of pediatric dental compliance to employers and medical carriers operating in numerous states as regulations shift.

As more large brokerages seem to be opening their own platforms, one company wants to provide a means for the smaller independent agent to have a branded, customized private exchange, too.

Commentary: Sebelius was in an “unwinnable position," according to the former head of sales and marketing at Covered California, Michael Lujan. The former insurance agent writes that more engagement with the benefits industry would have behooved the troubled health secretary.

As new social media platforms arise, there are more opportunities for brokers to act as ‘trusted advisers.'

Scott Mayer, vice president of data analytics for WorkforceTactix, shares a day in his life juggling meetings, email, strategy sessions, parenthood and sticking to his healthy habits.

Republican Representative Mike Rogers of Michigan, who sponsored the MLR bill, is moving on from Congress.

Ronnell Nolan’s HAFA has taken off in Louisiana, and now she has her sights set on major federal legislation.

Months after becoming the first state to offer health care coverage to lower-income residents through a “private option” rather than Medicaid expansion under the ACA, Arkansas finally agreed to extend this closely watched political compromise.

EBA’s 10 Rising Stars in Advising are younger than age 35 and bringing much-needed talent and innovation to an industry that desperately needs it.

Benefit brokers can better position themselves as a trusted adviser by helping clients maintain compliance with these ERISA requirements.

Small and mid-size employers will turn to private exchanges in the very near future, predicted a speaker Friday at an America’s Health Insurance Plans conference in Washington, and that will change the game once again for small and mid-size brokerages.

Gary Cohen, the top U.S. health insurance regulator accused by congressional Republicans of misleading them before the troubled start of the Obamacare insurance website, will resign.

Commentary: The Catalyst for Payment Reform scored each state on its level of health care cost transparency — 29 received an F, only two scored an A. Transparency of health care cost and quality must be the founding principle of sustainable change, says Borislow Insurance’s Mark Gaunya.

Commentary: Why are we ashamed or afraid to tell our clients or prospects what our cost of doing business is? Why are we afraid to be transparent?

At this week's Workplace Benefits Renaissance in Atlantic City, much buzz surrounded the changing industry landscape under the ACA, with most people agreeing benefit advisers looking to stake their claim on this new terrain need to focus less on brokering to confused employers and more on advising them.

As federal funding for state-run SHOP exchanges runs out in 2015, voluntary benefits may be the key to exchange sustainability, according to Ryan Howells, vice president and general manager of Connecture.

Commentary: A recap of the compliance issues that lie ahead for brokers and plan sponsors in 2014, which EBA Advisory Board member George Lane of Mercer says are making things a lot more complicated.

If the last few years were an age of reform, then we’ve definitely entered a new era — a time of compliance.

For millions of low-income Americans, the road to health care reform in 2014 could prove to be a jagged line as they bounce between public exchanges and Medicaid as their income fluctuates over the year.