Benefit plan design

Despite some progress in making employees smarter consumers of health care, pockets of resistance remain, sometimes in surprising places.

Large employers are playing a waiting game in the coming year on health care cost saving strategies as many wait and see how Washington politics play out.

Despite potential savings offered, voluntary programs that provide discounts on products, services and tickets to employees are rarely used and seeing almost no growth year-over-year.

The business response to the ACA, coupled with the growing health care consumerism movement, is rapidly changing the relationship between employer and employee.

Commentary: We have to stop and recognize that certain industries will always offer better benefits than others, adviser David C. Smith says of Netflix’s news it will offer a full year of paid parental leave.

Commentary: Pension liability risk management is now more critical than ever. If an employer triggers a withdrawal, they need to act within 90 days to preserve their legal rights.

HSAs are growing in popularity as a health benefit offering and experts say they could save employers a lot in health care costs. But employees still need expert advice to understand how and when to use HSAs and how to maximize their full potential.

With the cost of pharmaceuticals consuming an ever-increasing proportion of health benefit expenditures, many employers are responding by adding pricing tiers to their drug plan designs.

With its streamlined technology platform and no fee business model, Zenefits has created quite a stir in the benefits industry. Should brokers be scared or should they be thanking Zenefits for pushing the envelope?

Health reform has put a spotlight on ben admin and HRIS systems, but there are many factors to consider when choosing a new platform, experts say.

EBP audits are designed to catch problems that administrators might not be aware of, yet audits themselves can lead to penalties, disqualifications or impacts on participants’ tax returns if they don’t adequately identify issues that should be addressed.

Commentary: As a broker offering these benefits to your employer groups, it is important to become proficient in voluntary benefits or choose to outsource this expertise.

As another insurer megamerger takes place, how will employer health plans fare with a shrinking field of providers?

Commentary: Brokers are strategically positioned to encourage employers to commit to a more productive workforce.

Understanding these ACA compliance requirements and the tools necessary to track the required data can be confusing and overwhelming.

Commentary: Many of the world’s leading employers offer expert second opinions as a valued employee benefit that can save money by averting unnecessary testing and treatment, decrease absenteeism, and promote employee retention.

Employers offering high deductible plans – particularly those who have gone the full replacement route – still need to beef up their educational efforts.

Increasingly, employers are expanding wellness programs to include financial guidance. But do these programs go far enough?

Commentary: Personal care in times of great distress not only delivers more effective care, but it also does it more efficiently, says Sam Fleet.

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.