Benefit plan design

Mississippi insurance commissioner Mike Chaney is in a tight spot. By law, he is required to implement Democratic President Barack Obama's health care overhaul. But as a Republican from deeply conservative Mississippi — one of 26 states that sued Washington over Obama's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act — Chaney is a target of critics who say he is betraying his party.

Americans are becoming more optimistic about the direction of the country, giving a boost to President Barack Obama in the final stretch of the race for the White House, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday.

It was a common theme at the 7th Annual Employee Benefit Adviser Summit in Phoenix this week that no matter who wins the presidential election in November, changes are forthcoming for benefit plans and administration. According to political activist and commentator Meghan McCain, should President Barack Obama keep his job, changes will be coming for the Republican Party as well.

The pundit and senator’s daughter says the Republican Party needs to shift with the times or risk extinction.

Employers turn to private retiree Medicare exchanges for a glimpse of what insurance exchanges under PPACA might look like in 2014

In a detailed and passionate endorsement of his former rival, former President Bill Clinton amplified the central argument of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign: that voters face a choice between Democratic policies that lead to broad prosperity or Republican policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Two dozen Democratic women from the U.S. House of Representatives brought the charge that Republicans are waging a "war on women" to the party's convention stage on Tuesday with sharp denunciations of Republicans on health care, equal pay and domestic violence.

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan portrayed Barack Obama as a shallow president who has failed to live up to his promises, in a convention speech also infused with an optimism reminiscent of Obama’s 2008 “yes we can” campaign theme.

A new survey shows that, despite rising costs, more companies plan to keep health care on the menu for active employees.

The Republican National Convention adopted a 2012 party platform that advocates changing how U.S. senior citizens receive health care by shifting Medicare from a defined-benefit entitlement to a defined-contribution plan.

The surprise vote by Chief Justice John Roberts to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act at the end of June really was a bold decision that redefined the Commerce Clause. In an era when ego, power and politics rule, Roberts made the brave decision not to use judicial power to overrule the democratic process. He actually gave us an early Independence Day gift by not letting the Supreme Court define the future of…

Private retiree Medicare exchanges provide a glimpse of what public and private health insurance exchanges could look like.

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan acknowledged late last week that his proposed health care reforms rely on many of the same spending reductions for which he has criticized President Barack Obama, something that could undercut a central message of the Republican campaign.

Encouraged by Rep. Paul Ryan’s focus on fiscal responsibility, many brokers and advisers remain satisfied a week after Gov. Mitt Romney announced his vice presidential pick, saying the seven-term Wisconsin congressman brings a fresh perspective to the presidential election.

Working Americans would receive a set of capped tax credits to cover their health care costs under a proposal by Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, who believes excluding employer-provided coverage from federal taxes provides an unfair advantage.

PPACA compliance is expected to hit employers with large part-time employee populations hardest, while some firms may need to think twice about low-paid workers qualifying for Medicaid.

Walmart Stores Inc, the largest private employer, endorsed a new Democratic proposal for controlling health care spending that would seek to keep the rising cost of medical services in line with wage growth.

With the cost of employer-provided health care benefits at large U.S. employers expected to rise another 7% next year, a new survey by the National Business Group on Health suggests employers are eyeing a variety of cost-control measures but also sharply boosting financial rewards to engage workers in healthy lifestyles.

Forty-seven million women will now have access to eight new prevention-related health care services under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced on Wednesday.

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