Despite efforts to defund PPACA in the Republican-controlled House, and prospects of a Supreme Court test for the federal health reform law, employers are forging ahead as best they can with short-term compliance issues and long-term strategic decisions.

Sales of annuities through banks ended the year with a promising lift, specifically for variable business.

The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a Web portal as part of an initiative to make its repositories of health data more accessible.

Americans are more optimistic about their ability to pay for health care services in the coming months, particularly for elective surgeries, according to a survey issued on Thursday.

Employee Benefit News is soliciting short articles from benefits professionals on best practices related to open enrollment and voluntary benefits. Articles selected by the editors will appear in EBN’s June 1 issue or on the Web site.

Casa Grande Regional Medical Center is offering its 3,000 employees and dependents online consultations with emergency physicians to address common, minor medical conditions.

AlwaysCare Benefits, Inc. recently noted that it achieved a major business milestone: signing up more than 500,000 employees and dependents for group dental, vision, life, disability, critical illness and accident benefit plans.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has triggered considerable angst about the fate of group health insurance coverage since its passage, but recent research suggests that it’s not expected to affect non-medical benefits.

Voluntary products were a key ingredient of employee benefit packages last year in the face of challenging times, with sales figures revealing a compelling story.

Last April, Eastbridge Consulting Group examined the interchangeability of key phrases describing “voluntary” benefits and the “worksite” market.

Women are not only saving less for retirement than men, but are also putting fewer dollars into their health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements as well, according to the most recent research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The Internal Revenue Service has done a turnaround on the deductibility of breast pumps as medical expenses.

Employee Benefit News is soliciting short articles from benefits professionals on best practices related to open enrollment and voluntary benefits. Articles selected by the editors will appear in EBN’s June 1 issue or on the Web site.

Aflac Dental policyholders have a reason to smile. The carrier’s new voluntary dental insurance plan now offers multiple levels of coverage and more generous benefits that include higher annual maximums and better orthodontic coverage.

Younger generations aren’t very familiar with critical illness insurance, but challenging times appear to be spiking their interest in other workplace benefits, according to two sets of jointly conducted surveys.

After seeing enrollment in its medical plans gradually dwindle to less than 2% of total group membership, the Guardian Life Insurance Company of America will shutter this product line and instead focus on dental, disability, life, critical illness and disability offerings.

Critics of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) once warned that the law would decimate mini-med plans – that is, until the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) issued regulatory guidance.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance recently issued new standards for its Patient-Centered Medical Home program. More than 7,700 clinicians at 1,500 sites use existing standards from Washington-based NCQA in their medical home initiatives.

Employers are expected to invest more money to protect personal information in response to increased government regulation and enforcement and to stem the rising tide of risk, according to a new report released by Ernst & Young.

The Great Place to Work Institute and Fortune magazine recently released the 100 best companies to work for list, which also lauds employers that went the extra mile to deliver unusual perks within their benefits programs.