Commentary: Research shows that three quarters of health care costs are related to the lifestyle choices of human beings. Adviser Joseph Appelbaum shares his D.C. firm’s cost-cutting success story.

Marilyn Tavenner, head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the agency largely behind the rollout of the Affordable Care Act —plans to step down at the end of February, she told her staff in an email Friday.

In a defined contribution world, cash balance plans continue to gain popularity, study says.

Commentary: Post-Affordable Care Act increases should be setting off fiscal alarms, says Frenkel Benefits’ Craig Hasday, who predicts more expansion to come.

Commentary: Half of HR managers don’t know how to help employees return to work from a disability, according to research from The Standard.

Despite worries about increasing health care costs for individuals, employee contributions to their health care plans are actually dropping, but employer cost and employee contributions also vary widely based on an employer’s industry, new research from UBA finds.

Advisers share why they entered the private exchange business and key players detail how to help employer clients chose the right exchange.

Commentary: To survive the ongoing thinning of the herd, columnist Nelson Griswold asks what are you planning to do differently in 2015 to remain relevant to your clients and grow your business?

Commentary: There are a lot of innovative options that have been implemented by those who are being proactive and who are changing their roles as employee benefit advisers. Columnist Jack Kwicien shares their competitive advantage.

More than a year after technical glitches on Healthcare.gov emboldened Affordable Care Act critics and fueled late-night talk show jokes, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has since forged partnerships with four digital platforms to help promote the current open-enrollment period.

Commentary: In sales, there’s often too much boasting and not enough doing. Sales expert John Graham shares seven steps to boost your bottom line.

President Obama late Monday signed into law NARAB II, the highly-anticipated legislation re-establishing the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers, creating a clearinghouse that would ease the ability of brokers to sell insurance in states across the U.S.

The Treasury Department and the Department of Health and Human Services are getting ready for the 2015 tax-filing season and the onslaught of questions they anticipate about the Affordable Care Act.

EAPs have evolved from counseling and call centers to offering employer clients a breadth of services, including regulation compliance.

Commentary: Plan sponsors should not only understand the importance and benefits of fiduciary roles in a sponsor plan, but also understand the positive impact a fiduciary can have, says columnist John Ludwig.

Commentary: While agents providing these value-added services have disrupted the market and changed the nature of the benefit sales game, they were but a precursor to the far bigger disruptor taking over huge chunks of the benefits marketplace, says columnist Mel Schlesinger.

Commentary: Not holding producers accountable does immeasurable damage to your culture and morale, says columnist Wendy Keneipp, who shares how to build a plan to keep your producers productive today.

Stagnant wages and cost-shifting are putting more financial burden on employees, study says.

Brokers and employers applaud the recent push by Congress to revise the ACA 30-hour work week definition, but the change could mean an immediate workload increase for benefit advisers.

Commentary: Benefit Advisors Network’s Perry Braun outlines how a national agent and broker licensing process stands to impact advisers and other key stakeholders, including clients.