Kansas, North Dakota and other state insurance commissioners snubbed a meeting with President Barack Obama set up to discuss allowing some people to keep medical plans that don’t meet the requirements of the U.S. health law.

A public employer in California is building its own marketplace to mirror public exchanges under the Affordable Care Act — a potential idea for brokers for prospecting.

Agents think the road ahead is between providing more value-added services, including compliance advice, versus losing business. Some agents think that the choice is between sell more ancillary products or continue to watch revenues fall. In my mind, the real choice is this: Do you want to be an insurance agent or a fee-based adviser? The difference is huge.

2014 will see fast-paced action and unforeseen market surprises, writes guest blogger Lindsay Resnick. With competitive rivalry at all-time high, keep a close watch on the trends impacting your business and take a proactive approach to managing change.

A massive defined contribution storm is about to crash onto the employee benefits landscape. You can choose to ride it out to continued - or even greater - profitability, or you and your firm can get swept away. I've written that employer interest in the defined contribution model will explode in the next 12 months.

Talking with the head of my account management team, I asked her if there was anything she'd like brokers to be more aware of. Quite emphatically, slapping her hand on her desk, she said that brokers need to include their software vendors in the benefits planning process. Also, she said they need to understand how important user acceptance testing is to the success of a technology project.

Our brethren on the direct pay side of compensation and benefits preach total rewards to their clients and employers seem to lap it up. Employee benefit advisers would serve themselves and their customers well to do the same. Are you selling insurance products and services with a total rewards wrapper?

As you read this article, the various notices for the 2014 plan year are freshly mailed. It is now time for plan sponsors and their advisers to sit down and review what worked in 2013 and what improvements can be made for 2014.

Over the last 15 years, Daymark Advisors has worked with hundreds of benefits professionals and voluntary benefits firms across the nation. We've observed that some of the most successful practices create strategic plans for their clients. These observations are consistent across all types of firms and goals. The very best advisers are highly consultative and strategic in their approach to client engagement.

Consider these for you next employee education session.

Quarterly indexed sales set new record at $10 billion.

More than a third of the ‘back end’ infrastructure still remains to be built in the federally-run marketplace, top IT official at CMS says Tuesday on Capitol Hill.

Consultants hired by the Obama administration told top officials at the White House and U.S. health department as early as March that construction of the government’s insurance website was at risk of failure, according to a document released by congressional Republicans.

Wellness is not just about fitness or smoking cessation anymore.

Smoking cessation programs offer insight to the real issues affecting health contingent programs.

The executive benefits market is off and running again after the economic downturn.

Flexible spending account advocates expect most employers to embrace rollover provision.

Resolution of government shutdown, debt ceiling deal had positive effect on capital markets.

Exchange leaders in the Golden State, Connecticut, New York and Oregon share solid numbers on exchange-registered brokers.

The technology issues plaguing the federal exchanges have hampered enrollment in state-run exchanges — which are largely free of glitches — causing some states to modify their marketing techniques.