One year into the brave new world of health care reform, there’s good news and there’s bad news, says industry insider Eric Johnson.

This is a time of significant change for the employee benefits industry, but rather than respond with panic, consultant Alan Katz urges brokers and advisers to prepare for whatever lays ahead by learning from the habits of successful producers.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill April 5 that would repeal PPACA’s 1099 tax reporting requirement.

Most health systems adopting an accountable care organization model will lose money during the first three years, according to a report posted on the New England Journal of Medicine Web site.

Most critical illness insurance policyholders are 55 or older; men buy higher coverage amounts than women; and claimants overwhelmingly seek benefits for cancer over all other conditions, suggests a new comprehensive study of more than 20,500 individual policies purchased last year.

The fall offering of the Employee Benefits Producer Training Program, scheduled for Sept. 19-30, 2011, will be held at the American Airlines Training & Conference Center in Fort Worth, Texas. It was previously scheduled to be held in Brookfield, WI.

The economy still may be stuck in neutral, but industry brokers, carriers and vendors are bullish about the future of voluntary benefits.

A U.S. court will hear oral arguments on June 8 in a government appeal of a federal judge's ruling that struck down President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul law as unconstitutional.

Financial advisers are losing an average of $20,000 in fees for not pricing their fee-based businesses competitively enough, according to a new survey from Toronto-based software firm PriceMetrix Inc.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule March 31 that establishes the Medicare Shared Savings Program authorized in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

A roundup of recent promotions and staff changes in the industry.

While health care costs are inevitably going to rise in the future, a 65-year-old couple retiring in 2011 will likely spend $230,000 on health care throughout their retirement, Fidelity estimates.

Greg Scandlen has long been regarded as one of the nation’s most outspoken experts on health care financing, insurance regulation, and employee benefits. EBA caught up with Scandlen to get his take on implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its impact on brokers and advisers.

It's finally spring and what seemed like a very long, hard winter has drawn to a close. And we have reached the first anniversary of PPACA and survived that as well. Both the weather and government intervention in our business can be difficult to deal with, but all us entrepreneurial types always figure out a way to successfully deal with adversity, right? When we get lemons, we make lemonade.

To partner or not to partner. That is the question ... and it can mean a variety of different things. If you are an individual proprietor, at some point you may decide to find a partner to share some of your workload with, as well as to bring new business to the table. In many ways, this is a great idea. When you add another mind to the mix, you will typically be given new ideas, have someone to bounce your own ideas off of, receive help with paperwork and phone calls, and have backup when you are sick or out of town. These are all very positive aspects of having a business partner.

When it comes to addressing end-of-life needs and services, most people know it's important to plan ahead in order to make sure that their family will not be burdened with overwhelming decisions during a difficult time. Even so, many people put it off because they would rather not have to think about the topic.

Years ago when I approached a crusty old broker from down south about enrolling his voluntary benefits cases, he told me he didn't sell voluntary because, "Boy, the juice ain't worth the squeeze."

More than a year later and the impact of health care reform continues to be debated. Some features have been implemented and the regulatory definitions continue even with the uncertainty of potential legislative changes. It's murky at best. One thing is clear: The broker world is changing and a consulting-oriented approach seems the best course. Now is a great time for brokers to expand their assistance to employer groups and provide expertise and technology on health care cost transparency - with the ultimate benefit being the reduction of health care spend.

The March issue taught us the importance of being a well-rounded benefit adviser and what making the effort can do to improve our business.

In this month's installment in our sales training series - which follows February's and March's columns on buyer motivation ("If you want to sell, do this ..." pgs. 56 and 68, respectively), we'll look at the art of painting mental pictures for your buyer - an art that can result in an AOR.