Employee benefits

UnitedHealth Group’s $12.8 billion purchase of pharmacy benefit manager Catamaran Corp. continues a trend of PBM acquisitions, and there’s more to come, industry consultants say. In the long term, that may mean lower costs and more data availability for employers.

Commentary: Three reasons Individual contracts are incompatible with ERISA plans and how to handle it, according to The Principal’s Aaron Friedman.

Commentary: While these FMLA changes don’t require any immediate action or changes to employers’ benefit plans, they could serve as a catalyst for federal officials and agencies to further extend their reach into benefits programs, says Sam Fleet.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. agreed to buy Catamaran Corp. for about $12.8 billion, bulking up its drug-benefits business to get better negotiating power in talks with pharmaceutical companies over prices.

Commentary: Retail and restaurant workers, who come into more direct contact with the average customer than any other job, are the least likely to have paid sick leave as a benefit.

As the Affordable Care Act last week celebrated its five-year anniversary, the majority of employers say they have not considered reducing hours for part-time employees as a result of the law’s mandate that employees working 30 hours a week be offered health care coverage.

There’s room to grow in the investment-only variable annuity space, and educated advisers are the key.

A federal district court granted a preliminary injunction on Thursday ordering the Department of Labor to postpone the application of a rule that would have extended Family and Medical Leave Act benefits to same-sex married couples even in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage.

Employers may want to take note of the qualifying longevity annuity contract rules that were put in place last year under the required minimum distribution rules of the Internal Revenue Code.

Continued lawsuits over excessive 401(k) fees are on track to force providers to change the way they deliver products and end a practice that appears to be a “showcase of impropriety.”

Commentary: It depends, says Borislow Insurance’s Mark Gaunya, who points to the Massachusetts system. The national model must evolve first.

Aetna has agreed to reduce out-of-pocket payments for most HIV and AIDS medicines after pressure from an advocacy group, revising coverage that had some patients paying $1,000 a month for the drugs.

Enrollment goals fall short when key points get lost or the message itself fails to connect with the employee.

Not every budget vote in Thursday's Senate marathon is particularly telling. The vote on SA 798, one of Washington Senator Patty Murray's amendments, is an exception.

After two enrollment seasons under the Affordable Care Act's exchanges, the easily accessible and amenable are signed up for health care. With year three starting this fall, the task will be tougher to target the remaining uninsured, who are harder to reach. Who better to drive the message home, Washington state thinks, than brokers?

As employers face the threat of EEOC investigations into their wellness programs, Congress contemplates legislation in support of financial incentives for wellness programs. But are employers focused on the wrong issue?

Commentary: There isn't one right answer to what a plan should look like, but there’s no harm in asking around to see what other employers consider reasonable.

Michelle Capezza, a member of law firm Epstein Becker Green, highlights new changes to the ACA's Summary of Benefits and Coverage and what steps plan sponsors should be taking to prepare.

Commentary: Some of the nation’s most comprehensive health care cost transparency requirements going into effect in New York are setting a solid precedent for other states to follow, says FAIR Health’s Robin Gelburd.

The amount of money socked away in retirement accounts jumped up 6% with U.S. retirement assets totaling nearly $25 trillion at the end of December 2014.