Employee benefits

Can you imagine a world where the “new norm” required insurers and providers to disclose what they charge upfront? Read as Mark Gaunya, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters, shares two specific messages he took to the Hill at the Cap Conference and the outcome.

Baby boomers appear to be taking a second look at their life insurance policies as an alternative financial solution to paying for retirement, where they sell an unneeded life insurance policy for a portion of the face amount. These transactions, known as life settlements, have become a mainstream practice in the past several years, particularly as baby boomers begin exploring all financial options to paying for retirement, including previously unconventional alternatives.

Something is costing your health plan a whole lot of money, and it's largely due to uninformed choice: early induced deliveries.

On the last day of the National Association of Health Underwriters’ 2012 Capitol Conference hundreds of attendees received exciting industry news that made the ballroom erupt with a roar of applause and cheers.

Policy Studies Inc. has a new business process outsourcing service to help address the requirements — and deadlines — for implementing health insurance exchanges and marketplaces, the company reports.

The health care system is “so screwed up in where we invest our money,” and that needs to change for costs to become manageable, said a health researcher Tuesday.

Insurance agents play a “big role” in making sure Congressional legislation comes out the way it does, two members of the House told the National Association of Health Underwriters Capitol Conference Tuesday.

[IMGCAP(1)] NEW YORK | Mon Jan 23, 2012 9:42am EST (Reuters) - When your health insurance provider denies an experimental treatment or a high-cost drug, how much are you willing to pay for the care you believe you need? Barby Ingle, a former cheerleading and dance coach at Washington University who now lives in a Phoenix suburb, has been forced to face this question. …

The fourth annual study identifying the top U.S. health systems based was released yesterday by Thomson Reuters, which culled data from more than 300 organizations and singled out 15 hospital systems that achieved superior clinical outcomes based on a composite score of eight measures of quality, patient perception of care and efficiency.

The Obama administration said last week that 28 states have taken steps to establish insurance exchanges under the 2010 health care law, despite the legal and political uncertainties threatening the overhaul.

Express Scripts’ clients, including employers, have seen minimal disruption since Walgreens left its network earlier this month, says Brian Henry, ESI’s senior director of public affairs. In this Q&A, he sits down with EBN to discuss what efforts the company has made to make the transition easier since Walgreens announced last June it would be leaving.

Paycheck a little lighter this month? Despite the extension of the payroll tax cut, taxes are still taking a bigger slice of many workers' pay in 2012. And 2013 could be even worse.

Providers of health insurance face a momentous set of challenges in the coming years, a new report from Aite Group finds.

Only 25% of plan sponsors with 100 or more employees and plan assets between $5 million and $500 million partner with a professional adviser, according to a recent report from The Retirement Advisor Council. The study demonstra

If the health care law is implemented without the individual mandate insurance premiums would rise by as much as 25%, according to a new report by the Urban Institute Health Policy.

What could pediatrician appointments possibly have to do with Joe Merrick's business as an online precious metals dealer? When it comes to health insurance, the answer is everything. The 13 full-time employees of Merrick's Dallas-based Provident Metals have 30 children, all under the age of 15, with four babies born in 2011 alone. That means potentially high medical bills for everything from childbirth to vaccinations, which Merrick had to factor into his health-insurance decisions.

Pharmacy benefits manager CVS Caremark has agreed to pay $5 million to settle an investigation by the Federal Trade Commission that it overcharged seniors and taxpayers in the Medicare prescription drug program. The FTC also announced it has concluded its investigation of the company.

Walgreens is on the offensive this month, informing both employers and employees that it’s no longer part of the Express Scripts network. Kermit Crawford, president of Walgreens’ pharmacy, health and wellness business, recently sat down with EBN to discuss how the company plans to move ahead.

Broker-dealers are up in arms over a little-known provision of the Department of Labor's 401(k) plan fee disclosure rules. Ready why some industry observers say the brokerage industry only has itself to blame.

A majority of human resource executives at U.S. hospitals and health care systems expect health care reform to hasten the transformation of the industry’s traditional business model, according to a new survey by Towers Watson. The survey also found that workforce issues, including shortages of primary care physicians, the need for a wider array of staff skills and new leadership models, will rise in importance as the industry grapples with this transformation.