Employee benefits

The notion that you can do well by doing good is alive and well in the 401(k) and qualified plan marketplace. Advisers, however, are walking a tightrope. With a big push by the government for more disclosure and stricter fiduciary standards, broker-dealers are struggling to allow their advisers to act as fiduciaries without opening themselves to unwanted liability. Meanwhile, plan sponsors are looking for advisers who can help their participants be more successful in retirement yet limit their costs, liability and work.

As the economy starts to stabilize, retirement plan experts say plan sponsors need to emphasize certain elements of their retirement education and advice programs to get workers back on track and saving for retirement.

Advisers looking for innovative ways to help their clients attack health care costs now have a new arrow in their quiver: the nascent field of surgery benefit management. SBM combines the use of medical centers of excellence and medical tourism with data mining, predictive modeling, health coaching and case management.

Racial and economic disparities in the U.S. health care system may come down to access to medical care, hints a new report on appendicitis.

The United States is decades behind the rest of the world in parental leave policy, a Human Rights Watch report said on Wednesday.

I'm totally swamped today, so I'm saved by former EBN Managing Editor Leah Shepherd, who writes on the newest stats surrounding telework.

The good news for health insurers is that they’re improving their reputation, but they still aren’t receiving high service marks from customers.

With less guaranteed income when they retire, a larger number of older workers remained in the workforce in 2010, according to research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

Despite efforts to defund PPACA in the Republican-controlled House, and prospects of a Supreme Court test for the federal health reform law, employers are forging ahead as best they can with short-term compliance issues and long-term strategic decisions.

Sales of annuities through banks ended the year with a promising lift, specifically for variable business.

The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a Web portal as part of an initiative to make its repositories of health data more accessible.

Americans are more optimistic about their ability to pay for health care services in the coming months, particularly for elective surgeries, according to a survey issued on Thursday.

Employee Benefit News is soliciting short articles from benefits professionals on best practices related to open enrollment and voluntary benefits. Articles selected by the editors will appear in EBN’s June 1 issue or on the Web site.

Casa Grande Regional Medical Center is offering its 3,000 employees and dependents online consultations with emergency physicians to address common, minor medical conditions.

AlwaysCare Benefits, Inc. recently noted that it achieved a major business milestone: signing up more than 500,000 employees and dependents for group dental, vision, life, disability, critical illness and accident benefit plans.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has triggered considerable angst about the fate of group health insurance coverage since its passage, but recent research suggests that it’s not expected to affect non-medical benefits.

Voluntary products were a key ingredient of employee benefit packages last year in the face of challenging times, with sales figures revealing a compelling story.

Last April, Eastbridge Consulting Group examined the interchangeability of key phrases describing “voluntary” benefits and the “worksite” market.

Women are not only saving less for retirement than men, but are also putting fewer dollars into their health savings accounts and health reimbursement arrangements as well, according to the most recent research by the Employee Benefit Research Institute.

The Internal Revenue Service has done a turnaround on the deductibility of breast pumps as medical expenses.