Health and wellness

Mirroring a recent HHS initiative, some state-run marketplaces such as Covered California have extended a special enrollment period for COBRA-eligible individuals, allowing them to enroll in a marketplace exchange plan through July.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry is sounding the alarm that many children aren’t getting the dental care they need — even though the ACA includes pediatric dental care on its essential health benefits roster for small-group plans.

Individuals could pay more than twice as much for prescription drugs with certain exchange plans, as employers that provide health coverage gain another asset to leverage.

Increasingly, organizations are recognizing that employees don’t leave their financial, child/elder care-giving responsibilities and other worries at home, and are beginning to look at wellness in a broader, more holistic way.

Den Bishop had a vision for a new wellness solution, one that focused on the true cost enemy — disease. That vision became ACAP Health.

Washington, Virginia and Indiana have new carriers signed on for next year, evidence that competition is growing stiffer in the government-run marketplaces.

As the HHS adds more opportunities for consumers to obtain health coverage outside of open enrollment, the broker and agent association says it’s not enough.

Everyone understands that advertising helps sell products and that was the top way to sell health plans through the public exchanges. But looking back on the first open enrollment, which advertising techniques worked and what lessons were learned to raise the number of enrollees further for 2015?

The breakdown of states running their own health insurance exchanges versus those using the federally facilitated marketplace will change in due time – but exactly how it will change is still up in the air, said a speaker at Wednesday’s National Health Insurance Exchange Summit, held in Washington, D.C.

High first quarter profitability means benefit agents and brokers could see a record-breaking year in 2014, including bigger bonuses from carriers.

What are some of the common factors – all much welcomed signs of improved workplace wellness – that are common to America’s healthiest companies? A marked reduction in smoking, plus measurable reductions in glucose and blood pressure levels emerge as the most consistent hallmarks of a truly healthy workplace.

Commentary: Blogger Jeff Hyman says creating this culture is challenging but he has suggestions you can bring to your clients, or your own work environment.

An increasingly discussed abandonment of the ever-delayed portion of the ACA would not eliminate your employer clients’ need to comply with the health law.

Employer action on the patient safety issue could include crafting health benefit plans that reward safety and penalize non-compliance, urging hospital boards to make safety a priority and distributing patient safety literature.

As insurance industry professionals, brokers are living with the ACA and tackling its compliance mandates and issues every day for clients. But what’s to come for the law after the next presidential election?

Insurer groups this week shared ACA reform ideas with Congress, including the creation of a copper plan.

A lesser known fact about outcome-based wellness programs can help advisers bring their clients’ programs into HIPAA compliance.

Knowing how many companies your client owns is critical to meeting ACA compliance. Here’s what you need to know about your clients that own more than one company under a controlled group.

Two plan sponsors, the Government Employees Health Association and Orlando Health, share their approaches to weight loss and engaging employees in sustained behavior change.

Members of Congress came out swinging Wednesday at a committee hearing with top insurers called as witnesses to determine whom of the more than 8 million Obamacare enrollees have paid their first month’s premium.