Health and wellness

More than 975,000 Americans signed up this month for health insurance under Obamacare, pushing total enrollment above 1.1 million in 36 states covered by the U.S. healthcare.gov website.

ERISA permits e-disclosures but employers need to be aware of the rules.

A new wellness tool from the National Business Coalition on Health provides simple, best-practices recommendations.

From Maryland to Hawaii, Obamacare’s state-run enrollment operations are running into technical difficulties, creating new headaches for the White House even as the federal insurance website finds its footing.

As 2013 comes to a close, we’re taking a look at some of the most popular stories on our website this year. Here are the top five blog items of 2013.

(Bloomberg) – Today’s deadline for Americans to sign up for Obamacare health coverage effective Jan. 1 was extended until midnight tomorrow as heavy traffic to the online enrollment system caused a queuing system to be activated. Government technicians deploy the queuing system when traffic at the site, healthcare.gov, approaches 50,000 simultaneous users. Customers can request that an e-mail automatically be sent when traffic subsides. …

2013 is not over yet. Employers and HR and benefits professionals must address these 14 compliance issues before the New Year begins. Timothy F. Kennedy is a partner in Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads’s Employee Benefits and Executive Compensation Practice, concisely outlines retirement and health care issues that plan sponsors must consider in the following days.

President Barack Obama said the thousands of people now signing up for coverage under the Affordable Care Act overshadow the hit he’s been taking in the polls for the defect-riddled roll-out of the Affordable Care Act.

Hundreds of thousands of people whose health plans are being canceled because their coverage doesn’t meet Obamacare rules will be exempt next year from the U.S. mandate that all Americans carry medical insurance.

Security on the ACA exchanges needs to be taken very seriously by advisers.

Columnist Jack Kwicien on how you go about selecting the right merger candidate.

Improved health is the top New Year’s resolution among employees, as 82% say they pledge to lose weight, increase exercise or reduce stress in 2014, according to a survey from Keas.

Benefits broker John Garven juggles enrollment meetings while using Twitter to amplify his business.

High enrollment numbers increase phone hold times on state exchanges, as computer enrollment keeps pace

Much concern had been voiced about the ability for consumers and insurers alike to execute billing and payment between Dec. 23 and Dec. 31 for coverage effective Jan. 1. AHIP offered to extend that deadline to Jan. 10 on Wednesday.

Why small employers haven’t bought into private exchanges — yet

It’s no surprise that the year ahead is going to mean skyrocketing voluntary sales. But experts say it’s no easy feat for health brokers trying to break into the business.

Health insurers are being asked by the U.S. government to be lenient with Obamacare customers who miss the Dec. 23 deadline for enrolling in the program or are late with their initial payment. Meanwhile, Aetna says it will not renew canceled plans.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has asked the agency’s inspector general to review the development of Healthcare.gov, among other steps, in order to take “concrete action” and prevent future issues, she announced in a Wednesday blog post.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told contractors not to cooperate with Congress’s efforts to investigate work related to the Obamacare website, a top Republican lawmaker said.