Health and wellness

A survey measuring use by various state’s departments of insurance of their websites to engage consumers rated California, Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Texas and Utah as highest in giving consumers access to critical insurance information.

Insurers and employers will have to spell out plainly the costs and benefits of the health plans they offer starting next year.

One of the primary features of the Affordable Care Act is the establishment of state-based health insurance exchanges.

One of the primary features of the Affordable Care Act is the establishment of state-based health insurance exchanges.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have received funds from the Health and Human Services Department totaling $185 million to build state insurance exchanges to aid consumers and small businesses in comparative shopping for health care coverage.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia have received funds from the Department of Health and Human Services totaling $185 million to build state insurance exchanges to aid consumers and small businesses in comparative shopping for health care coverage.

North Carolina is making strides to promote transparency and accountability for insurance consumers.

Communities known for paying the most on health care may not be spending as much as once thought, according to new data released on Wednesday.

Health care reform in Massachusetts hasn't lessened the pressure on providers that care for the poor, a new study shows.

Senator Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), ranking member on the senate health, education, labor and pensions (HELP) committee, released a report Tuesday showing access to child-only health insurance plans has declined significantly since passage of the new health care law. Enzi says the Department of Health and Human Services has failed to take action to address problems created by the new regulations.

Staff from the Boston and Glastonbury, Conn., offices of CPA firm CCR will compete to be the first office to “walk” to San Francisco as part of the firm’s new Wellness Trek to San Francisco.

U.S. health insurance companies must offer women free birth control and other preventive health care services under Obama administration rules released on Monday, a historic decision supported by family planning groups and opposed by conservative groups. The rules from the Health and Human Services Department are part of the nation's healthcare overhaul and largely follow recommendations from an advisory group released last month. …

One year after the passage of sweeping health-insurance reform legislation, the lasting impact of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on the small business community remains to be seen. A new study by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation indicates that the overwhelming majority of small business owners do not expect the law to reduce cost or regulatory burdens and nearly two-thirds agree that the law will result in premium increases but not in better care.

It's long been said that what you don't know won't hurt you. Whoever said that clearly had no knowledge of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Since its enactment in March 2010, PPACA and its impact on health plans, wellness programs,long-term care and even adoption benefits can definitely harm benefits pros who aren't on top of its provisions.

Government and industry experts say recent guidance from the federal government will hasten development of state purchasing exchanges, which will in turn affect employers’ long-range benefit sponsorship decisions.

State officials developing health insurance purchasing exchanges have voiced growing appreciation for the roles that can be played by benefit advisers.

While most companies go through their annual renewal process in the fall, at Ambrose we are wrapping it up and heading into open enrollment for an Aug. 1 effective date. For us, as well as other employers with renewals that fall in the middle of the year, health care reform regulations haven't kicked in until now

Most wellness programs assume that the first step to changing habits is education. Whether in the form of a wellness website, nurse line, wellness fair, lunch and learn, newsletter or paycheck stuffer, the assumption is always the same: If people only knew what good health habits were and why they should practice them, they would surely make the right choices. If you, too, think that education is an effective behavior change tool, think again.

The one-year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has come and gone, and federal agencies continue to issue clarifying guidance on several of its provisions, including the grandfathered health plan rules and the requirement to report the cost of employer-provided health coverage on employees' Forms W-2.

It's no surprise that American workers have become sedentary as the nature of work has changed significantly over the decades. A recent study outlined in the New York Times concluded that over the last 50 years, American workers are expending an average of 120 to 140 fewer calories a day in physical activity. According to the study, the decline in caloric expenditures supplies a missing puzzle piece in the explanation for the rising rates of obesity.