Health insurance

Of the many industry critiques of the Department of Labor's fiduciary proposal, one of the most oft-repeated is the assertion that new regulations would cut off access to advice for low- and middle income investors — precisely the segment of consumers the initiative aims to protect.

The Plan Sponsor Council of America outlines its concerns over the DOL’s proposal to impose fiduciary requirements on retirement advisers.

Concerns about over-regulation and accusations of industry cynicism led the opening of the Labor Department's hearings on its proposal to impose fiduciary requirements on retirement advisers — the latest phase of its contentious process to craft new rules on consumer protections.

There is some support among employers to increase the cap on H-1B visas, allowing more foreign workers to be temporarily employed in the U.S., yet the majority remains opposed to issuing more of the visas.

State-based marketplaces were overall quite successful in retaining enrollees, however, a large number of consumers shopping within the marketplace during 2015 open enrollment decided to switch plans based on the price of services offered.

While states are starting to realize they need to step up and help private sector employers better prepare their employees for retirement, Americans continue to fall short in meeting their economic needs in retirement.

The IRS continues to seek industry input on the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health plans.

Paid sick leave seems to be gaining traction in some parts of the United States, but it continues to face a lot of resistance.

Just last week, the DOL provided guidance about people treated as independent contractors, but who may really be your employees. That is just part of the trend. Another way you may have “extra” employees is through joint employment, most commonly through use of a staffing agency.

Commentary: Employers face an uphill battle in classifying a worker as an independent contractor due to DOL guidance that defines ‘employee’ so broadly that such a classification should only be reserved for a narrow subset of workers.

A new coalition representing the public and private sectors, as well as Republicans and Democrats, is seeking a full repeal of the ACA’s excise tax on high-cost group plans.

The DOL’s proposed rules on overtime do not mean workers will automatically earn more money or even work less.

Many believe the DOL has gone about its fiduciary rule-making in the wrong way and fear the rules, as proposed, will do more harm than good.

Industry trade groups and associations flooded the DOL with suggested amendments and revisions to its proposed fiduciary rule, ahead of the July 21 deadline for comments.

President Obama this week asked the Department of Labor to propose a set of rules by the end of the year that would provide a clear path forward for states to create retirement savings programs.

As they struggle to become financially stable, state-based health insurance marketplaces are lagging behind the federally-facilitated marketplace and are likely to continue to do so in the near future.

The ACA added new employer reporting requirements under Internal Revenue Code Sections 6055 and 6056, applying to employers that sponsor self-insured plans that provide minimum essential coverage regardless of size, and applicable larger employers.

With 24 Republican senators up for reelection in November 2016, not to mention the presidential election, there is so much set to change for both public and private exchanges.

The Department of Labor issued fresh guidance on how businesses should distinguish between employees and independent contractors, noting misclassification of employees has been on the rise throughout the U.S.

As the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in favor of gay marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges changed the landscape of employee benefits across the country, the question of how the court’s decision would affect domestic partner coverage moved center stage.