Healthcare benefits

How advisers can assist their clients with the implementation of the required preventative service.

An initial consultation with a registered dietitian can cost as much as $200. Multiply this by the growing number of overweight and at-risk Americans, and employers could face a considerable cost increase.

Price comparison tools available to the public don’t make it easy enough for workers to make informed decisions.

The number of employers offering a healthy living/incentive program grew in 2015, and is one of several trends to watch as the year 2016 unfolds, analysts say.

Workers with serious mental and emotional health concerns are an increasing concern for advisers’ employer clients, new research shows.

The number of workers reporting serious mental and emotional health concerns is rising at an alarming rate, according to an analysis of global EAP data.

They might, if they had better access to pricing information in the decision-making process, says Frenkel Benefits’ Craig Hasday.

As the number of consumer-driven health plans continues to increase, employers are looking to voluntary benefits to help offset potential gaps in coverage.

Employees have more responsibility than ever for both the cost and control of their health, yet they are getting confusing guidance about how frequently they should be assessing their health risk.

From boosting wellness program participation to closing the retirement savings gap and more, consultants at Aon Hewitt reveal eight trends benefit managers should keep an eye out for in 2016.

Dependent eligibility verification audits are sometimes tough to communicate to employees, but as employers look for financial savings in their health plans, many are contemplating them.

Many employees will soon be receiving new forms that are critical to their ability to file their tax returns and to their employers’ ability to accurately fulfill their own Affordable Care Act reporting requirements.

The Affordable Care Act, new ways to fill the sales pipeline and Zenefits dominated EBA’s BeAdvised blog commentary this year. The top 10 most-read blogs of 2015 detail the growing number of ACA regulations and reporting requirements, explain why advisers don’t accurately understand the threat behind a tech-focused brokerage and highlight simple-yet-effective ways producers can increase existing client revenue and get prospects to open the door.

Throughout the year, a number of guest bloggers have provided valuable insights to EBN readers on the complex changes and issues affecting healthcare, retirement and other benefits programs.

The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to repeal the core of the Affordable Care Act, bringing Congress closer to sending legislation to President Barack Obama for the first time that would dismantle his signature domestic achievement.

Healthcare coverage is a significant piece of your employees’ overall financial package. If your plan doesn’t appropriately meet their needs, it can be a source of stress for them throughout the year.

Commentary: What we can do to support them, make them feel more welcome in our company culture and help strengthen our own company in the process.

Commentary: Adviser David C. Smith says he’s seen “a handful of imaginative approaches that all fail to satisfy the IRS’s prohibition” on standalone Health Reimbursement Arrangements.

EBA Advisers of the Year, as well as other industry insiders, share their insight on some of the major issues employee benefit brokers face. Take a look as these experts reflect on everything from the Cadillac tax to benefits technology to voluntary products.

Commentary: To ensure employees receive safe and necessary healthcare and maintain ethical practice, smart healthcare HR department leaders will want to keep their antenna up for any whisper or whiff of providers routinely waiving copays, coinsurance and deductibles for their patients.