Healthcare benefits

The cancer support program at CBS involves everything from helping an employee find providers to facilitating transmission of medical records to obtaining second opinions and more.

Bring many of the industry’ leading minds together with brokers and advisers from across the country who are eager to learn and share insights on the latest market trends and best practices, and you’ve got some of the year’s most thought-provoking conversations. For those who missed out, here are the highlights from EBA’s 2015 conferences.

Commentary: Everyone expects to hear from you at open enrollment, but what about the other 11¾ months of the year?

Commentary: With so many moving parts and delays, it’s been understandingly difficult for employers to figure out exactly what their responsibilities are when it comes to the Affordable Care Act. But when it comes to healthcare reform, what you don’t know really can hurt you.

Commentary: For the employer, the need to retain employees is strong and absorbing additional cost in the benefit plan will have strong short-term consideration.

Commentary: Be on the lookout for NextAgency, an enrollment and administration firm with benefit adviser interests in mind.

How small companies are making use of their employee assistance programs.

Employee benefit departments are perceived by some as the “soft underbelly” in the world of corporate hacking targets, according to Adam Solander, a member of law firm Epstein Becker Green.

Commentary: Even the best hospitals are not immune to medical mistakes. However, there are steps employers can take to educate themselves about its costs.

Small employers such as Beehive PR and Beach Cities Health District create a culture of mental wellness with a suite of day-to-day programs that encourage work-life balance, employee involvement and employee growth and development opportunities.

Commentary: Adviser Jerry Kalish details a list of welfare benefits subject to ERISA that fall outside of health care reform.

ACA reporting becomes mandatory in 2016. Preparing employers to be compliant with reporting requirements is a core service that advisers should be offering, industry experts say.

Commentary: The rapidly evolving regulatory environment has increased benefit and tax complexities for most employees, making the open enrollment decisions more confusing and stressful than ever.

Commentary: We would all be better off if we stopped debating the merits of employee wellness and focus on what the intent of it should be – helping employees and their families achieve their optimal health.

Zenefits is back in the spotlight with news of slower than expected revenue growth. The company also this week announced it will offer a free payroll option. The announcement follows a months-long public dispute with payroll giant ADP.

Despite the continued escalation in specialty medication costs, many employers sponsoring self-funded health plans have not yet placed prescription drugs underneath the plan’s stop-loss insurance. Why is that?

As companies redesign their benefits around employee needs, the links between oral and overall health has employers incorporating dental benefits into wellness strategies.

NAIFA has launched a new initiative aimed at reinventing its role as an advocate for advisers. Its five-year strategic plan, dubbed NAIFA 20/20, aims to make the association a more effective resource for an increasingly diverse membership facing some challenging regulatory burdens.

Commentary: Most employers are in the dark about what they get in return for what they spend on health benefits. As a result, they tend to make decisions about benefits on the basis of costs alone, with little regard to value.

New business for validated employee benefit producers decreased over the past three years. Organic growth for independent brokers has also slowed. However, mergers are on a record-setting pace.