Healthcare benefits

More employers are making disability income benefits available to employees, at the same time that the proportion of those employees who have access to disability income DI coverage choosing to take advantage of it is edging downward.

One key consumer-operated and oriented plan based in the Midwest recently lost the battle for hearts, minds and pocketbooks along the highly competitive landscape of an emerging online marketplace when it was forced to liquidate, but does that spell doom for other CO-OPs?

For companies transitioning to a consumer-directed health plan, the most important point to keep in mind is that the health plan a business adopts may not be as critical as how the business handles the transition to the plan.

The Affordable Care Act does not appear to have seriously eroded employees’ appetite for and confidence in receiving health benefits from their employer.

Is the end of employer-provided health insurance near? The heads of Zane Benefits say it is and claim a paradigm shift is moving the benefits industry toward defined contribution employer-funded health care, instead.

Browse the drop-down menus to see the top carriers broken down by product line — overall, health, dental, vision, short- and long-term disability, life and voluntary.

In light of federal rules issued late last year, some types of skinny health plans are dead. But are all skinny plans dead? Maybe they just need to bulk up a bit.

Calling it the most personal device the company has ever created, Apple on Monday officially launched its smartwatch designed as a “comprehensive health and fitness companion.”

Commentary: HR professionals must band together to share how we are handling our ACA reporting responsibilities and to pressure our vendor suppliers for better solutions and continued innovation, says Lockton's Matthew Kaiser.

Commentary: As independent health insurance agents, you can help your clients understand how taxes and health insurance intersect, building your credibility as a knowledgeable agent in the process. These guidelines will help you prepare your clients for a smooth tax season.

Commentary: There’s a lot for your clients to consider when carefully managing intermittent leaves. The Standard's Lincoln Dirks goes in-depth on the paperwork that outlines the parameters for an absence — certifications and recertifications.

Increasingly diverse workforces are creating a benefit communications challenge for employers and their advisers.

Commentary: Last month reminded blogger David C. Smith of the last 10 minutes of The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. In the last four weeks, Treasury, Labor and Health and Human Services settled their business in a concerted effort to make clear what would be permitted or prohibited when it came to compliance with the law.

Is it legal for employers to drop health care coverage and pay for employees to go to the exchanges? One industry expert says yes — if you use this payroll option.

Commentary: With the use of intermittent leave, a type of Family and Medical Leave Act job protection, on the rise, The Standard's Lincoln Dirks says this type of leave potentially may become a growing burden for your clients.

Some of the nation’s most foremost authorities on health economics and policy learned a painful – and ironic – lesson about their respective area of expertise recently when they were forced to pay more for their health care in 2015.

The majority of employers spent 16% or more of their total health care budgets on pharmacy benefits last year, up from 71% in 2013.

Plan sponsors need to know their definition of domestic partners, how to verify their status and how they apply the plan terms.

Eastbridge Consulting research finds brokers are the dominant distribution channel, but they must use their position wisely to curb dropping participation rates.

Back in November, the DOL issued FAQ Part 22, which directly addresses some recent efforts by employers to reimburse employees for participation in the exchange through Code Section 105, or through some type of other arrangement.