Healthcare plans

Five ways to tell if your employees are getting the service they deserve from your benefits company.

Flexible spending accounts have long been a favorite tool among working Americans to help budget for out-of-pocket costs but they could be an unintended casualty of health care reform.

The tire and wheel retailer implements a telehealth option for employees, providing online access to care for minor ailments.

Everything from filling prescriptions to asking primary care questions can be done via online or over the phone, which can reduce medical claims, but only if employees are engaged in their plan.

Employers more than ever are seeking innovative solutions for health care cost containment from their benefit advisers, and one industry expert says emerging strategies to help brokers thrive in the coming decade should include voluntary benefit sales and plan integration.

Increased regulatory requirements and rising health care costs have spurred more employers to consider defined contribution health care plans, a trend industry experts at EBA’s Workplace Benefits Summit say is a result of a more transformative approach to health care benefit strategy.

The House has agreed to pass legislation that makes possible a repeal of the ACA’s controversial expansion of the definition of a small employer — a bill hailed by the benefits industry for protecting the small and mid-size businesses they feel the expansion threatens to harm.

EY, formerly Ernst & Young, takes an integrated approach with its comprehensive employee assistance program, EY Assist.

Commentary: Continue to provide value-added personal service to your clients with these practical tips for marketing benefit programs, says ThinkHR's Laura Kerekes.

Can business leaders be coaxed into focusing on the serious economic threat posed by unbridled health care excesses?

New workplace programs are helping companies reduce the stigma associated with mental health.

If an employer says they don’t have concerns about the Affordable Care Act’s looming excise tax set to go into effect in 2018, they’re probably fibbing.

The ruling is not likely to affect demand for individual fixed indemnity products, which have been on the decline, nor to have impact on overall health insurance market, experts say.

Commentary: The employer community has made its voice clear on the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax. Legislators seem to have heard. Will it make a difference?

Commentary: The “teachable moment” remains one of the most important potential benefits of a health assessment. Well-designed assessment tools provide a catalyst for lifestyle change by creating receptivity to health-related information and recommendations.

Commentary: Data breaches, cost transparency and telehealth rank among the Health Research Institute’s top trends plan sponsors need to pay attention to.

Is the U.S. health care system overrated and overpriced?

In the first year of open enrollment on its private benefit exchange, brokerage Lovitt & Touché made some mistakes. But the firm won’t be repeating them, says the Phoenix-based brokerage’s senior vice president.

A potential plan to pool the health care purchasing power of Detroit’s Big Three automakers in the form of a CO-OP or similar entity sounds intriguing to industry insiders, but they also caution that it wouldn’t be an easy road.

Insurers are projecting significant jumps in pharmacy expenses this year, driven primarily by specialty drugs.