Healthcare plans

Court rules verbal COBRA notice is sufficient, but benefit advisers caution employers to follow-up with written notice, as well.

CVS Caremark Corp. halted sales of tobacco products almost a month ahead of schedule, started a smoking-cessation campaign, and changed its name to position itself as an advocate of better health.

On the 40th anniversary of ERISA, benefits attorney Howard Shapiro contemplates the differences between this landmark piece of legislation and another, the Affordable Care Act.

The IRS has posted draft instructions for the various Affordable Care Act reporting that will be done for calendar year 2015 and while the instructions provide much needed guidance for employers and insurers, they also confirm the daunting complexity of the reporting task.

Insurance underwriting is hardly dramatic enough to warrant a TV show, but there is a forensic component to the annual renewal process.

In what could serve as a caution to employers using health and fitness apps to engage workers in their wellness programs, researchers at Brigham Young University are warning over the trend of developers basing their platforms' rewards on gamification.

Survey finds that across all lines of insurance, 18 to 29 year olds are less likely to own coverage than other age groups.

Commentary: Financial services company BOK Financial enlists the help of a benefits communication vendor to boost participation in its consumer-directed health plan.

With increased CFO involvement in health care and benefit decision-making, benefit managers are under more scrutiny than ever before to ensure they efficiently manage their health and benefits vendor relationships.

Millennials are 10% more likely to lack health coverage than adults age 30 and over despite paying lower costs, receiving subsidies based on income and possibly staying on their parent's health insurance policy until age 26.

Large employers say they don’t have plans to eliminate health care coverage for active employees in 2015, although 35% say they are considering moving their active employees to a private exchange in 2016 or beyond, a recent survey finds.

The Obama administration has announced a government workaround to allow employees of religious nonprofits access to birth-control coverage even if their employer has opted not to pay for such medicines.

In anticipation of the Affordable Care Act’s excise tax, U.S. employers are planning to take more aggressive approaches to projected single-digit increases in health care costs by revisiting the viability of consumer-driven health plans and spousal and dependent coverage.

Benefit advisers and employers say a host of challenges is not only to blame for stagnant SHOP enrollment, but must be overcome if SHOP is to enjoy any success.

Although open enrollment for ACA plans is not set to begin until November 15, a new report estimates that nearly 7 million adults may be able to enroll through special enrollment periods.

Commentary: Benefit advisers hoping to maintain satisfied clients after the first open enrollment period should avoid these common bad behaviors that could cost accounts in the long run.

Employers are seeking help from benefit brokers and advisers as health care costs have them searching for alternatives to the current system of health care delivery.

Employers and employees more than ever need the help of their trusted adviser to communicate in plain language the complexities of today’s health care landscape.

Employers who fail to issue a timely COBRA notice could face huge fines, as evidenced by a recent court case in the state of Nevada.

Employers say in 2015 they will continue to shift toward offering CDHPs, but many need adviser help to engage employees in better health care decisions and understand the benefits of a private exchange.