Heartbleed causes heartache for Healthcare.gov users
CMS has reset all Healthcare.gov user passwords in response to the Heartbleed internet security bug, causing frustration for consumers and brokers, alike.
Healthcare reform
PCIP deadline delayed again
A program for sick Americans who were previously denied insurance coverage has been further extended, with individuals now given until the end of June to purchase coverage.
Oregon may close state exchange and join Feds site
Oregons health insurance exchange, plagued by computer flaws after federal taxpayers spent $303 million to build it, may be closed and the states customers shifted to the U.S. Obamacare marketplace.
Help employers understand the ACAs limited non-assessment periods
Benefit advisers should be familiar with certain grace periods when employers can avoid penalties.
Brokers enroll 44% of plans on this state exchange
Topping the recent California rate of 39%, brokers on this state-run exchange completed more than 36,000 of the private health plan enrollments. Their record with SHOP enrollments, however, was a different story.
Ensure employee understanding of HSA adjustments
IRS issues annual health spending account contribution limits and out-of-pocket maximums.
Small businesses unprepared for ACA changes
Only a little over half of small businesses understand and are prepared for the changes required by the Affordable Care Act, according to a new survey.
Benefits Think Lessons from ACA: We live in a world of uncertainty
Commentary: Blogger Andy Torelli says after the first ACA enrollment, were still years away from knowing the true efficacy of the law. What can advisers learn from this limbo period?
Are private exchanges the future of employee benefits?
Industry musings about how fast this employee benefit selection tool will grow and in what format are plentiful.
One SHOP exchange thrives with aid from brokers
While no public exchange was without troubles during the first ACA open-enrollment period, one state in particular put unique efforts into its SHOP component and saw results.
CMS begins renewal process on Healthcare.gov contract
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is in the early stages of looking at new vendors to potentially take over operation of Healthcare.gov, when Accentures contract expires in January 2015.
The time is now for selling voluntary products
Employees are craving voluntary benefits to offset high deductible plans, yet many say they havent been offered any new options since the ACA became law.
How do you measure ACA enrollment success?
As Covered California announces the rate at which agents enrolled consumers on the state-run public exchange, two different realities are emerging from agents throughout the most populous U.S. state.
Why the uninsured flocked for coverage off the exchanges
Nearly half of newly insured Americans signed up for coverage off the ACAs public marketplaces and benefit advisers have several theories as to why.
Be wary of this ACA landmine
Brokers may be the best intermediary to communicate a matter of pediatric dental compliance to employers and medical carriers operating in numerous states as regulations shift.
ACA triggers jump in U.S. consumers health care spending
Consumer spending climbed by $20.4 billion at an annualized rate adjusted for inflation in February, and $13 billion of the increase came from outlays on health services spurred by the ACA, according to Commerce Department data.
ACA enrollment got younger in late surge, officials say
People who waited until the last minute to sign up for Obamacare were significantly younger than those first in line, as the percentage of enrollees younger than 35 jumped in the last month. President Obama said Thursday that 8 million people have enrolled in private insurance plans through the public exchanges.
AHIP chief suggests lower-cost ACA metal tier
With open enrollment officially over, suggestions are emerging from industry experts on how to tweak the next round of ACA sign-ups.
Regular ACA enrollment closes for 2014 health plans
Tuesday was the last day of a two-week health law extension for hundreds of thousands of people who couldnt finish their enrollment by March 31, the official deadline to sign up for a federally subsidized insurance plan in 2014.
By
Alex Wayne
CBO sticks with 6M ACA enrollment prediction
The Congressional Budget Office, the main arbiter of Obamacares effects on the economy, left unchanged its estimate of the number of people expected to gain insurance coverage under the law.