Employers thirsty for voluntary dental info
Advisers say employers are increasingly purchasing voluntary dental plans as an effort to cut costs, meet new ACA requirements and retain employees.
Healthcare reform
Mixed hopes for Sylvia Mathews Burwells HHS future
Benefit advisers are hopeful Sylvia Mathews Burwell will repair strained communications between industry and HHS, while others view her nomination as largely a political move designed to push Obamas divisive health care reform agenda.
Benefit brokers hopeful of good HHS relationship post-Sebelius
With the departure of the HHS secretary comes an opportunity for brokers and agents to have their voices heard by a new leader as they continue to assist consumers with the ACAs exchanges.
Benefits Think The stormy tenure of Kathleen Sebelius
Commentary: Columnist Craig Davidson questions whether this was a true resignation or was she a "sacrificial lamb?"
Benefits Think Sebelius in a tough spot but could have done more
Commentary: Sebelius was in an unwinnable position," according to the former head of sales and marketing at Covered California, Michael Lujan. The former insurance agent writes that more engagement with the benefits industry would have behooved the troubled health secretary.
Sebelius to resign as U.S. health secretary
Kathleen Sebelius, the U.S. health secretary who steered the troubled rollout of President Barack Obamas signature health care law, will resign just as the program topped its first-year enrollment goal, according to two people familiar with the decision.
By
Alex Wayne
Countdown to ACA compliance: How to determine your clients common law employees
Legal analysis: Are employees hired through a staffing firm or professional employer organization considered full-time employees under the ACA? Answering this question wrong could cost your clients a great deal.
Obamacare adds 400,000 after deadline, Sebelius reports
About 400,000 people signed up for private health insurance under Obamacare since a deadline passed that was initially supposed to end enrollment, the U.S. health secretary said Thursday.
By
Alex Wayne
No true reform on ACA will get done in 2014
At a legislative conference for the Big I agent advocacy group in Washington on Thursday, the ACA was noticeably missing from everything from legislators talks to the groups lobbying agenda for the year.
Off-exchange options flew under enrollment radar
While all eyes had been on HIX enrollment numbers during the ACAs first open-enrollment period, millions of Americans also chose health insurance options off the exchange. What does this mean for adverse selection and future premium pricing?
House Republicans to delay ACA replacement rollout
House Republicans are delaying the rollout of their alternative proposal to Obamacare, according to lawmakers and aides involved in the process.
Dont miss the lessons of ACAs first enrollment
The ACA's first open enrollment period presented some expected and some out-of-the-blue challenges for carriers, agents and others tasked with enrolling millions of individuals on the health insurance exchanges. Those challenges should serve as lessons and preparation exercises for the next open enrollment, several industry experts advise.
Uninsured rate drops to lowest level since 2008
The number of uninsured Americans has dropped to its lowest level recorded since 2008, a new Gallup poll finds, attributing the decrease to ACA successes.
Benefits Think Fear the DOL wage and hour audit
Commentary: More DOL audits are conducted around wage and hour issues than any other topic. Be careful to not dismiss this matter, as there could be major benefits-related consequences for employers if problems are found, writes columnist Craig Davidson.
ACA can be repealed even with enrollment, Ryan says
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan said Congress and a new president could still repeal President Barack Obamas health care law after 2016, rejecting Democratic arguments that the measure is irreversible.
Bill bumping ACA to 40-hour work week passes House
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation that would modify the Affordable Care Acts definition of a full-time employee from one who works 30-hours a week to one who works 40-hours a week.
More employers embracing ACA provisions in health plan designs
While its not surprising that in 2013 the trend of employers shifting rising health care costs to employees continued to grow, it also appears employers have begun to design health care plans with looming Affordable Care Act provisions in mind.
Are ACA exchange carriers swindling brokers?
An adviser in Connecticut who re-focused her group benefits business towards enrolling consumers on the state-run exchange says carrier appointment fees, and an exchange policy, are burning a hole in her pocket.
NLRB classification of athletes as employees highlights a health care reform land mine
Employers have always been concerned about the potential for worker reclassification, but health care reform and a recent National Labor Relations Board decision take this issue to an entirely new level.
By
Ann Caresani
Why it’s not too late for employees to get on the exchange
Yes, the ACA open-enrollment deadline has passed. No, that doesnt mean employers cannot terminate or change their health plan because employees can still enroll on the exchange.