Healthcare reform

It was a common theme at the 7th Annual Employee Benefit Adviser Summit in Phoenix this week that no matter who wins the presidential election in November, changes are forthcoming for benefit plans and administration. According to political activist and commentator Meghan McCain, should President Barack Obama keep his job, changes will be coming for the Republican Party as well.

The pundit and senator’s daughter says the Republican Party needs to shift with the times or risk extinction.

Employers turn to private retiree Medicare exchanges for a glimpse of what insurance exchanges under PPACA might look like in 2014

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who has called for scrapping President Barack Obama's 2010 U.S. health care law, said in remarks aired on Sunday that he likes key parts of "Obamacare" despite his party's loathing of it and wants to retain them.

In a detailed and passionate endorsement of his former rival, former President Bill Clinton amplified the central argument of President Barack Obama's re-election campaign: that voters face a choice between Democratic policies that lead to broad prosperity or Republican policies that benefit the wealthy at the expense of everyone else.

Two dozen Democratic women from the U.S. House of Representatives brought the charge that Republicans are waging a "war on women" to the party's convention stage on Tuesday with sharp denunciations of Republicans on health care, equal pay and domestic violence.

A health reform legal requirement taking effect this month adds pressure to client communication practices - but also gives advisers a chance to add value to their services.

The recent ruling on health reform has created an even greater need for accurate benchmarking data. Proving the age old adage that if you can't measure it, then you can't manage it. Advisers armed with information that drills down through national, regional, state, industry and company size will be better prepared to assist larger employers with employee acquisition and retention, and smaller employers make intelligent decisions on whether or not to "pay or play."

With health reform summary of benefits and coverage advisers must help employers change communication

Broker John Lamb on how total compensation statements can be the ultimate planning tool for PPACA

Nelson Griswold on how to reinvent your brokerage come 2014 and the start of Obamcare, PPACA

Why health care reform will produce positive change in the private exchange market.

Employers offering mini-med plans need to find alternatives.

Consultant Timothy Wojcik maintains the decision to pay or play is a strategic one that will affect fixed costs as well as employee morale.

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan portrayed Barack Obama as a shallow president who has failed to live up to his promises, in a convention speech also infused with an optimism reminiscent of Obama’s 2008 “yes we can” campaign theme.

A new survey shows that, despite rising costs, more companies plan to keep health care on the menu for active employees.

The Republican National Convention adopted a 2012 party platform that advocates changing how U.S. senior citizens receive health care by shifting Medicare from a defined-benefit entitlement to a defined-contribution plan.

Societal and insurance-based motivations are leading to fewer circumcisions, at a delayed price.

Private retiree Medicare exchanges provide a glimpse of what public and private health insurance exchanges could look like.

Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan acknowledged late last week that his proposed health care reforms rely on many of the same spending reductions for which he has criticized President Barack Obama, something that could undercut a central message of the Republican campaign.