Healthcare reform

Individuals could pay more than twice as much for prescription drugs with certain exchange plans, as employers that provide health coverage gain another asset to leverage.

Washington, Virginia and Indiana have new carriers signed on for next year, evidence that competition is growing stiffer in the government-run marketplaces.

As the HHS adds more opportunities for consumers to obtain health coverage outside of open enrollment, the broker and agent association says it’s not enough.

Everyone understands that advertising helps sell products and that was the top way to sell health plans through the public exchanges. But looking back on the first open enrollment, which advertising techniques worked and what lessons were learned to raise the number of enrollees further for 2015?

The breakdown of states running their own health insurance exchanges versus those using the federally facilitated marketplace will change in due time – but exactly how it will change is still up in the air, said a speaker at Wednesday’s National Health Insurance Exchange Summit, held in Washington, D.C.

High first quarter profitability means benefit agents and brokers could see a record-breaking year in 2014, including bigger bonuses from carriers.

An increasingly discussed abandonment of the ever-delayed portion of the ACA would not eliminate your employer clients’ need to comply with the health law.

As insurance industry professionals, brokers are living with the ACA and tackling its compliance mandates and issues every day for clients. But what’s to come for the law after the next presidential election?

Insurer groups this week shared ACA reform ideas with Congress, including the creation of a copper plan.

Knowing how many companies your client owns is critical to meeting ACA compliance. Here’s what you need to know about your clients that own more than one company under a controlled group.

Members of Congress came out swinging Wednesday at a committee hearing with top insurers called as witnesses to determine whom of the more than 8 million Obamacare enrollees have paid their first month’s premium.

Three large health insurers including WellPoint Inc. and Aetna Inc. say that a high percentage of their new Obamacare customers are paying their first premiums, undermining a Republican criticism of enrollment in the program.

Obamacare reduced the percentage of U.S. adults without health insurance to its lowest point since 2008 even as the law remains unpopular with the public, separate surveys showed.

While many in the industry think voluntary sales is a no-brainer for benefit advisers and employees alike, there's one type of product that hasn't seen a boost thanks to the ACA.

The self-insurance option for small businesses doesn’t seem to be as popular for managing ACA costs and mandates as some in the industry once thought.

This insurance rule, referring to the grouping of companies owned by the same person, hasn’t applied to medical coverage until now. One broker is concerned that benefit advisers and small business owners alike aren’t up to speed on this requirement and could be vulnerable to liabilities via penalties and lawsuits.

Many employers have yet to update their work policies to reflect the 90-day waiting period rule, a possible landmine for employee confusion and lawsuits.

Higher consumer spending on health services, increased prescriptions for costly medications and more elective surgeries suggests Americans are using the insurance they gained under Obamacare.

How many individuals and families that selected a health plan in the federally facilitated health insurance marketplace have paid their first month’s premium? Depends on whom you ask.

Now that tax season is over, Uncle Sam will be turning his attention to another pressing matter.