Insurance

An Affordable Care Act-fueled surge in self-insurance for medical benefits among smaller employers appears to have leveled off somewhat, but not due to any disenchantment with the cost-management strategy.

Senate Republicans are also seeking a repeal of the medical device tax.

Aflac says it will now pay out certain voluntary benefit claims in one business day, an announcement that industry experts say will likely force competitors to follow suit.

Commentary: All retirement plan sponsors should be working with investment advisers who have signed on to their plan as fiduciaries.

It’s time to talk about something that most benefits professionals have left on the backburner for the last couple of years: the impending Cadillac tax.

Like the Obama administration, agency chair calls for a new regulation that would make brokers put the interests of their clients ahead of their own.

While the Affordable Care Act bans pre-existing condition exclusions, cherry picking and higher premiums for sicker individuals, a 2014 federal discrimination complaint and new study suggest that some public exchange plans have jacked up certain prescription drug prices.

Premera Blue Cross, serving the Northwest and Alaska, was hacked beginning last May, and even more sensitive data was exposed than in the Anthem hack.

Worksite clinics and private exchanges might appear to be mutually exclusive approaches to rising cost pressures, yet they can be integrated to achieve the same goal – improved health outcomes and lower health care cost trend.

Controlling rising health care costs is crucial for all employers, and conducting regular dependent eligibility audits can help.

Mid-year enrollment of voluntary benefits is gaining popularity, but benefit experts caution the strategy is not right for everyone.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide is the latest big-name company to move its active employee base to a private exchange, joining other brand-name companies such as Time, Inc., Sears, Darden Restaurants and Walgreens.

Novartis’ Zarxio is the first biosimilar product approved in the United States, ushering in a new era for the drug industry, consumers and third parties who manage medical and drug benefits.

How many of your employees will be short of money in retirement if they ignore the prospect of requiring long-term care? Answer: All of them.

Proposed changes to the Affordable Care Act’s summary of benefits and coverage and uniform glossary are coming under fire from business groups who say the implementation time frame does not give them enough time to comply with the new requirements.

Commentary: Agency growth is completely dependent on producer pipelines. Yet, we typically see producers struggling with one of two situations: either they have empty pipelines or ones filled with the wrong opportunities.

The broker-carrier relationship, especially one as long-lasting as Bob and William Taylor’s with Florida Blue and Darnell Smith, is dynamic and continuously evolving. EBA examines what makes this necessary partnership tick and introduces the top large-group insurance carriers in the country.

One key consumer-operated and oriented plan based in the Midwest recently lost the battle for hearts, minds and pocketbooks along the highly competitive landscape of an emerging online marketplace when it was forced to liquidate, but does that spell doom for other CO-OPs?

For companies transitioning to a consumer-directed health plan, the most important point to keep in mind is that the health plan a business adopts may not be as critical as how the business handles the transition to the plan.

A strong relationship will lead to a better health care system and more informed consumers, HHS secretary says.