Insurance

For some employers the move to a private exchange is as much about the role of benefits as an attraction and retention strategy as it is about saving money over the long term.

Broker information was not compromised as part of a cyber-attack on Anthem’s IT system and the carrier says it is working with brokers to assist and inform their clients about the breach.

Commentary: Step up your game or your clients may choose to become your competitors, says the head of Pittsburgh Business Group on Health

EBA is looking for industry leaders age 35 and younger to be featured our April issue.

The distribution model for employee benefits is changing, and adapting to the rapidly developing landscape presents new questions and challenges for all players.

The information compromised includes names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, street and e-mail addresses and employee data, including income, Anthem said.

Many of the private health care exchanges on the market today are adopting hybrid models of benefits administration and benefits enrollment, says Scott Carver, president of PlanSource, a cloud-based benefits exchange provider. The company operates its own proprietary exchange and a white label solution that builds exchanges for third parties. EBA spoke with Carver about what makes exchanges unique and his predictions for exponential growth in the field.

Benefit Advisors Network partners with exchange firm to help clients get coverage for benefit-ineligible employees.

It may still be too soon to tell how widespread wearable fitness trackers will become in corporate wellness programs but for Phoenix Companies, a life insurance and annuity company based in Hartford, Conn., wearable wellness is anything but a fad.

Time Inc. joins the ranks of big-name companies using a private exchange for active employees. The company has selected Towers Watson’s OneExchange to deliver medical, prescription drug, dental and vision benefits to its full-time active employees and their dependents for the 2015 year.

Some industry research has suggested that private exchanges will transform themselves into a clogged eight-lane freeway teeming with traffic within the next few years from a lonely country road less traveled today. But a recent published report argues that some of the nation’s top employers are now adopting a cautious approach.

Commentary: Bundled MEC plans insure workers while helping employers avoid new penalties, says Sam Fleet.

The winter holidays weren’t so merry for CoOportunity Health, whose health plans were pulled in both the individual-market and SHOP exchanges in Iowa and Nebraska for 2015 as regulators review the startup’s financials.

Both groups place a high importance on life insurance and are most receptive to it, LIMRA finds.

As calls for the EEOC to issue guidance on wellness programs continue, employees are on board with their employers’ involvement in health and wellness programs.

Although the industry anxiously awaits the Supreme Court’s decision on the legality of providing subsidies to people buying health insurance through the federal marketplace, few Americans have heard of the case that is set to go before the high court in March.

In an EBA exclusive, the leader of Hawaii’s public health care exchange pinpoints failures and shares why it’s a business imperative that no one be left out of the system.

The Affordable Care Act has a lot of work to do to get Americans more employer-based health coverage, particularly those working for small companies.

Department of Labor audits of employee benefit plans are on the rise and experts agree benefit advisers should be preparing their employer clients now for that impending knock on the door.

Brokers cite rate increases, increased complexity and poor plan quality as top concerns with the health care law.