Insurance

EPIC Insurance Brokers and Consultants was a long time user of Liazon’s private exchange software, but this week launched its own exchange, developed in partnership with Hodges-Mace. Chris Duncan, EPIC’s chief growth officer, discusses the move and why exchanges may not be for everyone.

High deductible health plan sponsors, as well as employers considering making that switch, should review their employees’ health care purchasing patterns and their communication campaigns to encourage appropriate use of the plans.

Ending the Cadillac tax, simplifying the reporting process and eliminating the automatic enrollment requirement are a few of the legislative recommendations the American Benefits Council is urging Congress to act on.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ internal controls did not effectively ensure the accuracy of nearly $2.8 billion in financial assistance payments to insurance companies under the Affordable Care Act during the first four months that the payments were made, according to a new government report.

Benefit advisers in several states have received new fee arrangements from Aetna that eliminate commissions on small-group business, causing an uproar among brokers, many of whom question the legality of such a practice.

HR departments lack a clear understanding of fees and commissions attached to private exchanges, with many early exchange adopters uncovering fees once they start using the model.

Vision and dental benefits can be harnessed to play a larger role in employee health than the sum of their parts.

Shares of health insurers from Cigna to Aetna surged on speculation that the industry is heading for a round of mergers to boost profits.

New consumer tools are in the works for Healthcare.gov, as the federal government focuses on the exchange’s long-term success.

HHS Secretary Burwell says a Supreme Court ruling upholding the legality of subsidies on the federal exchange should shift the conversation about the ACA away from politics and toward improving access to affordable quality health care.

Applying the lens of behavioral economics to benefits choices helps employers understand why employees choose or don’t choose certain voluntary benefits.

Commentary: The guidelines establish a uniform methodology that must be followed in determining the maximum annual rate of index-based interest that can be used to calculate policy values in indexed universal life illustrations. The NAIC is set to vote on the issue next week.

Commentary: Preparing a new multiyear strategic benefits plan may require as much (or more) effort than the Affordable Care Act has consumed.

ADP filed a defamation lawsuit against Zenefits Tuesday, heating up a quarrel between the companies that ignited when ADP disabled Zenefits’ access to its systems for shared clients. The HR tech firm calls ADP's actions anti-competitive fear tactics.

The Internal Revenue Service did not receive much of the information it needed early this tax season from health insurance exchanges to verify taxpayers’ qualifications to claim tax credits to subsidize buying health coverage, according to a new report.

Assurant announced June 10 it will exit the health insurance market and sell some small group business lines to insurance holding company National General Holdings.

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the plaintiff in King v. Burwell would most affect Florida exchange subsides, although the impact would be far reaching, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds.

Commentary: As the health care industry makes progress in the shift from volume to value, technology solutions that promote clinical excellence, improve patient satisfaction and reduce costs are more in demand than ever.

While small employers may understand the benefits of long-term disability insurance to their workforce, many have misconceptions about its cost and may underestimate the desire employees have for this coverage.

Lower income employees present a particular challenge to employers as they seek to get a handle on managing their health plans.