Practice and client management

An organization that could impact the work lives of agents and brokers who are licensed in multiple states was supposed to be included in the flood insurance bill that passed the U.S. House Tuesday evening, but the language for it was left out. What happened, and are brokers invested in this idea anyway?

While most people understand the need for medical and dental insurance, the value of voluntary benefits is less understood. That’s why advisers should be selling them as “financial protection,” says one voluntary sales expert.

Commentary: The Catalyst for Payment Reform scored each state on its level of health care cost transparency — 29 received an F, only two scored an A. Transparency of health care cost and quality must be the founding principle of sustainable change, says Borislow Insurance’s Mark Gaunya.

EBA is introducing our 2014 Rising Stars in Advising throughout the month of March. First up is Kris Tawney, 29, of Tawney Insurance Consulting LLC, with four tips for other young advisers in the field.

As the debate rages on whether an increase in the U.S. minimum wage will boost or hinder hiring, one aspect is more unambiguous. It would almost surely lift consumer spending.

At a Republican think tank-sponsored forum on Thursday, congressmen from the right touted a patient and doctor-focused fix to health reform, but remain split on whether to repeal or make piecemeal changes to the Affordable Care Act. They also voiced concerns about employees’ ability to make ends meet as a consequence of the law.

Commentary: Why are we ashamed or afraid to tell our clients or prospects what our cost of doing business is? Why are we afraid to be transparent?

At this week's Workplace Benefits Renaissance in Atlantic City, much buzz surrounded the changing industry landscape under the ACA, with most people agreeing benefit advisers looking to stake their claim on this new terrain need to focus less on brokering to confused employers and more on advising them.

While this might not be the easy tactic, it’s an important transformation in the long run, Employee Family Protection's Vinnie Daboul told attendees at EBA’s Workplace Benefits Renaissance in Atlantic City, N.J.

As federal funding for state-run SHOP exchanges runs out in 2015, voluntary benefits may be the key to exchange sustainability, according to Ryan Howells, vice president and general manager of Connecture.

As Healthcare.gov procrastinators gear up for the nail-biting final weeks of 2014 enrollment, some lucky part-time or seasonal workers will be able to ride the coattails of their employer’s customized portal for assistance.

A potential loophole in the Affordable Care Act could spell trouble for the HIX marketplace if enough group health plans are able to steer sicker employee populations to public exchanges while holding onto healthier lives.

LIMRA survey finds 70% of advisers predict the ACA will slash group medical sales, with many saying health care reform will drive employers out of the market altogether.

Republicans' alternative to the ACA, the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act, would do away with exchanges and include a cap on employer-provided health insurance that working Americans could exclude from their taxable income.

Employers looking to increase productivity should encourage employees to use their paid time off, an Oxford Economics study released Thursday suggests.

More than 820,000 people have selected a Covered California health insurance plan through the Golden State’s public marketplace through the first two weeks of February, exceeding the state’s open enrollment goal through March 31 of 700,000 enrollees for 2014, officials said Wednesday.

Commentary: Why this determination is critical to your business thriving and surviving.

Commentary: A recap of the compliance issues that lie ahead for brokers and plan sponsors in 2014, which EBA Advisory Board member George Lane of Mercer says are making things a lot more complicated.

Commentary: The dedication and commitment that Olympic athletes give to their sports should be channeled by brokers and advisers.

If the last few years were an age of reform, then we’ve definitely entered a new era — a time of compliance.