Practice management

After Ray Rice was suspended indefinitely by the National Football League for violating his employer’s personal conduct policy, the issue of domestic violence has garnered much more attention from employers. Along the way, new laws are ensuring that victims are able to take time off work to deal with these issues.

Employers’ inability to provide clear and effective career management tracks may be forcing their more goal-oriented workers – the very employees they need to retain – to jump ship.

Commentary: Columnist John Ludwig asks, with all the effort put into fee disclosures and the money to produce them; does it really help the participant in the end?

EBA’s first-ever technology survey reveals where benefit agencies plan to invest their IT dollars.

Commentary: Take this small step now, says consultant Wendy Keneipp, and become the feared competitor in your market.

CMS promises better, but brokers expect more disconnected phone calls, incorrect information and a difficult time processing applications for enrollment on Healthcare.gov.

Benefits firm WorkforceTactix and tech company Digital Health Innovations are using data analytics and an innovative health app to predict and prevent clients’ high-cost claims, increase transparency and rein in health care costs.

Companies are waking up to the fact that supporting the emotional, physical and cognitive health of their employees makes sense — and affects their bottom line.

U.S. employers are not immune to the Ebola scare sweeping the country, but for most businesses, the risk of their employees contracting the virus remains extremely low. Nevertheless, employers are encouraged to re-examine their workplace travel policies and pandemic plans, say labor and business health experts.

A fix is in the works to ensure agents and brokers can identify themselves and therefore receive commissions for their work on the federally-facilitated marketplace, an agency official at The Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight said Tuesday.

Commentary: Benefit advisers hoping to remain relevant in this rapidly changing environment need to match their strengths to their client base, columnist Jack Kwicien says. In order to do that, some self-analysis is in order.

Commentary: Columnist Nelson Griswold reveals the "sales triangle" and why closing the sale is not the biggest part of the puzzle.

Commentary: You only get one chance to make a first impression. Columnist Mel Schlesinger shares his tips on how to make that first appointment with a prospective client a successful one.

Earlier this week, Walmart announced it was dropping health care coverage for employees who work fewer than 30 hours a week, a move the company estimates will affect about 2% of its workforce. Here’s a wrap-up of our analysis, plus a look at the ways other large companies are handling rising health care costs.

The features and services that you think workers will appreciate and use may be completely different than what employees actually desire, so communication is key - maybe even in the form of a company survey. Easy access is also key to better utilization.

Aon Hewitt expects more than 1.2 million employees, retirees and their families to choose health benefits through the company’s exchanges — revising their earlier estimates upward.

Walmart’s announcement this week that it will drop health care coverage for its part-time employees reiterates that employer-sponsored health care coverage is changing, and those benefit advisers who plan to remain relevant to clients must change, too.

Benefits managers looking to overcome the reality that 90% of employees simply keep the same benefits during open enrollment need to employ a new, more personal communications strategy.

Private health care exchanges bring with them major implications for employer-sponsored benefits, including a shift to defined contribution health care and increased access to data.

Commentary: October is National Depression Awareness Month. Jeff Guardalabene, a mental health case manager with Standard Insurance Company, offers these tips on how to help your employer clients navigate this important but often uncharted territory.