Practice management

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.

The employee benefit adviser’s role is a critical one that must be protected in dealing with the “sheer confusion” of the Affordable Care Act, Sen. Kelly Ayotte told NAHU members at the organization’s annual Capitol Conference, where she also proposed several GOP-led repairs to the law.

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.

Innovative decision-making tools are being developed by insurance carriers to help employers and employees make decisions about their benefit options.

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.

The world is getting smaller and smaller by the day. And as a result, brokers’ potential to work with clients from other towns, other states and maybe even other countries is getting bigger and bigger.

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

Employees with ready access to mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, prefer accessing employee benefit and pay information using mobile apps rather than using their desktops and laptop computers, an ADP Research Institute Study shows.

If you work at home, it’s vital to separate time and space between home and work. In other words, set boundaries.

The dissatisfaction, disappointment and frustration with launch of the federal health insurance exchange could be expected, especially with the constantly elevating level of consumer expectations for e-commerce and other online systems. Meanwhile, the number of private exchanges continues to grow and are in a very good position to succeed.