Practice management

Enrollment in private health insurance exchanges will likely match the public exchanges by 2017, when about 18% of Americans are expected to purchase their plans through the HIX model, according to Accenture research.

At NAHU’s annual conference this week, brokers said navigators couldn’t begin to replace the roles that they’ve held in their communities for years. The real question remains: what’s the point of navigators at all?

A politically charged morning kicked off the second day of NAHU’s annual meeting in Atlanta Monday with speakers from both sides of the aisle. One Republican policy wonk explained what he thinks is really going on with the ACA.

The National Association of Health Underwriters annual conference kicked off Sunday in Atlanta with a message from outgoing president Bruce Benton of California: “We’re going to ride this out.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers released results of an employee financial wellness study this week and found that 36% of employees in the generation born in the early ’60s through early ’80s say they’re likely to tap into their retirement savings.

A broker-friendly bill to combat the financial impact of the medical loss ratio requirements contained in the Affordable Care Act was filed in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday.

Less than five months before the Affordable Care Act fully kicks in, hospitals are improving care and saving millions of dollars with one of the least touted but potentially most effective provisions of the law.

Prudential Financial Inc., the second-largest U.S. life insurer, authorized the repurchase of $1 billion in shares through the end of June 2014.

More 401(k) retirement plan participants are turning their portfolio construction over to a professional, according to Vanguard’s annual 401(k) report.

The three-legged stool of social security, pension and personal savings is going to be a thing of the past for most of today’s workforce.

Many people have a horrible memory of their first time speaking in public. Dry throat, nerves, the works. But there are ways to improve.

A new study confirms that a majority of large and mid-size U.S. employers are planning to change provider payment models to become more cost effective.

The establishment of a national clearing house for brokers to cut through the red tape of state-by-state licensing is one step closer to reality.

In the past three months, employers have added an average of 155,000 jobs, down from the November-to-February average of 237,000 jobs a month. In May, manufacturers shed 8,000 jobs and the federal government cut 14,000.

Historically, voluntary benefits have been dismissed by busy agents as more trouble than they are worth, but with the Affordable Care Act moving closer to full implementation, agents looking to keep existing clients and gain new business should give them a closer look. Still not convinced? Following are five reasons for incorporating voluntary benefits into client proposals: …

When choosing an employer, about 87% of prospective employees favor a company that has a wellness program in place, finds Virgin HealthMiles. But with the return on investment of such programs in question, will they continue to gain favor with employers as well?

Prudential Financial Inc. and MetLife Inc. are moving onto Aflac Inc.’s turf selling protection against diseases and accidents as the largest insurers seek to add business tied to the Affordable Care Act and win valuations like their smaller rival.

What agencies will last in this new age of business? As vice president of business development for United Benefit Advisors, an organization of more than 140 independent benefit firms that is looking to add to its ranks, Matt Kistler has traveled the country and learned what makes a brokerage successful, and which ones will be around many years from now. Kistler shares some of his predictions on which firms will be widely successful in the future:

In 2012, nearly half (45%) of voluntary benefit premium came from rollover business, Transamerica Employee Benefits' Jeff Caldwell pointed out at a recent broker conference. The exploding growth of this market is due to many factors, such as an increase in the number of supplemental products available, the growing number of carriers offering voluntary benefits, and producers wanting to sell them, newer plan designs and revenue generation efforts, Caldwell, Transamerica's marketing director, explained.

There are many things in life that are out of our control. We can complain, muse, become paralyzed - or we can choose to find and capitalize on the opportunity. What comes to mind is the Affordable Care Act and the concern, worry and anxiety that it has created for many.