Nontraditional and value-added products and services are generating a lot of buzz in the voluntary benefits marketplace, while the traditional mainstays of life and disability continue to capture the lion’s share of sales. But if the industry were a horse race, you’d see supplemental medical products including hospital indemnity, critical illness and accident coming up […]
Some state insurance regulators are uneasy about how they and their colleagues are regulating life insurance policies and annuity contracts that include long-term care benefits. Concerns about the regulatory environment for LTC hybrid products surfaced last month at a Senior Issues Task Force session at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ spring national meeting in […]
Key Insight: Discover how employees’ premium-focused choices create an “affordability trap” in open enrollment. What’s at Stake: Rising out-of-pocket exposure threatens worker financial resilience and employer benefits ROI. Forward Look: Expect increased AI use and demand for clearer, concise benefits communication strategies. Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review Most employees choose cheaper health plans over more […]
Just 19% of companies feel ready for pay transparency Key Insight: Learn how pay transparency can become a strategic advantage for retention. What’s at Stake: Noncompliance risks, talent loss, and reputation exposure for benefits and HR leaders. Forward Look: EU rules starting June and expanding state laws will escalate reporting and remediation demands. Source: Bullets generated by AI […]
The individual health insurance rules that federal regulators are developing for 2027 could help individual coverage crowd out more of the small-group market, according to Jeff Smedsrud. Smedsrud — a longtime supplemental health insurance benefits marketer who was the founder of HealthCare.com, and who now is the chief executive officer of Flex Benefits — predicted today […]
There’s a quote from Dave Chase that I think about constantly: “Imagine if a foreign country was causing this kind of collateral damage on our economy. We’d go to war in a second.” He wasn’t talking about a military threat. He was talking about health care. And the generation absorbing the most damage? The one […]
When an entrepreneur starts a business with a handful of employees, HR compliance is relatively simple. But, as the business grows past 10, 15, 20 and, eventually, 50 employees, federal and state regulations start stacking up in ways most business owners don’t anticipate until they’re already behind. The good news is that the owners and […]
Give celebrity entrepreneur Mark Cuban credit for thinking outside the box. He founded Cost Plus Drugs with a goal of lowering generic drug prices by eliminating pharmacy benefit managers and using a cost-plus pricing strategy. He believes he also could bring greater efficiency, transparency and outcomes to owning a hospital. “You’ve got to be able […]
The administration of President Donald Trump is preparing to keep the Affordable Care Act public exchange system and the premium tax credit system alive next year. The U.S. Department of the Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services — the HHS agency that runs HealthCare.gov and oversees state-based exchange programs […]
Federal officials and insurance company executives have stated that U.S. health plan coverage for childhood vaccines will stay the same, even if the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services changes its vaccine recommendations. Officials in 15 states are questioning that prediction in a new suit over HHS vaccine policy recommendation changes. HHS recently moved […]