Employee Benefit News

A broker’s role in the SHOP exchanges

How can brokers become involved in the health exchanges and what will their role be? Plus, how is exchange implementation coming along? EBA spoke with Vince Ashton, CEO of HealthPass — which, along with bswift, was recently chosen by Connecticut to run their SHOP exchange — to answer these questions and more.

Breast cancer advocate talks insurance impact of preventative mastectomy

Because Sara Tenenbein's mother had an aggressive breast cancer at the young age of 37, the wellness advocate began thinking about her own options at age 28. Hear why she's applauding Angelina Jolie, her own decision to have a preventative mastectomy and why this "trend" may not impact insurance all that much. Tenenbein's blog, www.meredone.com, explores health and wellness issues.

Alegeus enables private exchange start-ups

EBA spoke with Alegeus Technologies CEO Tom Torre about how they're enabling private exchange creation through their products. He says the trend makes sense because "there's clearly a shift to retail."

Commuter benefit expands to include car service

Discussing the introduction of Zipcar services to its commuter service benefits, WageWorks' Dan Neuburger explains how the benefit is saving employees and their employers time and money — and how brokers can get involved.

At what price do incentives stop?

A $1,500 incentive bonus? EBA caught up with Cyndy Nayer, value-based wellness consultant and expert, at this week's World Health Care Congress and talked about the latest in incentives and disincentives, including the rise in some employer's incentives. She asks the question, "where does it stop?" and more.

Graying of the industry: 'We got a little complacent'

The state of Ohio recently launched a major job education initiative, Insuring Ohio Futures, aimed at recruiting some much-needed youth into the industry. EBA spoke with Carol Blaine, head of the new insurance program at Kent State University and 30-year insurance vet, about the age gap and the related image problem insurance has developed — and how to overcome it. Listen in as Blaine shares "the biggest mistakes we made as an industry” and describes an upcoming national campaign targeted at youth.

ADP 'very rich data set' helps employers predict, plan for PPACA impact

Welcome to Employee Benefit Adviser’s Benefit Bytes. In a very interesting discussion of a recent ADP study of employee income and health benefit decisions, EBA spoke with ADP Strategic Advisory Services Christopher Ryan (pictured) and David Marini about how the payroll company’s data show benefit participation rates are influenced by salary, and the income level at which an employee would be better off on PPACA’s state exchanges than their employer’s health plan. We also discussed ADP’s…

'Employees and employers need to do more' to keep 401(k)s helpful

EBA spoke with Dan Palmer of Rehmann Financial Group about employer matching — where it's been and where it's going. Palmer says to date, 37% of employer have reinstated a full match plan for 401(k)s since the Great Recession and 49% say they're considering it. Hear more on the future of employer matching.

Alabama broker: 'To serve and to educate' is my mission

Birmingham Association of Health Underwriters' President Gene Ramsay was in Washington last month for the National Association of Health Underwriters' annual lobbying conference. EBA spoke with him about his philosophy for navigating health reform.

The Obamacare calculator

Jay Jensen of Insight Benefits Group explains how his new tool can help companies become more aware of the financial implications of PPACA.