News

As the unemployment rate continues to decrease (5.3 percent in June), employers report finding it more difficult to recruit high-quality workers to hire. Small businesses are particularly challenged by this trend, since they don’t have the same resources as larger businesses do in terms of recruiting departments, the ability to offer wages and benefits packages […]

Overview As employers prepare their health benefit packages for 2016, they must be up-to-date with current ACA and other developments that impact health plans. Here are the top 10 compliance-related issues employers should address during their planning, according to Mercer: 1) Employer shared-responsibility (ESR) strategy Ensure the intended goal of avoiding or paying ESR assessments […]

Very few of us are ready for the new PPACA reporting requirements. Many of us are aware that reports are due at year end, but haven’t even looked at the rules. Should we be concerned? The answer depends upon your company size and how your organization funds its group health benefits. What are we talking about? […]

The Department of Labor has sent proposed rules that would make it easier for states to mandate enrollment in retirement savings plans for workers without access to programs in the private sector. The Office of Management and Budget noted it received the rule, titled “Savings Arrangements Established by States for Non-Governmental Employees,” but the content […]

A recent press release from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) noted that, “Under Obamacare, individuals face a penalty for not buying health insurance. But now, even small businesses that choose to jump through hoops to help workers pay for healthcare costs could pay penalties.” In the past, business owners who did not offer […]

Maybe open enrollment season needs its own holiday, representational character, costume and home decorating theme. Despite  all the effort made by employers, insurers and human resources professionals, the gut feeling has been that open enrollment season is unpopular has been hard to shake. Now, we have a survey that quantifies just how much folks don’t celebrate […]

Telemedicine is becoming a hugely popular health care product, and a great way to connect doctors and medical facilities with patients. Although many people are still not familiar with its application or availability, the medical community is acutely aware of the cost savings and efficacy of providing direct access between the healer and the sick. […]

Commentary: Earlier this year BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, announced that it would follow Fidelity and Federated in making changes to its money market fund offerings. These changes are in response to Securities and Exchange Commission reform rules announced during the summer of 2014. Is your money market fund affected? Probably. The new […]

Open enrollment, the time to sign up for a 2016 health care plan starts November 1, 2015 and ends January 31, 2016. For those employees who will have to buy coverage on their own, instead of getting it through an employer, knowing how subsidies work can help them protect their health and savings. They also need to […]

The global mobile health market has been the darling of forecasters for some time now, as they see everything from medical video applications to monitors and health-related mobile apps surging as the population ages. But can an annual growth rate of nearly 50 percent be sustainable? Yes, insists new data from Grand View Research—and it will drive […]