News

A number of state-run PPACA health insurance exchanges have been struggling over the last year-plus. In fact, state-run health insurance exchanges in Oregon, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Mexico, and Nevada have either permanently shut down their operations or have done so temporarily and are contemplating some attempts to relaunch them. Colorado, Minnesota and Vermont are now […]

Short-term health plans are increasing in popularity as consumers search for options outside the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act for basic health insurance. That’s what a study by eHealth, a private insurance exchange provider, found when it sought input from those who had used its online site to acquire short-term coverage. The big picture […]

Defined contribution plan sponsors remain in regulatory limbo regarding their obligations to maintain detailed documentation surrounding employee 401(k) hardship withdrawals. In April, in its periodic Employee Plan Newsletter, the IRS stated that, regardless of what records third-party administators maintain, sponsors should “retain these records in paper or electronic format:” Documentation of the hardship request, review […]

Republicans have officially floated their latest counter proposal to Obamacare. But they won’t have one key business segment on their side: The benefits industry. In a nutshell, the GOP proposal for extending health insurance to the masses would replace the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with the American Health Care Reform Act, the fulcrum of […]

As health savings accounts continue to grow in popularity, it’s becoming evident that not all HSA plan designs are created equal. While plan design changes can seem cumbersome, our experience tells us that a well-designed plan helps drive higher enrollment and higher savings for the employer and employee. This is all done while improving employee health […]

More than half of individuals who save for retirement have no plan for how to tap those funds when they reach retirement age, according to Pentegra Retirement Services. “The retirement industry has spent the last 20 years advising people how to accumulate retirement savings and reach a magic number. Many may not ever be able […]

Low-income earners not only prefer the help of a benefit adviser when choosing enrollment options, new research shows expert help could greatly improve understanding and engagement from this population for whom employee benefits could prove critical. Wide disparities between higher- and lower-income households exist in terms of financial preparedness and knowledge about health insurance and […]

Despite nearly 9-in-10 enrollees through California’s state-run public exchange receiving a subsidy to help pay for their insurance, almost half say it is difficult to afford the monthly premium. According to a report by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 44% of Covered California enrollees reported difficulty in paying their monthly premium, versus a quarter […]

(Bloomberg Politics) — The California Senate voted Tuesday to allow undocumented workers living in the state to obtain medical insurance through its Obamacare health exchange. Senate Bill 4 also would allow those in the country illegally who are 18 years of age or younger and reside in California to enroll in Medi-Cal, the state’s insurance program […]

(Bloomberg) — About 1.5 million people dropped off health insurance coverage rolls this year after failing to pay for policies they picked on the Obamacare marketplaces. That left 10.2 million covered by Affordable Care Act policies as of March 31, up from 6.3 million at the end of 2014, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid […]