News

Commentary: The Affordable Care Act is bringing new administrative complexity to employers offering health plans to their employees. It includes new requirements for employee tracking and government filing, and represents a significant increase in employer liability. These changes will phase in gradually, with different timetables for different size employers, and full implementation required across the […]

More than three-fourths of U.S. millennial workers who quit their job do so because of minimal wage growth, according to a new study by Ernst & Young in New York City. Nearly 9,700 full-time workers in eight nations participated in the online survey. “Knowing that millennials and parents are under increasing pressure, we wanted to […]

Does working for a small company mean receiving small benefits? Apparently so, according to the 2014 U.S. Worker Survey, conducted last December on behalf of Colonial Life and Unum. Only 44 percent of employees at very small businesses (fewer than 10 employees) have benefits at work, compared with 82 percent of all employees. Companies that […]

There’s a lot more to employee benefits than just filling out a form for health insurance. From the retirement plan, to health insurance, to even some newer, more unique benefits such as transportation reimbursement or flex time, all aspects of your benefits package should be taken into consideration. When employees start a new job it […]

With the increasingly busy and complicated lives of America’s front-line employees, one of the cornerstones of health care – the old-fashioned visit to a doctor’s office – no longer easily fits into most workers’ schedules. Worse, when an issue requiring personal medical care occurs on a weekend or in the middle of the night – […]

A slew of hot-button topics, from health care to retirement, are being discussed in Washington –both on Capitol Hill and in the halls of the Supreme Court. As a result, it is imperative employers remain focused and aware of the looming decisions that could change the benefits community. “We’re all kind of waiting with bated […]

Should the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in King v. Burwell go against the Obama administration, the fallout will hit small businesses especially hard. This is what Linda Blumberg, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, planned to tell a U.S. Senate committee today, according to the news portal The Hill. While 7.5 million will likely lose insurance […]

Controlling health care costs is important for employers, but it’s not their No.1 concern. Retention was cited as the main objective of employee benefits by 41% of employers surveyed in MetLife’s 13th annual employee benefit trends study. In the past, cost was the primary concern, says Meredith Ryan-Reid, the head of accident and health/worksite benefits at MetLife. […]

Emergency room visits have increased under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act despite the law’s promises and efforts to curb them, ER room doctors say. Three-quarters of emergency physicians say that emergency visits are going up, according to a new poll by The American College of Emergency Physicians. It’s a significant jump from just […]

Commentary: Consumers are beginning to see some direct effects of the Affordable Care Act. Many have shopped the exchanges and see that they need to confirm health care coverage as part of filing their federal income tax returns, and a growing number continue to see the structure of medical benefits offered by employers shifting to […]