Health Insurance Broker
MICHIGAN FIRM GREAT LAKES EMPLOYEE BENEFIT SERVICES JOINS BENEFIT ADVISORS NETWORKBenefits Advisors Network, the premier national network of independent benefit advisory and consulting companies, has named its newest member
How Brokers Can Capitalize on Technology to Become a Trusted PartnerHow brokers can become more relevant in a time when HR Departments are looking for ways to cut costs
Proactive Brokers Seek Answers on Limited Medical Plans A question and answer session with John Conkling Vice President of national accounts Fringe BeneFit group
CDHP Shows No Signs of Waning By Dan Morrill, President of Product development Dynamic Benefit Systems
People on The Move - Summer 2010CDHC Solutions likes to keep you informed on who's moving around in the health care and benefits industry, so here are this past summer's big movers and where they ended up.
AlwaysCare Benefits Extends Dependent Age Limit for Vision, Dental Coverage AlwaysCare Benefits, Inc., one of the fastest-growing insurance providers in the country, will extend the age limits for dependents covered under its dental and vision insurance plans to age 26 (or up to age 30, if state-specific guidelines mandate) starting September 1, 2010.
Consumer Health Technologies Inc. Acquires MyHealthFunds, Inc. CHT Adds Business Process Outsourcing Services for TPA and Payer clients
Dominion Launches Online Producer Portal Producers Can Create Quotes, Track Sales Activity, Access Product Information In One Convenient Place
Health Care Reform: Guidance on Claims and Appeals RulesRecently issued interim final rules clarify the scope of the internal claims and appeals procedures and external review processes and provide details on the external review requirements under the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
By Amy M. Gordon, Michael T. Graham, Jamie A. Weyeneth, Joanna C. Kerpen, and Natalie M. Nathanson, McDermott Will & Emery, LLP
Health Care Reform: Elimination of Retiree Drug Subsidy DeductionBy Bill Boies, Amy M. Gordon, Susan M. Nash, and Maggie McTigue, McDermott Will & Emery, LLP
Guardian Launches Online Employee Benefits Resource Center New Guardian Website Provides Tools and Information to Help Employers & Brokers Strategize About Employee Benefits. Resources Also Available for Employees to Help Simplify Decisions about Workplace Benefits
NCPA Urges U.S. Office of Personnel Management to Adopt Transparent PoliciesNCPA Urges U.S. Office of Personnel Management to Adopt Transparent Policies for Pharmacy Benefit Managers in Federal Employee Health Plan, Health Insurance Exchanges
AlwaysCare Benefits Launches Enhanced Vision Plans National benefits provider offers full‐service plans with no co‐pay for contact lenses and separate benefits for fitting services, materials.
BEMAS Integrates WiredCommute into PayDirect® SystemUsers Now Have New Option To Administer Commuter Benefits
Nurtur Unveils the Third Dimension in Health Care OCI Study Shows Effectiveness of Return to Work ProgramConner Strong Signs Agreement with Free & Clear to Offer Quit For LifeConner Strong, an insurance, risk management, and benefits firm, announced an agreement with Free & Clear Inc., and its parent company, Inverness Medical Innovations
BEMAS Integrates WiredCommute into PayDirect® SystemUsers Now Have New Option To Administer Commuter Benefits
HM Insurance Group Offers Unlimited Lifetime Maximums For Stop LosTrustnode Increases Participation Rates of Voluntary Group Insurance ProductsTrustnode Increases Participation Rates of Voluntary Group Insurance Products with Online Interactive Conversation Platform
AlwaysCare Benefits Offers Online Enrollment for OnePlus Individual BenefitsAlwaysCare Benefits, Inc., has added new options to its OnePlus Individual Dental and Vision benefit plans.
HM INSURANCE GROUP ACQUIRES STOP LOSS BLOCK FROM MUTUAL OF OMAHAGuardian Offers Enhanced Disability Insurance Coverage for New York Small BusinessesThe Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) announced it will offer enhanced New York disability insurance coverage to businesses with less than 50 employees.
Securian Expands Group Life Insurance Distribution with Brokerage PurchaseSecurian Financial Group has purchased Ochs, Inc., a St. Paul, Minn.-based employee benefits brokerage with a client base composed primarily of public sector employers in Minnesota.
Benefits Enrollment Stays in Sync with Changing Times Ja’Nene R. Kane Vice President, Sales and Operations Benefitsconnect
Simonton Windows® Strengthens Commitment to Employee HealthSimonton Windows®, a leading manufacturer of energy-efficient vinyl windows and doors, has contracted Wellness Coaches USA to provide one-on-one individualized wellness coaching for its employees nationwide.
Trustnode Increases Short-Term Disability Benefit Participation Rate 4XOnline, Animated Cartoon-driven, Interactive Platform Better Engages, Educates Employees about Voluntary Benefits Offerings
Reducing Health Care Costs While Improving Employee Well Being By: N. Stephen Ober, MD, MBA, Executive Vice President at Verisk Health
Disability Insurance Services and Custom Benefit Plans Announce New RelationshipDisability Insurance Services and Custom Benefit Plans have entered into a new strategic relationship to aggressively promote disability insurance.
Hipskind Merges with Mid American Group, Westmont, IllinoisEmployee Benefits Brokers and Consultants Broaden Service and Product Offerings
MassMutual Retirement Services Simplifies Plan Solutions To Help Advisors, TPAs Win in $5 Million aMassMutual Retirement Services today announced a number of enhancements to make it as easy as possible for advisors and TPAs to capture and retain retirement plans with up to $5 million in assets.
Armageddon or Valuable Governmental Action?How Brokers Can Capitalize on Technology to Become a Trusted PartnerHuman resources departments are feeling added pressure to do more with less in the current economy.
Companies Face Worker, Health Care Challenges as Millennium Closes Overall Outlook for 2010
And Now ... The Rest of the StoryConsumer-driven plans and on-site clinics are unquestionably the right combination in today’s environment.
Insurer Steps Up Fight to Control Health Care CostUnitedHealthcare takes an aggressive approach to cut health costs ahead of the wave of reform.
Employer Satisfaction With Health Insurers Is DecliningEmployers in the United States have become less satisfied with their health insurers, according to a study released today by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute.
Aflac Becomes the Most Preferred Carrier for Voluntary Insurance Among BrokersA survey of 358 brokers finds Aflac is the number one preferred carrier for voluntary insurance among brokers.
Employer Health Mandate May Be DroppedAP Sources: Health Bill May Drop 'Millionaires Tax,' Requirement for Large Employer Coverage
Excise Tax on 'Cadillac' Health Care Plans is a Bad IdeaMore than 80% of the taxes for health care would come from individuals paying higher income, Social Security and Medicare taxes -- not from employers and insurers.
Quotib Corporation hires Lisa RehburgQuotib. Corporation hires Lisa Rehburg to lead national sales and expand broker and carrier relationships throughout the United States.
Large Companies Relying on Brokers for Updates on ReformExactly 57% of these employers say their brokers or consultants are the key resource on health care reform legislation..
U.S. Health Bill Passes Crucial Senate TestIn a middle-of-the-night vote, Democrats unanimously backed the first in a series of three procedural motions to cut off debate and move the bill to a final vote by at least Christmas Eve.
Squeezing Costs out of Health Care...Squeezing Costs out of Health Care Tops PricewaterhouseCoopers' List of 2010 Health Industry Issues
Senate's Solution: Consumer Choice Is Dead on ArrivalAccording to the health care reform bill, there's an easy way to solve the problem of the uninsured in this country: buy it, sell it or else...
Big “I” Disappointed with House Democratic Health Care BillBill includes ‘public option’ and adds billions of dollars in tax burdens to small business.
TPAA Partners with ConnectYourCare for Consumer -Directed Healthcare Administration ServicesConnectYourCare has entered into a strategic partnership with TPAA. Under this partnership, ConnectYourCare will offer healthcare account solutions to TPAA’s extensive network of TPAs.
MetLife Provides New Resource to Help Employers, Brokers and Consultants Maximize the Value of DentaWhitepaper Highlights Importance of Employee Communication, Engagement and Choice
CheckPoint HR Rebrands Benefits Arm to Deliver Complete HR and Benefits SolutionDespite Escalating Costs, Employee Healthcare Benefits Aren’t on the Chopping BlockEmployers Continue to Regard Healthcare Benefits Programs as Vital to Maintaining a Healthy, Productive and Loyal Workforce during a Down Economy
Self-Funded Health Plans Can be Cost-Effective, Member-FriendlyBeing a self-funded employer gives you flexibility and creativity in benefit plan design, the perfect combination for a successful CDHC plan.
New Research from EBRI: Many Support Lower Cost Sharing to Change Health Care System Use Many Americans support the use of lower cost sharing as an incentive to change the way individuals use the health care system
FieldMedia Announces Convergence of Successful Web Communities With Launch of EmployersWeb.comInnovators Drive Change in Health Care: 2008 CDHC Superstars Innovation and CDHC go hand-in-hand.
The Future of CDHC 2008What will it take to transform the US into a truly consumer-driven system?
Consumer-Directed Health Care Plans vs. Traditional PlansA nagging question for human resource decision-makers: How do CDHC plans, which are usually high deductible health plans paired with innovative programs, compare with traditional health insurance plans? It’s not always easy to explain, but consultant Jay Savan, a principal at Towers Perrin, spells out how they compare in this interview. Savan, who has been on the forefront of the consumer-directed health care movement since 1998, believes that account-based consumer-directed health care is “the way health insurance is going to right itself.” He’s been in the industry, primarily advising employers, since 1985 and has worked for A. Foster Higgins & Co. (now part of Mercer) and Arthur Andersen, among others.
Consumer-Directed Health Care From the Ground Up Hear from various stakeholders who speak to what this emerging paradigm needs in order to reach its potential to transform health care.
HM Insurance Group Launches Next Generation Worksite Product Line
Full-service Enrollment, Flexible Product Design Create Solutions
What Employers Want From Health Insurers--NowIn 2008, PriceWaterhouseCoopers' research team surveyed senior executives at more than 100 large US-based multinational companies and more than 250 privately held small companies. The large companies each have an average of 8,000 employees and revenue of about $3 billion. The small employers each have a workforce of about 200 and less than $50 million in revenue. In addition, PwC surveyed more than 500 human resources executives separately on benefit plan design issues. This white paper discusses the results of this survey.
Bite Down on Dental Costs By Reevaluating Your Benefit DesignAll but overlooked by many health plan sponsors, dental coverage can be a significant source of cost savings and can be improved in ways that add considerable value. State-of-the art dental plan designs like those discussed in this article are likely to be welcomed by employees, who appreciate having dental coverage—especially if they are sharing a greater portion of the cost of their medical coverage.
Insurance broker (agent)National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)Medical underwritingMedical underwriting is an insurance term referring to the use of medical or health status information in the evaluation of an applicant for coverage (typically for life or health insurance).
Renewed Interest in Tax Exempt Benefit TrustsRecent changes in financial accounting reporting obligations have caused many employers, both public and private, to re-examine the overall economics of pre-funding retiree medical benefits.
Lack of a CRM Strategy Hinders Health Insurer GrowthThe Gartner 2008 healthcare payer application survey reveals slow adoption of an enterprisewide CRM strategy. Having no CRM strategy in place will cause roadblocks to business growth as health insurers struggle to increase membership.
LearnCDHC Bridges Education Gap on Consumer Directed HealthcareCDHC Superstars: Cheryl GunCDHC Solutions Recognizes the Best in Health Care Benefits Design with the 2nd Annual CDHC Superstars
2008 CDHC Superstar Awards: Pioneers in CDHC We've awarded top innovators in health care these coveted honors for excellence and innovation in the rapidly changing world of CDHC. Read about these outstanding companies and the people at their helm as they lead the way with innovative plan design, implementation, and leadership. Inside are the profiles of the winners and finalists in each of the 8 categories.
Making Wellness Programs Work WALTER S. ELIAS, Ph. D., of Elias and Associates discusses why health coaching programs fail and what can be done to help them succeed.
Engaging Employees With Wellness CoachingLearn how wellness coaches can make employees more proactive about their health
Employers Treat DepressionA Health Intelligence Network white paper about new approaches to managing depression
Can You Increase Employee Satisfaction While Holding Costs In Check? Yes!Counteract rising health care costs with active health plan management. Here are three steps.
Counteract Rising Health Care Costs With Active Health Plan ManagementCan you Increase Employee Satisfaction While Holding Costs in Check? Yes!
How Can I Work With My Bank to Reduce My Costs and/or Administration?Here are several scenarios illustrating how the health care industry is innovating and leveraging new financial solutions to address today's challenging environment.
CDHC Superstars: Jay SavanCDHC Solutions Recognizes the Best in Health Care Benefits Design With the 2nd Annual CDHC Superstars