Employee Benefit Adviser articles from January 2005

Employee Benefit Adviser archives from January 2005

Practicing out of trust, not out of fear.(advisers practice)
January 1, 2005... It was an eventful year, wasn't it? The ascendancy of consumer-driven health and the attendant spending accounts clearly are going to alter the way health care benefits are structured. Only time will tell whether those changes will be for...

EBA staff appointment.(Robert Whiddon becomes managing editor of Employee Benefit Adviser)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Entering our third year of publication, we are pleased to welcome Robert Whiddon to the Benefits Group as EBA managing editor. Robert comes to us with seven years of experience in financial and regulatory journalism and communications,...

Low prices, loss of mission drag EAP quality down.(Employee Assistance Program)(Employee Assistance Professionals Association)
January 1, 2005... A number of employee assistance plan vendors agree that the quality of employee assistance program services has deteriorated over the years. The question with which they still are wrestling, however, is why. Executives at the EAP...

Finding the right EAP for your client.(Employee Assistance Program)(Urbach Hacker and Young Advisors in New Jersey)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Most agree that employee assistance programs can go a long way toward maintaining employees' productivity and controlling employers' health care costs. "When EAPs work the right way, they are very beneficial and they keep costs down," says...

Jumping into HSAs: Financial institutions expect flood of HSA accounts over the next few years.(Health Savings Account)
January 1, 2005... It might be a good idea to swing by the bank on your way to work tomorrow. That's because, while banks have only stuck a toe in the waters of insurance sales, they are diving headlong into the depths of health savings accounts. Bank...

Advisers may report revenue-sharing fees to clients.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)
January 1, 2005... Advisers getting revenue-sharing, 12b-1 or other payments from 401(k) plan providers soon may have to report those fees to clients. The Department of Labor is considering a requirement that advisers report or estimate to clients all fees...

Labor report offers market insights on benefit penetration, selection.
January 1, 2005... The government's latest annual National Compensation Survey can give brokers a detailed look at access and participation rates for employee benefit plans and provide a source of fresh insight on market opportunities versus hazard signs. ...

Educating the masses: Advisers believe it is possible to teach employees to be better health care consumers. Here's how.(Consumer Driven Health Care)
January 1, 2005... Call consumer-driven health what you want. Call it a visionary plan to give employees more control over their health care or call it a scheme to shift costs to workers. But you also need to call it here to stay. As of Jan. 1, more than...

Step by step: A longtime benefits broker outlines each step of a benefits sale.
January 1, 2005... There are lots of ways to sell employee benefits. All of them start with locating, contacting and securing an appointment in order to make a presentation. Which method of prospecting and contacting potential buyers will depend on your...

Deal Makers.
January 1, 2005... * UnitedHealth Group (Minneapolis, Minn.) acquired Definity Health Corp. (St. Louis Park, Minn.) last month. Definity will become the lead brand for consumer-driven products in UnitedHealth's Uniprise business as UnitedHealth phases out its...

Mother-daughter team bond on client service.(Miller & Buettner Inc.)
January 1, 2005... There's no feminine mystique with benefits consultants Mary Lou Buettner and her daughter, Laurie Miller, who pride themselves on their attention to clients. Miller, for example, is the one who tells you straight up that their agency tries to...

Anti-rebating laws could pose unseen complications.(Life Insurance Industry)(Life Insurance and Market Research Association)
January 1, 2005... For many brokers, value-added services - free Web sites, employee benefit statements, flex benefits, COBRA and HIPAA administration and the like - have developed into a large part of the benefits selling equation. In fact, a number of...

Broker probes stir regulatory pot.(illegal transactions between insurers and brokers)(Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America)(The State Modernization and Regulatory Transparency Act)
January 1, 2005... The issue of whether insurance should continue to be regulated by state insurance departments or turned over to the federal government simmered on the back burner for most of 2004. But now state investigations into unethical, sometimes illegal...

Marketing group benefits as financial planning options.(Individual Retirement Arrangement)(Selective Employment Plan)(Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees of Small Employers)
January 1, 2005... We have heard the KISS principle many times: Keep it simple, stupid. Speak less. Do not confuse the client. But things in employee benefits are not that simple. Group benefits are competitive and complicated. Employers shop with several...

E-newsletter.(Health insurance regulation)
January 1, 2005... Feds issue final and proposed rules for HIPAA portability Employers will soon have to give employees an expanded version of their medical plan's "certificate of creditable coverage," explaining health insurance portability rights in...