Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]
More than one quarter of the 800,000 federal employees who were affected by the federal government shutdown withdrew money from their retirement funds to help make it through the 35 days in which they did not see a paycheck, according to a Prudential study.
Parents are prioritizing debt reduction at the expense of long-term financial planning, a survey showed. A New York Life survey found that 72 percent of parents identify debt reduction as a top financial priority for 2019. That number is even higher for millennial parents (ages 18-34), with 80 percent planning to focus on debt reduction this year.
A study of health insurance marketplaces in 10 states showed more insurers participated in the exchanges and premium increases began to level off. Researchers found that insurers were more willing to enter new markets in time for the 2019 enrollment season, a big change from 2018.
One in five caregivers – an estimated 15 million people – is “unbanked,” meaning they do not have a savings or checking account at an insured banking institution, LIMRA research found.
High-deductible health plans are going the way of corporate wellness programs and disease management programs – consumers don’t like them and are pushing back against them, says one health care expert. Benefits brokers are going to have to evolve much like stockbrokers did 20 years ago.
States are expected to pick up the ball on regulation after a December federal court decision ruled the Affordable Care Act “invalid.” A judge determined that the 2017 tax cut bill knocked the constitutional foundation from under the health care bill by eliminating the individual mandate penalty.
High out-of-pocket health care costs and the future of the Affordable Care Act dominated the health news in 2018. As the population continues to age and the cost of providing care to that aging population continues to be a concern, readers also were interested in developments to the LTCi market.
A LIMRA study shows unpaid family caregivers are falling short in their insurance needs. But how does the industry reach this time-stressed and resource-stressed group?
Consumers may go online to get information about life insurance, but advice from an agent is still a big part of the insurance-buying process. That was the word from Deloitte’s annual Insurance Industry Outlook for 2019.
Holistic planning and financial wellness are two of the themes that life insurance agents can expect to see in their business in 2019, according to an industry analyst. The challenge for agents is “How do I continue to do what I’m really good at – life insurance – but also be more for my client?”
To improve affordability for those who buy their own coverage, America’s Health Insurance Plans is offering 12 new policies that federal or state leaders can implement to drive down premiums, increase participation in the marketplace, and offer savings to consumers.
With control of Congress divided between Democrats and Republicans, the efforts to reform health care will shift to the states over the next two years, a panel of consultants said.
Expect “repeal and replace” to be a thing of the past now that Democrats will control the House. The advantage for agents and brokers is that they can tell their clients with certainty that no major changes to the law are expected any time soon, one analyst says.
The vast majority of consumers who find a financial task difficult don’t seek help. This opens an opportunity for financial professionals to help ease their pain, a study says.
When it comes to figuring out retirement income and how to manage finances in the post-employment years, there is a big difference between pre-retirees and retirees. More than half – 56 percent – of pre-retirees said they frequently worried about their finances while only 36 percent of retirees said they did.
Cannex researchers found that the highest guaranteed income product varies significantly depending on the client – whether a man or a woman, a single person or a couple – as well as when income begins. Advisors need to rely on real analytics, one researcher said.
It’s that time of year when employees sit in conference rooms, listening to presentations on enrolling in voluntary benefits for the coming year. Eighty percent of people don’t talk about insurance or finances with anyone, MetLife researchers found. The company wants to change that fact.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors is establishing the NAIFA Limited and Extended Care Planning Center to provide to meet consumers’ growing needs for advice and solutions in navigating longevity.
The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors began the process of paring down its structure from 550 local associations….
Health insurance and benefits’ brokers can help their group clients save money by finding ways to cut the cost of their employees’ care. That might be the way forward amid health care uncertainty.
Even though Congressional Republican leadership said it has moved on from repealing the Affordable Care Act, a coalition of conservative groups compiled their own plan to repeal the health care law.
Members of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors visited Congress as midterm fever sweeps Washington.
In the wake of shrinking membership and difficulty finding local leaders, member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors voted today to implement a bylaws change affecting the way its 52 state associations and 550 local associations conduct business.
Wells Fargo is the target of a Department of Labor probe on whether the bank has been pushing its customers to take their money out of low-cost corporate 401(k) plans and roll their holdings into more expensive individual retirement accounts at the bank, The Wall Street Journal reported.
NAIFA needs to adapt and become more nimble in order to reverse membership losses that go back decades, CEO Kevin Mayeux told the Pennsylvania chapter Monday.
Walmart is in talks to acquire Humana, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Federal policy uncertainty drove health insurers to implement significant premium increases for Affordable Care Act policies in 2018, according to a new report which predicts higher prices and more insurer withdrawals from the individual market in 2019.
Republicans in Congress were unable to abolish the Affordable Care Act, so a group of 20 states is filing suit in an attempt to declare the ACA unconstitutional.
A single payer health care system is not a one size fits all system. Here is a breakdown of how it looks in different nations around the world.
Health insurance underwriters seek a stable market and are positioning themselves as essential guides to help Americans understand their health care choices.
One advisor is finding success selling long-term care insurance to millennials who want to make sure their parents have access to care if they need it.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is looking into MetLife’s failure to pay some workers’ pensions as the insurer announced it will postpone its fourth-quarter and full year 2017 earnings report.
In another move toward dismantling the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Labor announced a proposed rule to expand the offering of small business health plans, also known as association health plans.
Although the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and issues related to health care reform dominated the national news in 2017, InsuranceNewsNet readers were more interested in learning about other topics relating to health insurance during the past year.
The Affordable Care Act faces two crucial tests this month.
Republicans moved one step closer to achieving the top item on their legislative agenda as the House passed a bill to overhaul the tax code.
Senate Republicans want to kill two birds with one stone by including a repeal of the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate in its tax reform bill. What effect will this have on the marketplace?
Republicans in Washington were unable to repeal the Affordable Care Act, so they are using their tax bill to get rid of a key provision of the health care law.
The Trump administration is making it easier for consumers to connect with agents and brokers when signing up for coverage under the federal health insurance marketplace, Healthcare.gov.
President Donald Trump nominated Alex Azar as Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS).
New regulations could give states more flexibility in defining “essential health benefits” that insurers must provide under the Affordable Care Act.
Janet Yellen might not return for another term as Federal Reserve chair, as President Donald Trump is expected to name Jerome H. Powell as the next chairman of the Fed, according to a report in The New York Times.
Earlier this week, Aetna announced it is selling its group life and disability insurance business to The Hartford. Now it appears that Aetna itself could be on the sales block, following a Wall Street Journal report that CVS Healthcare wants to buy the insurer for more than $200 per share, or more than $66 billion.
A federal judge in California refused to block President Donald Trump’s decision to cut off cost sharing reduction payments to health insurers.
An attempt in Congress to stabilize the health insurance market came one step closer to reality as two senators announced a bipartisan deal to restore cost sharing reduction payments to health insurers.
Health insurers who sell coverage on the Affordable Care Act marketplaces are “left holding the bag” as a result of President Donald Trump’s order to end federal cost-sharing subsidies, a health care observer said Friday.
President Donald Trump continued chipping away at the Affordable Care Act (ACA), signing another executive order weakening the health care law after Congress failed to repeal it.
Rep. Ann Wagner, R-Mo., has introduced legislation that would create a new advisory standard somewhere between fiduciary and suitability.
Another attempt to replace the Affordable Care Act died on the vine when Senate Republican leaders decided not to bring the Graham-Cassidy bill to a vote.
The Republican health care bill is all but dead as another GOP senator announces his opposition to it.
The tax-friendly treatment of health savings accounts makes them an attractive retirement investment vehicle, and subject to the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule.
At the heart of the bill would be an immediate repeal of the individual mandate, while beginning to dismantle the rest of the ACA in 2020.
A U.S. appeals court allowed the attorneys general from 17 Democratic states to defend subsidy payments to health insurers under the Affordable Care Act.
“It’s time to move on,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., after the Senate rejected a measure to repeal parts of the Affordable Care Act in the early hours of Friday morning.
As the Senate’s discussion of health care reform proceeds in fits and starts, one question that continues to be asked is: Where will health insurance agents and brokers fit in as the Affordable Care Act is dismantled?
Senators voted down a key proposal that would repeal much of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Senate Republicans continue their bid to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by considering an array of health care measures in the hope that they can get enough votes to pass one of them.
A draft House appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) would defund the health insurance navigators program.
Senate Republicans will delay voting on a replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act until after the July 4 recess.
The Senate’s proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act would leave 22 million more Americans uninsured over the next 10 years. That’s according to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis of the bill.
