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• What’s the price of lettuce?

  By Marty Traynor  |  May 1, 2013

  We can probably all agree that lettuce, as a product, is a commodity. If there is a head of lettuce sitting on your kitchen counter, it could have been purchased at any store, with any provider’s brand name, and there is nothing to differentiate it from another head of lettuce...

• Sales tactics for critical illness insurance evolving

  By Katie Kuehner-Hebert  |  May 1, 2013

  Sales tactics also are evolving, not only for group and worksite plans, but for individual plans for the self-employed, very small businesses and even as an adjunct for additional homeowner protection.

• 5. The rise of voluntary

  By Kathryn Mayer  |  April 30, 2013

  You might call it the rise of voluntary benefits. The game changer in benefits offerings. Call it whatever you want, but voluntary benefits have exploded in recent years.

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  Demand rising for critical illness policies

  By Katie Kuehner-Hebert  |  April 28, 2013

  Sales tactics also are evolving, not only for group and worksite plans, but for individual plans for the self-employed, very small businesses and even as an adjunct for additional homeowner protection.

• WellPoint’s first quarter beats expectations

  By Tom Murphy  |  April 24, 2013

  WellPoint Inc.'s first-quarter earnings rose about 3 percent to trump analysts' expectations, as the nation's second largest health insurer saw a revenue gain from an acquisition. It also raised its 2013 net income forecast.

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  Aging Americans in denial about long-term care

  By Jennifer Agiesta, Lauran Neergaard  |  April 24, 2013

  A new poll examined how people 40 and over are preparing for this difficult and often pricey reality of aging, and found two-thirds say they've done little to no planning.

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  Questions vex PPACA pediatric vision benefits

  By Allen Greenberg  |  April 23, 2013

  Should the parents of a child covered under health care reforms who can’t make out the writing on a classroom chalkboard be able to buy Tag Heuer frames? How about a pair of Fendis? Or maybe Guccis?

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  Survey finds voluntary sales still climbing

  By Bonnie Brazzell  |  April 22, 2013

  There has been a lot of interest in voluntary benefits and even more speculation about how health care reform will change the way brokers approach the benefits market. But what’s really happened? Have any of the suggested changes been implemented? Eastbridge Consulting Group and Benefits Selling magazine got together to...

• WellPoint reports first-quarter numbers this week

  By The Associated Press  |  April 22, 2013

  WellPoint Inc. becomes the second big health insurer to tell investors how it has fared so far in 2013, when it reports first quarter results on Wednesday.

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  UnitedHealth warns of Medicare profit squeeze

  By Tom Murphy  |  April 18, 2013

  UnitedHealth Group, the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, warned Thursday that funding cuts for the privately-run versions of the federal Medicare program will force it to reconsider its expectations for earnings growth next year.