Benefits Manager

WellCare Health Plans Inc. said Friday its first-quarter earnings more than tripled as the government health insurance provider saw a big membership gain in Medicare prescription drug plans compared to last year, when enrollment fell mainly due to marketing sanctions from the federal government.

The Hawaii Legislature is approving a measure overhauling the state's underfunded pension system by reducing benefits of new public employees hired.

What would we ever do without California? I can’t think of another state more inept at balancing its budget. Hell, they make the feds look like penny pinchers.

The Maine House on Thursday gave initial approval to a health care overhaul bill by a narrow margin amid objections that some lawmakers were being rushed to judgment on a complex measure that they were still studying.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that prohibits local governments from passing ordinances guaranteeing workers' paid sick and family leave.

We already have a pretty good idea about how brokers and agents are feeling about the medical loss ratio provision of PPACA. In two words: not happy. But what’s the flip side; the impact of MLR on human resources or benefits managers?

Republicans in the Kansas House threatened Thursday to block an important unemployment bill favored by business leaders and GOP Gov. Sam Brownback's administration unless the measure also prohibits labor unions from financing political activities with funds deducted from members' paychecks.

In March, 21 months into recovery, the number of people employed in the United States was roughly the same as June 2009 — the month that marked the end of the Great Recession. According to nonprofit The Conference Board, the U.S. economy just can't bounce back like it used to.