By Melanie Batley, Tuesday, 04 Mar 2014 11:45 AM

The Obama administration is expected to announce another delay to the implementation of Affordable Care Act to allow insurers to continue offering health plans that do not meet Obamacare’s minimum coverage requirements.

The move would prolong the one-year “keep your plan fix” so as to avoid another wave of health policy cancellations which could hurt Democrats just weeks before the November midterm elections,The Hill reports.

“The cancellations would have created a firestorm for Democratic candidates in the last, crucial weeks before Election Day,” The Hill said. “The White House is intent on protecting its allies in the Senate, where Democrats face a battle to keep control of the chamber.”

March 4, 2014 – 2:32pm

The funded status of pension plans sponsored by large companies continued to fall in February, according to a Mercer L.L.C. survey released Tuesday.

On average, pension plans sponsored by companies in the S&P 1500 were 87% funded as of Feb. 28, down from 89% at the end of January and from 95% at year-end 2013.

While equity market investments in February were positive, those gains, were offset by other factors, Mercer noted.

Sarah Hurtubise, 2:52 PM 03/03/2014

Two private insurance exchanges across metropolitan areas in 45 states provide more options more cheaply than Obamacare exchanges, the National Center for Public Policy Research found.

Senior fellow for health policy David Hogberg found that on average both single 27-year-olds and married 57-year-old couples have more choice in private companies in 2013 than they’ll be able to find in Obamacare exchanges.

This is true even though the younger demographic is typically healthier with low health care costs and the older group is more likely to be subsidized by younger customers.

By Pete Kasperowicz, March 03, 2014, 06:00 am

This year, members of Congress and thousands of their staffers are finally signing up for health insurance provided by an ObamaCare exchange, fulfilling their commitment to live under the same system that millions of other Americans will use.

But unlike those millions of Americans, members and staff have a way to opt out of ObamaCare — retirement.

Under a rule issued by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) late last year, members and staff who retire will be able to revert back to health coverage under the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP). That’s the same coverage thousands of other federal workers can use when they retire.

By Ali Meyer, March 3, 2014 – 4:20 PM

CNSNews.com) – The average annual labor force participation rate hit a 35-year-low of 63.2 percent in the United States in 2013, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The last time the average annual labor force participation rate was that low was in in 1978, when it was also 63.2 percent. Jimmy Carter was president then.

By Garrett Tenney, Published March 03, 2014

With just weeks left to sign up for insurance on HealthCare.gov, a growing number of people are opting to enroll in a Christian alternative to traditional health insurance.

Nationwide networks of fellow believers help share each other’s major medical bills through what’s known as health care sharing ministries.

“It works just like insurance. I have an insurance card. I show it just like anyone else would. I have a deductible. I have a monthly premium that I pay,” explained Eileen Wade, who joined the health care sharing ministry, Medi-Share, in 2011.

By Gail Buckner, Your Money Matters, Published March 03, 2014

If your income falls into the range that labels you as “wealthy” in the eyes of the federal government, there is not a lot you can do to avoid getting socked with the Net Investment Income (NII) or additional Medicare tax.(1) Nonetheless, there may be ways to at least reduce the impact–but you have to plan ahead.

While you’re probably familiar with the term “asset allocation,” a more recent concept is “asset location.” While the former is aimed at reducing the risk in your portfolio, the goal of the latter is to reduce the taxes you pay on your investments by carefully considering which accounts offer the best after-tax return for different types of securities.

Patrick Howley, 11:02 PM 03/02/2014

The Obama administration’s new proposed rule for Medicare Part D would eliminate half of all Medicare Part D plans and raise prescription drug premiums for millions of seniors by up to 20 percent, according to a U.S. House subcommittee chairman.

“Today, the average senior has 35 different [Medicare Part D] plans to choose from this year. This rule would reduce that choice to two plans. 50% of the plans offered today will be gone, and the health care that seniors like may go with it,” House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee chairman Rep. Joe Pitts said in a statement at a Feb. 26 hearing attended by a top administration health official.

By Associated Press, Published: March 2

WASHINGTON — Sick of hearing about the health care law?

Plenty of people have tuned out after all the political jabber and website woes.

But now is the time to tune back in, before it’s too late.

The big deadline is coming March 31.

By that day, for the first time, nearly everyone in the United States is required to be signed up for health insurance or risk paying a fine.

Bruce Japsen, Contributor, 3/01/2014 @ 9:30AM

At a time when more Americans are getting access to broader benefit packages under the Affordable Care Act, a new analysis shows “the perceived value of workplace benefits” for those who have health coverage through their employers is “starting to erode,” according to a new analysis.

The results of the new survey from the large employee benefits consultancy Mercer were “alarming” to the firm’s consultants who said employers are still offering rich benefit packages, but a decade of rising costs pushed onto workers is beginning to take its toll on employee psyches. Mercer is a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC).