http://eba.benefitnews.com/rssfeed?tagValue=Eba-Stayingcurrent-Commentary&tagType=100&sectionName=null&topicName=null&feedType=rss&assetType=ARTICLE RSS feed for Eba-Stayingcurrent-Commentary http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/671001/Lead-get-out-way.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null It's hard to be the bearer of bad news, but it's often the right thing to do and it's frequently a step in the right direction toward earning a client's trust and respect. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 19:28:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/671001/Lead-get-out-way.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-09-01T19:28:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/669531/New-BenefitNewscom.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null Have you checked ebn.benefitnews.com recently? If not, you should - we're showcasing new content every day plus additional Web-only pieces as part of existing magazine stories. Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:17:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/669531/New-BenefitNewscom.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-09-01T15:17:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/637641/New-terms-endearment.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null "Worksite" is a geographical location. "Voluntary" is, in this context, a form of payment. Both are hot-button words guaranteed to open conversations at industry events, where they seem to take on lives of their own. Do you "do" voluntary? Are you "into" worksite? The problem is that floating these terms does not lead to - and might even distract from - discussion of whether a benefits package is well fashioned to do its job: recruiting and retaining employees. Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:22:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/637641/New-terms-endearment.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-08-01T16:22:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/619351/Raw-Bar-Dont-underestimate-power-consumerism.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null Make sure to check out our conversation with Robert Laszewski, he's a health policy guru extraordinaire and he runs a consulting firm inside D.C.'s infamous beltway. While it takes awhile for us to get there, eventually the point is made during our conversation with him that the average American's current gas price fixation and the speed with which it is bringing about changes in our automobile manufacturing sectors as well as other markets is a clear reminder of how potent an engaged consumer class could be in wrangling health care costs. The successful strategy for tapping that power is what remains elusive. Check out what else is fresh this week on EBA's Raw Bar… Tue, 01 Jul 2008 17:54:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/619351/Raw-Bar-Dont-underestimate-power-consumerism.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-07-01T17:54:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/616781/Hope-not-strategy.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null That line comes from this month's installment from Mel Schlesinger, our resident sales guru. I read that line at least three times in the week leading up to the printing of this issue. Each time it managed to hit me in the face as hard as it did the first time my eyes caught it. Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:47:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/616781/Hope-not-strategy.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-07-01T13:47:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/615091/Raw-Bar-NYCs-rebating-debate-and.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null Make sure to check out our conversation with Dan Colacino, who serves as president of the New York state association of health underwriters. He and his group have just concluded a series of seminars with the state insurance agency on the issue of rebating. While sparks were expected, it seems tempers were kept in check. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:28:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/615091/Raw-Bar-NYCs-rebating-debate-and.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-06-24T19:28:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/615021/Friday-Fray-Medical-Tourism.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null This week's Friday Fray discusses medical tourism, a fast-growing area of employee benefits aimed at employees who will travel overseas to receive high-quality but lower cost health care. Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:21:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/615021/Friday-Fray-Medical-Tourism.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-06-24T19:21:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/609131/Raw-Bar-Lazy-brokers-easy-pickings.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null Make sure to check out our interview with Jim Edholm of Business Benefits Insurance. He outlines how he continues to pick off clients with his simple, back-to-basics approach to service -- he just doesn't get lazy (or at least he tries not to). Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:43:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/609131/Raw-Bar-Lazy-brokers-easy-pickings.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-06-17T18:43:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/609001/Friday-Fray-Pump-Pain.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null Millions of workers are suffering from pain at the pump. So what's an employer to do? Some say it's not an employer's responsibility, other say it is. Listen in this Friday (June 20 at 1:00 p.m. EST) as we wrestle with the issue in another installment of our occasional discussion series, "The Friday Fray." Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:37:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/609001/Friday-Fray-Pump-Pain.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-06-17T18:37:00Z http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/588401/Social-strength.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null Especially in an election year, potential improvements to our health care system often get plastered with politically charged labels. Suggest too much reliance on government and you're a bleeding-heart liberal. Put too much faith in the free market and you're a Darwinist conservative. But what might happen if we shed the loaded and most contentious aspects of such terms and create an amalgam of the underlying principles? Sun, 01 Jun 2008 19:50:00 GMT http://eba.benefitnews.com/asset/article/588401/Social-strength.html?pg=&sectionName=null&topicName=null 2008-06-01T19:50:00Z