VISION OF FLOURISHING P-C/BENEFITS PARTNERSHIP TAKES SHAPE    Hands-on service drives benefits revenues to $3 million Pre-Civil War historical buildings, jazz music from the last century and  cuisine laced with old French traditions are part of the charm of New Orleans, but the employee benefit challenges are straight from the 21st century. Rising costs, shrinking markets and the thorny issues of state and federal compliance plague Louisiana employers and demand the best advice and counsel from local agents and brokers as they assist their customers in navigating an evolving employee benefits environment. Eustis Insurance and Benefits in Metairie, Louisiana, a New Orleans suburb, is one of the state´s top comprehensive brokers with plenty of roots in the area´s rich past, founded in 1946 as a commercial property/casualty insurance firm. But when it comes to employee benefits and related human resources and management issues, the agency has its vision on the future. Eustis Benefits LLC, the separately incorporated partnership that is responsible for employee benefit services, was founded in 1995 by President Cynthia Villemarette and Executive Vice President W. Michael Mann. In the 1970s, Villemarette and Mann worked for two of the largest national brokerage companies of the day, Alexander & Alexander and Frank B. Hall. They later joined forces and formed their own benefits consulting company. Their firm partnered with Eustis Insurance, a risk management specialist, to create Eustis Insurance and Benefits. Since 1995, the benefits company has grown from two employees and about $250,000 in revenues to 15 employees and $3 million in revenue. Employee benefits generates about 15% of the agency´s total revenues but has been increasing annually and is likely to reach 25% of the total within three years, executives say. Click here for the complete article …

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS    Hidden issues in the ACA Long delays, broken Web sites and ongoing political battles. The biggest problems of the implementation of the Affordable Care Act have been widely covered by national media. But there are plenty of smaller issues buried in the details of the landmark act. The devil remains in the details of the law as insurers, providers, agents and brokers discover unexpected complications in implementation. Plan design changes for previously unmandated pediatric dentistry, reimbursement structures for behavioral health treatment and a poor spread of risk are just a few of the hidden flaws in the new law, according to a panel of health providers and underwriters organized by the Association of Health Care Journalists (AHCJ) in Chicago. The panel was held in late November at Columbia College, Chicago, for the Chicago chapter of AHCJ. John S. Rutkauskas, DDS, chief executive officer of the Chicago-based Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, told journalists that new pediatric dentistry coverage—required to be offered by exchanges under heath care reform—was a good addition to health care plans, but the structures of the care available from health plans could be confusing and disruptive to consumers. An estimated 8.7 million children could get dental care under the new law from a combination of employer plans, exchange-sold plans and Medicaid expansion, increasing coverage for kids by as much as 55%. The association is using the opportunity of the new law to promote dental hygiene and preventive care that will be more available than ever under the law. Click here for the complete article …