By: Catey Hill and Elizabeth O'Brien

1. “We’re in the cross hairs like never before.”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, the federal agency that administers Medicare and other health programs, got smacked with cuts early this month as lawmakers failed to avert the sequester, $1.2 trillion in spending cuts designed to help trim the country’s budget deficit. Hospitals and doctors face 2% cuts in the amounts that Medicare reimburses them for services rendered to recipients—cuts of $10.7 billion this year and $118.8 billion over nine years, according to a report by consulting firm Tripp Umbach.

While patients themselves won’t see any direct reduction in their benefits, experts say the ripple effects of the sequester could indeed hit older Americans. Doctors and hospitals had warned that their industries would have to slash more than 200,000 jobs this year alone if the sequester went through.

We'll give you a hint: The one you want begins with a "T." Here's why it makes sense for most people.

The right type of life insurance can be summed up in a single word: term. But before we explain why, it's important to understand the differences between the most common types of insurance available. Our glossary can help with that, and decipher some of the more common insurance lingo.

The basic difference between term and whole life insurance is this: A term policy is life coverage only. On the death of the insured it pays the face amount of the policy to the named beneficiary. You can buy term for periods of one year to 30 years. Whole life insurance, on the other hand, combines a term policy with an investment component. The investment could be in bonds and money-market instruments or stocks. The policy builds cash value that you can borrow against. The three most common types of whole life insurance are traditional whole life policies, universal and variable. With both whole life and term, you can lock in the same monthly payment over the life of the policy. (Read more on how to buy a life insurance policy or determine how much life insurance you will need.)

Most large employers don’t expect to send their full-time employees to government health exchanges for insurance during the next five years, but some retirees and part-time workers will end up there, a new survey has found.

The outlook for corporate insurance in the long term is less certain.

Need top-rated markets for your agency? Smart Choice can help! We offer access to quality markets with no start-up or monthly fees, discounted E&O, and the chance to earn bonus and contingency shares. Plus you'll retain 100% ownership of your book of business!