Health Care
12 high-impact fed rules that will affect HR this year
Congress and various federal agencies are enacting a dozen new rules and procedures that will affect how you do business in 2010.
2 benefits never to put on the chopping block
With healthcare costs continuing to skyrocket — along with fears of triggering the “Cadillac” tax in 2018 — employers are looking into what kinds of benefits they can cut.
2021 health insurance premiums: Will COVID-19 drive them higher?
In a normal year, the American Academy of Actuaries outlines the factors driving health insurance costs for the next plan year. However, things are tricky this year due to the coronavirus. Yes, COVID-19 cases are resulting in some sky-high hospital bills, such as a Seattle man whose two-month stay cost $1.1 million. Yet, at the…
3 ways employers can remove barriers to employee health care
Providing access to quality health care for employees is a top priority for employers who understand the value of healthy, productive workers. That’s why HR and leadership want to remove barriers to employee health care. Cancer, which affects millions of people and is the second leading cause of death in the United States, accounts for…
38% of Americans said they delayed medical care in 2022
If you thought employees were done delaying medical care now that the pandemic is waning, that assumption would be incorrect. It’s at its highest point yet – 38%. Gallup has been tracking Americans’ self-reports of delaying medical care in the past 12 months due to costs since 2001. And this year Gallup’s annual Health and…
4 key areas to check to make sure your health plan is in compliance
The sheer complexity of changing federal regs as well as the impact of recent landmark court rulings on benefits plans make assessing health-plan compliance a critical task that HR pros need to put at the top of their to-do list. In fact, ERISA attorney Daniel N. Kuperstein is warning employers everywhere that most health plans aren’t…
4 steps to becoming a menopause-friendly workplace
There is one group of people whom HR may be overlooking when it comes to benefits – people going through menopause. This means you aren’t providing a menopause-friendly workplace. What most people don’t know is menopause has 34 symptoms associated with it. They include many things, from the well-known hot flashes to headaches to tingling…
4 tips to calculate full-time employees under Obamacare rules
Employers have less than a month to nail down just how many full-time employees they have before Obamacare’s employer mandate kicks in. The problem is, the law’s formula is tricky. To help with the math, 15-year benefits compliance vet Sheryl Southwick has some advice for employers.
5 ways to help employees who are mental health caregivers
The mental health crisis, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly affects the workplace, extending beyond individual struggles. Many employees silently bear the dual role of working professional and mental health caregivers to loved ones facing challenges. Recent research from New York Life’s Group Benefit Solutions unveils this hidden challenge, indicating a staggering 48% of workers…
5 ways to measure wellness effectiveness
You’ve heard it before: For every $1 you spend on wellness, you’ll save $3 to $4 in healthcare costs. Sounds great. But how do you know for sure your wellness program’s working?
5-step plan to help your employees quit smoking
One of the biggest — if not the biggest — cost driver for employer health plans today: smokers. And the theory is, getting them to quit now will drastically lower employer healthcare expenses in the coming years.
7 critical health cost-cutters: How many do you use?
Healthcare costs are on pace to increase at record lows this year. That’s the good news. The bad? This trend won’t last.
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