Practice management

While online training and development courses may have a bad rap for being mundane, new strides are being taken to create more innovative and engaging programs with a focus on human achievement.

Ever since final rules under the Affordable Care Act dictated that outcomes-based wellness programs must offer reasonable alternatives to employees unable to achieve the program’s health benchmarks, employers have continued to worry over the effectiveness of their health improvement efforts.

Commentary: When business leaders consider the positive aspects of a workplace wellness program, they often bring up expected reasons: It can keep employees healthy, productive and happy; allow the company to differentiate itself in a highly competitive marketplace for top talent; and limit overall health care costs.

Employees aren’t shouting from the roof over how great their employer-sponsored benefits are. In fact, satisfaction is sitting at some of the lowest levels since 2008, according to new data released from Unum.

Commentary: It all starts with a mindset, says EBA Advisory Board member Mark Gaunya. Do you begin each day with a mentality of scarcity or abundance? One is a recipe for failure.

Court rules verbal COBRA notice is sufficient, but benefit advisers caution employers to follow-up with written notice, as well.

Despite the ever-changing world, ERISA remains strong and steady. The average American worker is far better off because of ERISA, which has held up remarkably well over the past four decades.

Commentary: Most benefit administration tools have proven to be unsuccessful for the effective deployment of voluntary benefits, says EBA Advisory Board member Tinker Kelly. To overcome a system that is “inconsistent at best,” Kelly suggests a new approach.

The IRS has posted draft instructions for the various Affordable Care Act reporting that will be done for calendar year 2015 and while the instructions provide much needed guidance for employers and insurers, they also confirm the daunting complexity of the reporting task.

Earlier this week, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a new law that is intended to prevent workplace discrimination against pregnant women by offering guidance on reasonable accommodation measures that all employers in the state are expected to follow.