Wellness

Lawyers for President Barack Obama go to court on Tuesday to try to save the cornerstone of his health care overhaul, arguing that the requirement for Americans to buy insurance is constitutional.

The Vermont House passed the final version of a health care reform bill last week that creates a path for a universal, publicly financed health care system in the state.

In a renewed attack against President Barack Obama's healthcare overhaul program, House Republicans voted on Tuesday to deny funding for a central element of the law that sets up marketplaces for people to shop for health insurance coverage.

Almost half of all adults worldwide suffer from headache disorders, such as migraines and tension headaches, and the problem has huge economic and societal costs, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Republicans in the U.S. Congress are launching a fresh attack on the healthcare law by targeting grants to states for creating insurance exchanges, just as congressional budget analysts said on Thursday setting up the marketplaces may be delayed.

Some aspects of the health care reform law, including the wellness and prevention provisions, have gained traction and will continue as scheduled in part because employers are taking up the cause by recognizing the importance of implementing prevention and wellness programs to enhance the health of their employees as well as the bottom line.

Two Republican congressional leaders have written to Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Doug Shulman demanding information on how the IRS is spending $1 billion in funds the agency received under the health care reform law.

This article is the third in EBN's year-long BeneFIT Success series, which chronicles employers and employees in their individual and organizational wellness triumphs. The first installment, "Uphill battle, downhill momentum," was featured in the March EBN and the second, "Popular wellness program proving to be common link for diverse employee population," appeared in EBN April 15. Both articles are available at ebn.benefitnews.com, keywords "benefit success series." Learn more about how to submit your company as a candidate for the series at the end of this article.

In February, the Health and Human Services Department issued proposed regulations addressing the impact of health care reform on student health insurance coverage. The proposed regulations classify student health insurance coverage as a type of "individual health insurance coverage."

Have you ever wondered, "Can we really measure the improvement in health that comes from wellness programs?" Most companies are using biometric screenings as their key tool for measuring health, on the assumption that it accurately measures the kind of health that matters most. Think again.