Wellness

In the voluntary benefits business for more than a decade, Nashville's Karen Quigley knows a tidal change when she sees one. With carriers increasingly entering the core voluntary market, and health care reform looming large, Quigley knew it was time to adapt.

This article is the second in EBN's year-long BeneFIT Success series, which will chronicle employers and employees in their individual and organizational wellness triumphs. The first installment, "Uphill battle, downhill momentum," was featured in the March EBN and is available at ebn.benefitnews.com. Learn more about how to submit your company as a candidate for the series at the end of this article.

In today's digitized and mobile culture, most people rarely leave home without their cellphone, and "crackberry" is a commonplace term in the national lexicon. Indeed, with more than 300 million smartphone units sold in the last two years alone and accompanying mobile applications surging in use, it's no surprise benefits providers are getting in on the action, creating smartphone apps to help employers encourage healthy behaviors and sound savings techniques among their workers.

Big bucks are at stake in a new wellness program for employers.

Today, it's not uncommon for an employer to offer more than 10 independent employee benefit packages. The problem is that engagement in ancillary benefits tends to be low. Employees may not know how to access them or even that they exist, due to the complexity and inconvenience of having to access each benefit separately.

The clinical evidence is clear: While medical imaging can be an effective diagnostic tool, millions of Americans annually receive X-rays that are not medically necessary and can potentially harm their health.

The American Academy of Actuaries has recommended a number of policy options to strengthen and improve the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate clause, regardless of whether the landmark law’s controversial centerpiece is legally removed over time.

A program including regular follow-ups with nurses and focused attempts to cut back on TV, fast food, and sodas appears to keep some overweight and obese kids from gaining more weight, according to a new study.

Budget negotiators bypassed GOP-erected roadblocks to health care reform in the deal cut Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

A new report from the Urban Institute examines reasons for two or more states to consider combining resources to create a multi-state health insurance exchange under the health care reform law.