Employer Strategies

Workers underestimate what employers spend on their health care, but overestimate their own health status.

Two of the largest U.S. drugstore chains, said they are running short of influenza vaccines as an earlier and more severe flu season drives up demand from Michigan to New Jersey.

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest U.S. provider of medical coverage, will join the Mayo Clinic in a research alliance designed to merge insurance records and medical data to find more efficient ways to deliver care.

A plan sponsor may use the Voluntary Correction Program to correct a failure to timely adopt a written 403(b) plan; plan sponsors should mail their submissions to the IRS Service Center in Covington, Ky.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that influenza is widespread in 47 states, but certain regions may soon start to see fewer cases.

Despite relatively flat prescription prices, drug cost remains a major concern for workers’ compensation pharmacy benefit managers. Their biggest trouble-maker: opioids.

As the health insurance exchange marketplace continues to expand, industry trailblazers and benefits experts are weighing in on what it takes for employers to succeed within this relatively new health care model.

Everyone from the health department to the IRS will be looking over employers’ shoulders, making sure they are compliant with health care reform. 2013 needs to be a year of careful preparation.

In a government-sponsored study this week, America ranks below its high-income, industrialized peers in both longevity and disease prevention, despite spending more per capita on health care than any other nation.

Consulting firm announced Thursday the launch of a private benefits exchange developed by Benefitfocus, available to employers with at least 100 employees.