Employer Strategies

Less than one week after Obama won a second term in office, dozens of employers already were setting about the business of offsetting the impending business costs of implementing health care reform or other Obama policies they view as unfriendly to their industry.

A Mercer survey suggests that, as employee engagement stalls, work-life balance could be the difference between keeping or losing top talent.

From increasing involvement and understanding of benefits during the open enrollment process to guiding a plan participant through a wellness program, interactive technology is becoming an ever more important and prominent part of the employee benefits communication package.

Key considerations for employers and their brokers looking to self-fund.

Employers could theoretically require employees to sign employment agreements requiring, as a condition of employment, that disputes over wages be resolved through binding arbitration rather than courts.

Aetna and other insurers that initially fought President Obama’s health care overhaul are reversing course and supporting the effort by funding a group planning to spend $100 million to help the uninsured get coverage.

Justices this week gave no obvious indication of their stance on the case of James McCutchen, who was sued by his benefit plan administrator in an attempt to recoup medical expenses.

As PPACA is implemented, the number of IT, software and service jobs created could easily boom into the hundreds of thousands.

Dr. Nazneen Razi, the chief HR officer for the parent company of Blue Cross/Blue Shield, says there are common traits among those succeeding in the new global environment.

Given the choice, employees worldwide tend to select benefits that offer immediate gratification rather than those that potentially deliver value over the long term, according to a survey of 10,400 workers in 10 key markets.