Employer Strategies

The health care system is "so screwed up in where we invest our money," and that needs to change for costs to become manageable, said a health researcher in late January.

What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'social?' In today's connected world, you probably answered social media. Chances are, so did your clients' human resource professionals. Social media is definitely on everyone's radar, but when it comes to a corporate wellness program, you need to tune into another kind of frequency - social culture.

A pharmacist takes a 30-day prescription and inputs it as four weekly prescriptions - quadrupling the Medicaid dispensing fee.

Employees around the country are in need of direct, simple guidance to help them reach their retirement goals, according to a survey released by State Street Global Advisors.

U.S. Catholic bishops and priests across the country read out letters at Mass on Sunday protesting plans by President Barack Obama's administration to force religiously-affiliated nonprofit groups to offer birth-control coverage to women employees.

The ongoing shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) plans has prompted the financial services industry to rapidly develop products that deliver a steady stream of retirement income, one of the biggest shortcomings with DC plans. While numerous retirement income products are hitting the marketplace, employers and regulators are grappling with how they fit within qualified retirement plans.

Can you imagine a world where the “new norm” required insurers and providers to disclose what they charge upfront? Read as Mark Gaunya, president of the Massachusetts Association of Health Underwriters, shares two specific messages he took to the Hill at the Cap Conference and the outcome.

On January 3, 2012, the Internal Revenue Service issued Revenue Procedure 2012‑6, which formally changes and eliminates certain features of its determination letter program for qualified retirement plans. According to an earlier announcement of these changes (in IRS Announcement 2011-82), the IRS concluded that the features being eliminated are “of limited utility to plan sponsors in comparison with the burdens they impose.” However, the changes will significantly restrict the determination letter service on which plan…

Baby boomers appear to be taking a second look at their life insurance policies as an alternative financial solution to paying for retirement, where they sell an unneeded life insurance policy for a portion of the face amount. These transactions, known as life settlements, have become a mainstream practice in the past several years, particularly as baby boomers begin exploring all financial options to paying for retirement, including previously unconventional alternatives.

Something is costing your health plan a whole lot of money, and it's largely due to uninformed choice: early induced deliveries.