Employee benefits

As doubts re-emerge about the strength of economic recovery in the U.S., a new global workforce study by Towers Watson reveals that 63% of U.S. employees are not fully engaged in their work and struggling to cope when sufficient support is not provided.

Major changes are afoot for pilots and retirees at one of the world’s largest airlines as it continues to emerge from a November 29, 2011 Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.

Advisers are more committed than ever to helping clients with their retirement income planning, but they face a host of challenges, including not knowing where to go to build their knowledge of retirement planning.

Texas Governor Rick Perry said on Monday his state will not implement a health insurance exchange or Medicaid expansion, two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) law upheld last month by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Most employers waited for the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision upholding health care reform before developing a strategy on provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA,) slated to take effect in 2014 and beyond, according to a new Mercer survey.

Life Insurance CFOs’ primary business concern is the current low interest rate environment, according to Towers Watson’s recent survey. However, according to the survey, they are more optimistic about improvements in their financial results.

When Barack Obama was a candidate for president, he endorsed universal health insurance, but opposed forcing individuals to buy their own insurance. As president, he signed into law a bill that violates both of these promises.

If the latest jobs data could sing, the song would be “Summertime Blues.”

Florida will not implement two provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act involving creation of a private insurance exchange and an expansion of Medicaid for the poor, according to Governor Rick Scott.

The Supreme Court has agreed to review a Third Circuit ruling that could have a far reaching impact on how medical reimbursement provisions are used to recoup funds paid out by health plans.

To help employers forecast potential penalties resulting from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act as well as make proactive changes to their benefits lineup prior to 2014, the New Jersey Hospital Association has launched the Reform Insurance Penalty Estimator.

Voter support for President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has increased following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling upholding it, although majorities still oppose it, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Sunday showed.

While things were a bit murky at first, what emerged from the Supreme Court was some much-needed clarity on how providers can move forward with accountable care initiatives and other efforts fueled by health reform, according to two hospital CIOs asked for their first impressions on the ruling.

Despite the differing reactions among business sectors in the U.S. to last week’s Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act Supreme Court ruling, 77% of surveyed organizations are very likely to provide health coverage in 2014, according to a recent survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plans.

Mindful of the way mobile technology has revolutionized the way people live and work, most global employers don’t mind when employees show up late for work and are more supportive of a flexible workforce than most employees realize.

As employee medical benefit costs escalate at double-digit levels worldwide, a new survey finds that wellness programs and health promotion strategies are gaining traction.

Life combination products grew 56% in 2011, according to LIMRA's "2011 Individual Life Combination Products Annual Review." This was the third consecutive year of double-digit growth.

The growing trend among employers to enforce companywide social media policies has sparked the birth of the Password Protection Act of 2012. The new legislation prevents companies from requiring employees to provide access to their personal social networking accounts. While many companies may create a social media policy to protect their corporate reputation, a new Workplace Options and Public Policy Polling survey of American workers shows that companies who scrutinize their employees' personal accounts and social media activity may be doing more harm than good.

Although premenstrual syndrome is a well-known - if not well-understood - women's health condition, premenstrual dysphoric disorder is an even lesser-known related illness. PMDD is marked by many of the same symptoms as PMS - bloating, trouble sleeping and concentrating, irritability, headaches, backaches and food cravings - but to a more intense degree.

Patients who don't take their medication as prescribed is a billion-dollar problem, reports pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts in its 2011 Drug Trend Report. Nonadherence to prescription medication cost the U.S. health care system $317.4 billion in 2011. And that's just for treating medical complications - not the cost of lost productivity - that could have been avoided if patients had taken their medication as prescribed. The report shows that for many therapy classes, less than 50% of patients take their medication as prescribed.