Employee benefits

Executive leadership must relate to employees and communicate clearly how each person contributes to company success

Think about the simple act of driving to work in the morning. It involves perhaps 500 separate decisions, yet when we arrive we are hardly aware that we made a single one.

Leading U.S. organizations are turning to prevention-based employee health benefits to improve workforce health and reduce health care costs. Yet, according to a survey released by Virgin HealthMiles, there's a critical awareness gap threatening that strategy's success.

Employers have experienced dramatic increases in engagement by tapping into employees' innate competitive and social drives. By using social challenges to entice employee interest in wellness initiatives, employers not only build participation, they are more likely to inspire long-term behavior changes.

Ellen M. is a 47-year-old single mom whose 4-year-old son is diagnosed with pervasive development disorder not otherwise specified, a disorder on the autism spectrum.

When asked about their experience with selling workplace voluntary benefits, most brokers often give one of two replies:

Employees know very little about disability coverage. But when they learn about it, they often want it and are willing to pay for it. A Consumer Federation of America and Unum national survey finds that only 13% of surveyed workers know "a lot" about disability insurance, and less than half (47%) know what its benefits are, according to the survey of 1,200 employees. Yet, when informed about DI, a majority (90%) want the coverage, and 86% are willing to pay half of a $30 average monthly premium, and 56% are willing to pay the entire premium in order to gain income protection should they become disabled. According to a 2012 Social Security Fact Sheet, almost 1-in-4 of today's 20 year olds will become disabled before age 67.

If you are looking for an idea that can capture the attention of employers, consider helping them provide employees the means to bridge the gaps in their medical plan. I have identified five distinct gaps that, if addressed, can create a huge sales opportunity for group health agents.

How are breakthrough innovations created? What is the process and can it be replicated or facilitated? These are the fundamental questions tackled by Frans Johansson in his seminal book, "The Medici Effect."

As new retirement fee disclosures go into effect this summer, a coalition of 15 retirement industry groups are urging the Department of Labor to allow broader use of electronic communication for retirement plan participant disclosures, which are now mailed in paper form to plan participants.

Leading insurance carriers have withdrawn from the group long-term care insurance market, prompting employers to think twice about implementing new programs — are we witnessing the death throes of worksite LTC?

Now that the high court has upheld all Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provisions pertaining to employers, the focus shifts to numerous compliance obligations and possible economic implications of fully implementing the health care reform law.

The wait is over as the Supreme Court today upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, paving the way for employers to continue meeting the health care reform provisions that come into effect this year and beyond.

The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act with the individual mandate being upheld under the Congressional power of taxation.

A sharply divided Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the centerpiece of President Barack Obama's signature health care overhaul law that requires that most Americans get insurance by 2014 or pay a financial penalty.

An impending showdown in Los Angeles pits Walmart against community activists who decry expansion plans by the world’s largest retailer in the nation’s second-largest city.

For more than a decade, AARP has recognized employers with progressive policies toward recruiting and retaining older employees. Now, the nonprofit has teamed up with the Society for Human Resource Management to cosponsor the AARP Best Employers for Workers Over 50 awards as applications are accepted for the 2013 search.

At 2 p.m. EST tomorrow experts will provide insight on the fate of the mandate for individuals to purchase health coverage, and the finding on the constitutionality of PPACA as a whole. Sign up for the web seminar which will be held hours after the decision is released.

There is no shortage of opinions when it comes to the future of health insurance in the United States. And, opinions were readily shared this week at America’s Health Insurance Plans Institute 2012 in Salt Lake City. Connecture Inc., a sales automation technology provider in the health insurance space, conducted a survey of the health insurance executives at the conference, and made a number of conclusions, including:

Nearly 60% of HR and recruiting executives, directors and managers in a nationwide survey consider social media networks like LinkedIn and Facebook the next big wave in reaching a greater number of qualified candidates.