Health and wellness

Commentary: Employees can make the transition to high-deductible health plans and be successful when provided some key education and support from the financial services marketplace.

If I had a dollar for every time an industry professional reacted to my choice of college major with, “Risk Management and Insurance?  I didn’t know you could major in that,” I would be a rich man. From what I see, many people who make up the industry did not set out with the intention of working in insurance or employee benefits. So why would a young professional just entering the job market choose employee…

Commentary: Despite all the media coverage of the Affordable Care Act, there is still a fair amount of confusion and misunderstanding about the law, even among employees whose job it is to administer benefits.

While debate continues about the long-term effects of the Affordable Care Act, many employers report minimal changes in their health care premiums as a result.

When prompted with direct financial incentives, including contributions to their HSAs, employees tend to show much stronger involvement in workplace wellness offerings.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission released a proposed rule today on wellness programs, removing what at least one business group calls a “big cloud” that has been hovering over employers as they struggle to ensure their wellness incentive programs don’t run afoul of the EEOC.

Ownership of life insurance has been on a steady decline, and the reason many experts point to are other more pressing financial priorities — particularly with retirement income becoming such a hot priority.

Technical difficulties may have marred public exchanges' first year of operation, but at least providers were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief about not being inundated with a sharp increase in new or sick patients scheduling appointments.

The Affordable Care Act has increased the burden for benefit professionals and forced employers to alter their business practices to comply with the health care reform law, industry experts told Congress.

Employees say nothing in their total rewards package stands out, and this perceived lack of differentiation could be damaging employers’ attraction and retention efforts.

As one of the nation’s largest producers and transporters of energy and with thousands of employees spread out across the country, there is a lot riding on the health of the employees at Dominion Resources.

A third of employers say they’ve experienced fines and penalties in the past year because of non-compliance with government regulations, many of which they are simply unaware of. For many, expert advice from benefit advisers could be a real solution.

The psychological effects of unemployment can have long-lasting effects on workers and employers may want to bear this in mind when assessing job candidates.

Recently proposed legislation aiming to provide legal certainty for business owners offering wellness programs is garnering widespread support from industry groups around the country.

Avoiding the Affordable Care Act's excise tax, set to take effect in 2018, is front-of-mind for many benefits decision-makers.

As health evaluations move further center stage – be it via celebrities pushing for cancer screenings or companies including health assessments in wellness programs – it is becoming clear that to take full advantage of the health opportunities available, employees need to know as much as possible about their current health status.

The decrease in compensation is negligible since the medical loss ratio took effect, study finds, but other industry organizations disagree.

Commentary: Retail and restaurant workers, who come into more direct contact with the average customer than any other job, are the least likely to have paid sick leave as a benefit.

Commentary: It depends, says Borislow Insurance’s Mark Gaunya, who points to the Massachusetts system. The national model must evolve first.

As employers face the threat of EEOC investigations into their wellness programs, Congress contemplates legislation in support of financial incentives for wellness programs. But are employers focused on the wrong issue?