Health and wellness

The government said the rules announced last week would broaden the types of organizations eligible for an exemption from the birth-control mandate and make it easier for them to escape it.

Payments from drugmakers and medical device companies to doctors must be disclosed to the U.S. government beginning next March, regulators said.

American Licorice Company uses weigh loss challenges and onsite exercise classes to help employees get healthy.

The death of employer-sponsored health care coverage is largely exaggerated, says Robert Galvin, CEO of Equity Healthcare.

A survey from Aon Hewitt, the National Business Group on Health and The Futures Company indicates that many American workers and their families have inaccurate perceptions about their own weight, condition and cost of health care.

With PPACA implementation in full swing, the top four broker organizations set their sights on making inroads on Capitol Hill to secure regulatory fixes.

Mercer health benefit consultants have come up with a short list of what employer health plan sponsors need to keep top-of-mind in the New Year:

Mercer has launched a private benefit exchange. Called Mercer Marketplace and developed by Benefitfocus, the exchange is available to employers with at least 100 employees. It will provide access to a broad array of benefits - both traditional and voluntary - from multiple insurance providers. Additional education tools and support will help employees customize their choices to better fit their needs, according to the company.

What employers and brokers need to know and do to success under the new health care reform model.

Taking a physical health-only approach misses the mark on health and productivity

Nelson Griswold on how under health reform a carrier will not determine how much a broker is worth.

John Lamb on helping employees that have reached the tipping point on health care spending.

Behavioral health must play an integrated role in overall employee wellness efforts

Third biggest U.S. health insurer says the share of health care premiums it spends on patient care rose to 84.1% from 80.7% a year earlier. The insurer finished 2012 with 18.2 million members in its medical plans, an increase of 64,000 over the third quarter.

The IRS and HHS released new regulations Wednesday for the individual mandate portion of PPACA. The proposed regulations shed new light on the process the agencies will take in determining which individuals are subject to the mandate or whether they’re exempt, and whether their insurance coverage is sufficient.

The researchers in England followed almost 45,000 adults, one-third of them vegetarians, for an average of 11 1/2 years and accounted for factors such as their age, whether they smoked, alcohol consumption, physical activity, education and socio-economic background.

More U.S. employees have seen the light on workplace wellness initiatives, according to Principal Financial, with 62% now saying they believe the programs are improving their health and a majority saying the benefit helps them work harder and better.

Employees can receive government tax credits to buy insurance for their families if the coverage their employers offer would cost more than 9.5% of their income, the IRS said Wednesday in final regulations. However, that calculation will be based on the cost of single coverage, not family coverage, which is more expensive and would give more people access to the credits.

“Too few adults are taking advantage of protection from vaccines, leaving themselves and those around them at greater risk for vaccine-preventable diseases,” says one government health expert.

Doctors are increasingly taking on more patients to compensate for cuts in payments from health insurers, researchers say, and PPACA is expected to increase the volume.