Health and wellness

Sedentary office workers, including busy HR practitioners, may want to stand up to absorb some provocative news published in the online medical journal BMJ Open: Most Americans could live two years longer on average if they’d spend less than three hours a day sitting.

The Obama administration on Friday said it is on track to set up federal health insurance exchanges by 2014 in U.S. states that fail to establish their own regulated insurance markets as required by the U.S. health care reform law.

Most employees don’t think they should be required to participate in wellness programs to qualify for employer-provided health insurance, according to a new survey released by the National Business Group on Health. Moreover, they don’t think employers should charge employees more for health coverage if they don’t meet specific health goals.

Last month's Supreme Court ruling that upheld President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law could save the U.S. government some $84 billion over 11 years, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday.

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced on Tuesday that its employee benefit consulting operation, Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., has launched a private insurance exchange platform.

When employees of Huntington Ingalls Industries subsidiary AMSEC LLC say they’ve lost a ton of weight, they’re not kidding.

As California goes, so goes the nation, according to an old axiom. But will optimism about relief from pending health insurance rate hikes for tens of thousands of small businesses in the Golden State spill into other states or be buoyed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)?

Federal health care reform legislation and the desire of employers to limit their health insurance costs are likely to fuel interest in “defined contribution” (DC) health benefits and private health insurance exchanges, according to a new report by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI).

Employers must be prepared to field employee questions and take appropriate action in the event that health insurance carriers fail to comply with the Medical Loss Ratio threshold under PPACA and must issue “rebates” beginning next month.

Several leading health care advocacy groups are helping advance the use of outcomes-based incentives in worksite wellness or health management programs that are encouraged by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Alaska will not set up a program allowing residents to buy health insurance across state lines as envisioned under the Obama administration's new health care law, leaving that task to the U.S. government, Gov. Sean Parnell announced Tuesday.

Medical records that patients can access online may encourage more people to get recommended screening tests and immunizations, a new study suggests.

While insurers have a couple more years to prepare for the individual mandate and health exchanges, according to a new Gallup poll, effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act on 18- to-25-year-olds can already be seen.

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.

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.

The National Business Group on Health has honored 66 U.S. employers for their ongoing commitment to promoting healthy work environments and encouraging workers to live healthier lifestyles. The honored employers, including 15 first-time winners, were presented with “2012 Best Employers for Healthy Lifestyles” awards at the NBGH’s Institute on Innovation in Workforce Well-being Leadership Summit held in Washington, D.C.

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.

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.