Health and wellness

Health reform is in such a chaotic state and will continue to be so even after the Supreme Court ruling on the constitutionality of PPACA - and the November election. This is where scenario planning can help. At the April conference for the Institute for HealthCare Consumerism, I listened to a panel on alternative planning scenarios in regard to health reform using scenario planning. Let's see how it works.

Identifying the health risk factors for your clients' employee population is the fabric of your wellness bag of tricks. An effective program connects a total wellness solution to those specific risks. The trick is finding the right motivator for changing unhealthy behavior.

With health care reform's medical loss ratio rebate reporting starting this month, there is still much uncertainty among employers about how the rebates will work, leading to an opportunity for brokers to fill that all-important trusted adviser role.

Anyone doubting the sustainability and projected growth of mobile technology should take heed of these statistics from technology and communication leaders Qualcomm Life and Virgin HealthMiles.

I've written previously about wellness and health management, but since it's a topic that comes up in virtually every client planning meeting I have these days, it seems worth revisiting. The biggest challenge facing HR professionals looking to devote resources to wellness initiatives at their workplaces is responding to the question, "What's the ROI?"

I've always been sporty: I climbed trees and played sports as a kid, go to the gym often and think that in my next life I'd like to be a personal trainer. So, I was very interested in talking to Dr. Jack Groppel, co-founder of the Human Performance Institute and vice president of applied science and performance training at Johnson & Johnson's Wellness & Prevention. According to Groppel, there is a way to bring sports - or at least sports-related concepts - into the workplace to make employees more engaged and productive. Recently, he and I discussed the idea of "sport science" and how its application in corporations could produce winning ways. -K.M.B.

On March 19, the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services jointly issued FAQs addressing the new summary of benefits and coverage requirement under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Although the agencies released final regulations only a few weeks prior, the FAQs provide additional guidance and clarification.

What better way to take lessons of branding a wellness program than from one of the top-branded companies in the world, Procter and Gamble? The producers of timeless product lines like Old Spice and Tide recently introduced Vibrant Living, P&G's in-house line of benefits specially designed to help employees live healthier.

This article is the second in a two-part series examining the challenges in achieving true parity for mental health benefits. This article addresses barriers to care due to lack of access and provider shortages. The previous installment, "Separate, but not yet equal," featured in EBN April 15, explores the history of mental health parity legislation, and is available online at ebn.benefitnews.com.

China may be on the forefront of economic development, but it has a long way to go in providing health care for its hundreds of millions of workers, according to Hocking Cheng, managing director for health management solutions in China for Aetna. Such health care woes may haunt U.S. multinationals that have to contend with employee wellness issues at home and abroad.

When it rains, it pours. For employees, financial strain can lead to legal trouble, the stresses of which can bring on health problems. A new white paper suggests an integrated wellness program can bring brighter days for workers and the bottom line.

Over time, Chrysler LLC delivered a 2.6 to 1 return on investment for its wellness programs by engaging employees, offering company resources to those with high risk factors and rewarding healthy behaviors with premium incentives. Notably, the programs are completely voluntary.

The cost of U.S. health care services is expected to rise 7.5% in 2013, more than three times the projected rates for U.S. inflation and economic growth, according to an industry research report from PricewaterhouseCoopers.

More than half of Americans with individual market health insurance coverage in 2010 were enrolled in so-called "tin" plans, which provide less coverage than the lowest "bronze"-level plans in the Affordable Care Act, and therefore would not be able to be offered in the health insurance exchanges that are being created under the law, according to a Commonwealth Fund. The analysis suggests that once the state-based exchanges — set up to make it easier for individuals and small businesses to shop for health insurance — go into effect in 2014, many of these Americans will be able to purchase plans that offer better coverage. In addition, many will be eligible for premium subsidies that will help offset the cost of the plans.

Pharmaceutical companies, which were spared some of the more sweeping regulations in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, could come under more pressure if the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down part or all of the 2010 law.

The average cost of care for a typical family receiving health care through an employer-sponsored PPO plan in 2012 will cost $20,728, a 6.9% increase over 2011. Though this is the lowest rate of increase in 12 years, the $1,335 increase surpasses last year’s record of $1,319. This is according to the Milliman Medical Index.

The Obama administration forged ahead with health care reforms on Wednesday, announcing a November 16 deadline for state governments to submit proposals showing how they intend to operate health insurance exchanges in 2014.

President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law contains a slew of new tax provisions, and their fate is unclear as the Supreme Court weighs the law's constitutionality.

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded a total of $181 million in grants to assist six states in establishing health insurance exchanges under authority of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

One broker looks at how his company walks the talk with wellness programs and says how that can work for all your clients.