Health and wellness

While most companies go through their annual renewal process in the fall, at Ambrose we are wrapping it up and heading into open enrollment for an Aug. 1 effective date. For us, as well as other employers with renewals that fall in the middle of the year, health care reform regulations haven't kicked in until now

Most wellness programs assume that the first step to changing habits is education. Whether in the form of a wellness website, nurse line, wellness fair, lunch and learn, newsletter or paycheck stuffer, the assumption is always the same: If people only knew what good health habits were and why they should practice them, they would surely make the right choices. If you, too, think that education is an effective behavior change tool, think again.

The one-year anniversary of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has come and gone, and federal agencies continue to issue clarifying guidance on several of its provisions, including the grandfathered health plan rules and the requirement to report the cost of employer-provided health coverage on employees' Forms W-2.

It's no surprise that American workers have become sedentary as the nature of work has changed significantly over the decades. A recent study outlined in the New York Times concluded that over the last 50 years, American workers are expending an average of 120 to 140 fewer calories a day in physical activity. According to the study, the decline in caloric expenditures supplies a missing puzzle piece in the explanation for the rising rates of obesity.

Wellness programs and solutions providers have been around for a while and are continually evolving based on both successes and failures and the continually changing market landscape. The most recent market impact, of course, is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and it continues to loom large. Many of the national, commercial and local brokers we work with each day are deploying wellness solutions as part of their expansion of services. Brokers are on the front lines when it comes to wellness. Many are making use of social business software capabilities to help employees collaborate and participate.

If you watch "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," you know a lot goes into building a house. The ABC show often goes beyond standard building practices as they assemble designers, construction crews and volunteers to create a family's dream home. Their blueprint for success is careful planning and coordination from the initial site preparation to the final inspection.

McKinsey & Co. caused quite a stir not only around the insurance world, when it recently revealed that 30% of employers will “definitely or probably” drop their coverage when PPACA takes effect in 2014. While the exact percentage of employers keeping or dropping their coverage in three years remains to be seen, voluntary programs will be valuable to employers and employees alike in either situation.

A U.S. health official overseeing the new insurance exchanges program said he expects recently released regulatory guidelines to spur activity in the states this summer.

Liz Rowell, a senior consultant at Benz Communications, offers benefits pros tips for using health care reform’s focus on preventive care to their strategic advantage and force employees to get serious about screenings.

Louisiana Sen. Mary L. Landrieu urges Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to remove agent compensation from the medical loss ratio rule.

A new bill introduced in the Senate last week could help consumers keep their employer-sponsored flexible spending account funds at the end of the year.

On July 11 when Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, announced rules for the new state health insurance exchanges, she did so with an air of caution, telling stakeholders to expect more modifications before they become final. That may prove to be an understatement.

A group of U.S. senators has offered an ambitious budget plan that could help Congress find a way to raise the $14.3 trillion debt ceiling before an Aug. 2 default.

As of the end of June, 39 new approvals have bumped the number of annual limit waivers to 1,471. The one-year waivers are designed to help organizations delay provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The story of President Barack Obama's mother's fight with insurance companies as she suffered from cancer is still compelling, despite a recent book's suggestion it was embellished during the campaign, a White House spokesman said.

As major market changes loom, one report says health insurance providers that wish to access this giant pool of potential customers will need to shift toward a consumer-focused model.

Although the National Association of Insurance Commissioners on July 12 tabled their support of H.R. 1206, a bill that would exclude insurance agents’ compensation from the medical loss ratio equation, “there’s a lot of work still to be done on this issue and we look forward to our continuing work with the NAIC, HHS and Congress to find a suitable solution,” says Brianne Mallaghan, director of communications for The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers.

State insurance exchanges -- mandated to start operating in 2014 to offer one-stop health insurance shopping for individuals and small businesses --could sell up to $60 billion in policies during their first year and nearly $200 billion by 2019, according to estimates from consultancy/research firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A new report examines how states can create health insurance exchanges, mandated under the Affordable Care Act, to provide Web-based one-stop shopping to individuals and small businesses to compare health benefit plans and purchase coverage. The Center for American Progress, a Washington-based nonpartisan research and educational institute; and the Small Business Majority, a not-for-profit research and advocacy firm, developed the report. It lays out basic principals to consider when creating an exchange, five important decisions that…

The Obama administration offered states more flexibility in setting up new health insurance exchanges, an apparent effort to bring local authorities on board with a key part of a health care overhaul.