Health and wellness

Budget negotiators bypassed GOP-erected roadblocks to health care reform in the deal cut Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

A new report from the Urban Institute examines reasons for two or more states to consider combining resources to create a multi-state health insurance exchange under the health care reform law.

DRIVE4COPD, a public health initiative sponsored by pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, is aiming to put the brakes on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.

In a six-week challenge last summer, more than 300 employees at Simonton Windows, a manufacturer of energy-efficient vinyl windows and doors, lost 1,470 pounds.

The U.S. Senate passed a bill April 5 that would repeal PPACA’s 1099 tax reporting requirement.

A U.S. court will hear oral arguments on June 8 in a government appeal of a federal judge's ruling that struck down President Barack Obama's landmark health care overhaul law as unconstitutional.

Health officials announced a new effort to curb America's obesity epidemic by moving science from the lab into clinical trials to find practical ways for prevention and treatment.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a proposed rule March 31 that establishes the Medicare Shared Savings Program authorized in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Employers everywhere are launching wellness programs in the hope that this focus will lower their medical costs and keep their employees healthy. The challenge, however, is getting employees to participate and be engaged in the process of wellness so they actually take a stake in their own health.

My teenager is never separated from his cell phone. Never. Yet, sometimes when I dial his number, he doesn't answer.

HighRoads, a Boston-based compliance and benefits management firm, conducted a survey months after approval of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, finding that, in general, employers believed that outsourcing costs for health benefits administration will increase because of the law.

Among the many provisions of health care reform legislation is a mandate to cover all preventive services at 100%. Although this provision does not go into effect for grandfathered plans until 2014, it already is in effect for nongrandfathered plans.

As you start your day as a busy benefits professional, you turn on the morning news, and you hear that the Department of Health and Human Services has changed the Form W-2 health insurance reporting requirement effective date from 2011 to 2012.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 70% of all health claims are lifestyle or behavior related. What's more, most individuals with chronic conditions have several comorbid conditions.

Workplace clinics give literal meaning to the phrase "Taking care of our employees." However, savvy-thinking employers are taking strategic steps to determine what's in and what's out when it comes to health services rendered onsite.

Even with the virtual touch of social media, one very human element remains: the need for community. We search online and in our neighborhoods for people who share our same interests. No matter where our work or daily activities take us, we return to the community. The community has a strong influence on culture and behavior patterns. If your clients want a successful corporate wellness program, they should open the door to the community outside the workplace walls. The far-reaching benefits of community volunteer work may surprise everyone.

In this post-health care reform environment, benefit advisers - and their employer clients - face a new world order. For instance, with new restrictions on capping lifetime maximum benefits, the burden of managing the potential financial risk posed by even one employee's catastrophic illness looms large.

Older adults who eat greater amounts of fish end up preserving their bone density better than people who don't eat as much fish, a new study finds.

The Internal Revenue Service has issued interim guidance to employers on the informational reporting requirements on each employee's annual Form W-2 of the cost of the health insurance coverage they sponsor for employees.

Many people with arthritis have periodic difficulties on the job, but the problems might not make them less productive, a new study suggests.