Health and wellness

President Barack Obama extended an olive branch on Monday to states struggling to implement his health care law, offering support for a proposal that would give them some flexibility in carrying out its key parts.

I don't mean to brag (OK, maybe I do just a little), but health insurance premiums for Kalamazoo County, Mich., employees didn't increase this year - not one penny.

Health risk assessments are used by most wellness program providers and employers as the key to opening the door to employee health improvement.

In recent years, a growing number of forward-thinking employers have taken a more up-front role in providing chronic care management to their employees.

Despite great advances in treating cancer - the five-year survival rate has improved to 68% - an estimated 1.52 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in the United States in 2010, and nearly 570,000 people were expected to die from the disease.

Days after delivering what he called a "little speech" (also known as the State of the Union address), President Obama vehemently defended the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, rallying the audience at a Families USA conference in Washington, D.C., that "we are moving forward."

Employers like to look over one another's shoulder when it comes to benefits programs, and benchmarking data provides this opportunity.

This article is the first in EBN's year-long BeneFIT Success series, which will chronicle employers and employees in their individual and organizational wellness triumphs.

Girls who get migraines appear more likely than their peers to gain extra weight during adulthood, scientists say.

U.S. health officials are considering including tests for sexually transmitted diseases like syphilis and hepatitis B for the elderly and disabled covered under Medicare.

NEW YORK | Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:28pm EST - Women who take bone drugs for several years have a slightly increased chance of suffering an unusual type of thigh fracture, according to a large Canadian study.

A study of the two most popular weight-loss surgeries found obese diabetics who had gastric bypass surgery lost 64 percent of their excess weight after a year, compared with 36 percent in those treated with Allergan Inc's Lap-Band device, researchers said on Monday.

A new survey of mostly middle-aged adults reveals that among people aged 45 to 54, one in nine shows signs of hearing impairment.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has triggered considerable angst about the fate of group health insurance coverage since its passage, but recent research suggests that it’s not expected to affect non-medical benefits.

Employers just can’t get enough of wellness. In 2010, nearly 75% of 147 mid- to large-size employers offered 19 or more health promotion programs, finds a study by Fidelity Investments and the National Business Group on Health.

Researchers at Harvard Medical School report that women with highly stressful jobs are 40% more likely to have poor cardiac health, such as a heart disease, a heart attack or coronary artery surgery, compared to their less-stressed colleagues.

At Jan. 26 hearings on health care reform held by both the House Budget and Ways and Means Committees, the new Republican majority took the opportunity to question Obama Administration officials on the economic repercussions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

One of the hottest games on Facebook is Cafe World. More than 22 million participants play to run their own virtual restaurant. In the game, a "buzz rating" indicates customers' satisfaction with the virtual restaurant. The goal: to create and maintain a high buzz rating.

Today, more and more advisers and their clients are looking to an employee assistance program as a source of health and wellness benefits.

Lincoln Industries feels so strongly about wellness that the company has made it a component of its employees' performance reviews.