Healthcare benefits

As employer clients gain interest in onsite clinics, here are six core measures to use to determine their effectiveness.

Michael Thompson discusses how the National Business Coalition on Health plans to address consolidation in the benefits industry and a proposal for a well-being institute.

Presidential candidates are unlikely to advocate for any of these changes so it’s up to employers and their advisers to take a run at them.

If your employer-sponsored FSA has a grace period, your employees have an extra two-and-a-half months (until March 15 for plans that ended Dec. 31) to spend FSA dollars from 2015.

The international environmental consulting firm offers employees access to mental health therapy 24/7 through Learn to Live, an online system built to address psychological issues such as social anxiety, depression, stress and worry.

The use of telemedicine is growing, with almost two thirds of organizations offering or planning to offer such a service by 2018.

But don’t expect any of the presidential candidates to advocate these changes. More knowledgeable stakeholders like advisers are going to have to take a run at this.

As onsite clinics become more popular, here are six core measures employers can use to determine their effectiveness.

Investing in community, dependent health leads to a more productive workforce, says advocacy group HWHC.

Advisers should prepare to work with companies who say they are considering major plan shifts this year to stay ACA compliant while still attracting and retaining talent.

Reviewing a plan provider’s SOC 1 report helps employers determine that the service organization has the necessary controls in place to track the benefit plan’s investments and transactions.

Employer-sponsored health improvement programs must strive to include sleep as a key element of good health. Here are three strategies benefit managers can use to encourage better sleep habits among workers.

Employers are planning on making big changes to their benefits plans this year as they look to stay ACA compliant while still attracting and retaining talent.

Has the benefits industry made compliance more complicated than necessary?

Investing in community health leads to better workforce health, says Healthy Workplace Healthy Communities, a group launched to provide employers resources and tools to engage local leaders.

When employees come back to work after major health events like heart surgery, employers need to be aware of comorbid conditions such as depression or anxiety.

The usage of telemedicine is growing, with almost two thirds of organizations offering or planning to offer such a service by 2018.

Excessive and expensive treatment is at the core of the healthcare cost crisis, says Brian Klepper.

Offering a plan that meets the minimum value standard and the federal poverty line safe harbor to everyone working 30 hours or more would eliminate the headaches associated with the employer mandate. So why aren’t more employers doing it?

Other countries and some innovative firms here consistently deliver equal or better quality care at dramatically lower cost, betraying the idea that conventional U.S. healthcare is superior or even appropriate.