Health plans need to gird for post-COVID surge in expenses
COVID concerns led millions of patients to put off routine care and screenings in 2020, so health plans will need to rethink how they forecast expenses.
Healthcare guidelines
CDC survey shows some vaccine reluctance among Americans
The study found that younger adults, women, Black people, adults not living in cities and those with low education, low income and lacking health insurance were most likely to say they didn’t plan on getting a vaccine.
Benefits Think How advisers can support employees facing serious health issues
It's even more difficult for an employer to know when employees are facing difficult health problems and connect them with the benefits and resources that can help them.
Dr. Miles Varn
PinnacleCare
Benefits Think Care navigation: The next frontier in managing healthcare costs
Sometimes called “concierge” care services, care navigation refers to services that help patients access and coordinate healthcare — particularly when multiple providers, sites of care and types of healthcare services are involved.
Scott Paddock
Healthcare Bluebook
Benefits Think Employers and benefits administrators must prepare for a COBRA avalanche
The current layoff situation and legislative action to extend periods and deadlines associated with COBRA means that people who would not have considered electing COBRA prior to COVID-19 may choose to do so soon, and in record numbers.
Bo Armstrong
DataPath
Views Here’s your employee checklist for open enrollment
Reviewing the plan options and programs that support your well-being can go a long way towards providing peace of mind during open enrollment.
Benefits Think COVID-19 highlights limitations of fully insured health plans
This year’s worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the reasons why employers should consider a self-insured strategy over a fully insured model.
Michelle Zettergren
MagnaCare
Benefits Think Returning to work safely requires the right blend of technology and clinical care
A good return-to-work solution should involve a mobile app or a screening survey that allows employees to perform a daily self-assessment, but this should work in tandem with virtual care or telehealth services.
Sampath Narayanan
Paladina Health
Benefits Think How a clinical management strategy can reduce pharmacy spend and improve employee health
For most employers, just 1% of their members are driving 40% or more of pharmacy benefits costs.
Bryan Statham
RxBenefits
Benefits Think Why employee experience shouldn’t stop short of health benefits
Including health benefits in your employee experience efforts will show employees that your entire people strategy is built around supporting and equipping them to thrive.
Jennifer Jones MSM RD
Springbuk
Benefits Think 3 strategies for safely returning employees to work
Companies should adopt strategies from across three different categories — screening and testing; workplace policies and design; and health and healthcare access when planning their workplace return.
Dr. Jon Leizman
Premise Health
Benefits Think In uncertain times, flexibility of HRAs help employers maintain benefits
Instead of choosing a one-size-fits-all plan for a group, employers can offer fixed reimbursements that employees can use to purchase their own insurance or use for medical expenses.
Jack Hooper
Take Command Health
Single-payer healthcare could lead to major employee benefits industry shakeout
If Democrats win in November, single-payer healthcare could still be on the agenda. Its adoption would shake up the benefits industry.
Benefits Think How major life events can affect your health insurance planning
The usual time to sign up for health insurance is during open enrollment but businesses and the Marketplace allow you to make changes to your health insurance anytime if certain major life events happen.
Robin Gelburd
FAIR Health
Benefits Think Is value-based insurance design experiencing a renaissance?
The growing costs faced by today’s health care purchasers and plan members have many returning to proven strategies like V-BID, which lowers or eliminates the out-of-pocket cost for high-value services or medications.
Ryan Olmstead
Catalyst for Payment Reform
Bosses stretch the definition of who is ‘essential’ — and workers take the risk
There is wide variety in how aggressively the rules are issued and applied during the coronavirus pandemic, and businesses often don’t know which way to turn.
What’s missing in the coronavirus response
Public health specialists said a range of tools, high-tech strategies and old-school public health interventions could help tamp down the spread of COVID-19.
Benefits Think 5 things employers need to know about the CARES Act
Within the bill are several important provisions affecting employers, including requirements for coverage of COVID-19 testing and treatments, as well as the potential impact to group health plans.
Colleen Bruce
National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions
Benefits Think How employees can address the true cost of mental health issues in the workplace
It’s estimated that workplace stress now costs employers $500 billion annually in the form of decreased performance at work or absenteeism.
Christin Kuretich
Trustmark
Experimenting with new workplace models
The five-day, 40-hour work week is an American tradition borne from the factories of Henry Ford; more employers are now challenging that standard. Can there be new models for work?
