Healthcare plans

Employers can help employees prepare for and manage high healthcare costs related to COVID-19 as well as large medical bills related to other health conditions such as serious illness or accidents several ways.

While it does not solve all problems, virtual care offers a highly flexible, low resource approach that, with many patients, can deliver a positive care experience with equal or better quality at lower cost.

A new partnership aims to support safe returns to the workplace through FDA-authorized testing.

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.

For most employers, just 1% of their members are driving 40% or more of pharmacy benefits costs.

To help manage the impact of increasing premiums on financial performance, employers have passed an increase in premium costs to their employees.

The insurance companies plan to launch a new health plan in Q4 to help employers recuperate from COVID-19 losses.

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.

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.

Around 63% of workers say their company could do more to support their emotional and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Within this group, 22% said their company’s response was “barely adequate,” “a disaster” or “non-existent.”

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.

If Democrats win in November, single-payer healthcare could still be on the agenda. Its adoption would shake up the benefits industry.

Digital health can transition employees back to work in a safe, cost effective and scalable way, says Andrew Le, CEO at Buoy Health.

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.

Now is a time for HR managers to reassess healthcare plans and make important changes, health insurance expert says.

Firms are delaying, shortening or making virtual their internship programs this summer as efforts to slow the pandemic around the world leave employees working from home.

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.

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.

Employers in three metropolitan areas will have access to the cost-saving health plan.

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.