Wellness

It’s no surprise that health care costs are continuing to rise and while employers remain committed to providing benefits, many are re-evaluating their benefit strategies.

Advisers who excel in the vision field do the best job of making the connection between vision and medical plans, some experts say. Shannon Enders, a founding partner at Lakeshore Employee Benefits in Norton Shores, Mich., says when he brings the idea of connecting vision and health data to clients’ attention, “they quickly become very interested.”

Commentary: Columnist Nelson Griswold discusses why sophisticated employee benefit advisers are increasingly discussing self-funding of the health plan with mid-size employers.

Rising health care costs and concerns for employees’ financial wellness and retirement preparedness are nudging employers to re-evaluate their benefit offerings.

An “engagement chasm” is adding to the low adoption and participation rates employers face when developing their health and wellness programs, with even electronic or online tools doing little to keep employees motivated in health, fitness and dietary programs.

The EEOC has proposed rules addressing the extent to which employers may offer incentives to promote participation in wellness programs without violating the ADA.

While employers define the topic in different ways, most are focused solely on the physical.

The Obama administration on Thursday launched the “Healthy Self” campaign to better explain health care benefits to those newly insured, connect people to coverage, and encourage healthy lifestyles.

Benefits decision-makers continue to struggle with the notion of financially justifying their wellness dollars, as wellness ROI is still exceptionally elusive.

Although the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently released some new proposed regulations on wellness programs, employers are still grappling with how to incorporate new health technologies into their programs.

Employers looking for good news on patient safety got a mixed bag of recent news – especially the discouraging report that nearly half of American hospitals fall short in nursing standards.

They're more common than ever, but some company initiatives don’t have the intended effect.

Commentary: While an employee assistance program may be promoted to employees when it’s launched, it quickly becomes lost in the collection of employee benefits and is rarely utilized. To maximize its value, ask whether your prospective vendor includes some of the following services.

Transparency and flexibility are among the attributes brokers look for when implementing a wellness program, EBA survey shows.

With desks the central point for getting work done, employers often focus on having employees sit at their workstations to complete assigned tasks the entire day. Encouraging employees to stand, stretch, and walk around is counterintuitive.

Without an effective strategy or the right tools to reduce costs, brokers and employers continue to embrace cost shifting through payroll contributions and changes to deductibles and coinsurance to manage rising healthcare cost. However, there are resources that can help employers effectively measure the success of a wellness plan, while incorporating specific cost-saving strategies.

Commentary: As the EEOC’s proposed regulations for wellness programs remain under review for public comment until mid-June, employers should not feel paralyzed in designing new wellness programs nor compelled to throw out existing ones.

Finding ways to deter painkiller abuse has been a high priority for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in recent years. And with opioid abuse costing U.S. businesses close to $26 billion a year, health plan sponsors should take note as well.

The benchmark for demonstrating return on investment of population health management programs has been medical cost savings. But that's notion is changing as employers are discovering that several other measures of program success are also in their grasp.

The proposed regulations provide guidance on the extent to which employers may use incentives to encourage employee participation in wellness programs that include disability-related questions and/or medical examinations.