Wellness

Traditional wellness programs may be missing the mark when it comes to continued employee engagement and managing health care costs for participants.

Industry experts offer their 2015 benefits predictions.

Engaging employees in wellness programs is challenging at the best of times, but for employers in industries where the majority of workers are not in an office setting – construction or retail, for example – it can be even more difficult.

U.S. policymakers have implemented major changes to the health insurance industry with the goal of improving the experiences and outcomes of patients. Yet there are still many health care consumers who express deep dissatisfaction with their plans

In light of recent EEOC actions, what should employers with wellness programs that ask disability-related questions or require medical examinations do to minimize the risk of a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act?

Reducing health care costs is still the No. 1 reason U.S. employers implement wellness programs.

The obituary for traditional wellness programs has been widely published, though perhaps not universally acknowledged. What, indeed, went wrong?

With 2015 fast approaching, employee benefit decision makers are scrambling to ensure that they stay ahead of the curve – particularly as the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate kicks in next month.

The year in wellness: Wearable devices, outcomes-based incentives and social media have helped shape wellness in the workplace in 2014.

Take a look around the benefits discussion table at many employers these days and you’ll see a wide variety of faces. With clients increasingly tying their benefits strategy to the other departments at their businesses, it’s no surprise that top brokers in the U.S. are taking a closer look at their own company structures in the process.

How can employers get more out of their wellness programs without also growing their budgets?

In the face of several EEOC challenges to wellness programs in the U.S., 2015 could prove to be a trying year for employer-sponsored wellness programs.

This year saw not only more implementations of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, but already some changes to it – by both the legislative and judicial arms of government. Additionally, new technologies and outlooks are changing how benefit decision-makers are strategizing wellness programs.

As health care reform continues to unfold, employers are re-examining the role of their benefit programs in their overall human capital strategy and coming around to the idea that attracting, retaining and engaging workers hinges on the total employee experience, not health care benefits alone.

Employers considering private health care exchanges should leave themselves plenty of time to make the switch, say two employers who’ve made the move in recent years.

Biometric screening offers value in identifying employees at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and other costly and debilitating chronic conditions. However, employers will probably not see a return on their investment if their employees don’t act on the results.

As the holidays move into full gear, what should be the most wonderful time of the year is often not that way for many employees. During this potentially overwhelming season, it is important that employees have access to help.

Consumer operated and oriented plans known as CO-OPs have given some commercial carriers a run for their money in parts of the HIX marketplace where there was little or no competition, but these entities, created under the Affordable Care Act, also have run into some of the same systemic obstacles that have dogged for-profit plans for years.

Comparing prescription drug benefits offered on the Covered California state-run exchange is expected to be easier during the 2015 open enrollment than it was in 2014, thanks to the availability of more information.

There are several key areas where an employer can experience savings from a wellness program, says Retrofit's Jeff Hyman. The CEO shares several ideas on how to get started, including which data sets are most worth measuring.