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Insurance

Look to states, not Congress, for radical health care changes

02/01/2006

Employers and consumers alike have been wrestling with skyrocketing health care costs, with no end in sight. And while Congress has talked much about reforming the system, it’s been spinning its wheels for years. The same can’t be said for state legislatures, where lawmakers are actively passing laws to make coverage more affordable …

Use ‘Mini-Med’ Benefits to Cut Costs, Help Retain Staff

02/01/2006

Soaring health costs are forcing many small firms to shift more cost burden to employees or drop coverage. But be aware that many companies are taking a third option: offering a limited medical health insurance plan (or "mini med") that provides bare-bones health coverage …

You can remove injured worker for safety reasons

02/01/2006

Q. An employee told us he has a bad hernia. He wants to wait a couple months to have the operation, since it requires six weeks’ recovery. He does some lifting in his job. Yesterday, he had to go home early because he was in pain. Now that we are aware of his condition, what’s our liability? And what should we do? —D.C., New Jersey

Include retail store clinics in your health care strategy

02/01/2006

More retail superstores are adding low-cost medical clinics to their in-store services. Employers can use these "doc-in-a-box" services for low-cost employee preventive and wellness care. Check to see if a local clinic is opening, then consider this as part of a cost-cutting solution, not a cure …

Understand links between FMLA and workers’ comp

01/01/2006

Q. If an employee is out on workers’ comp due to a work-related injury that requires surgery, can we also force him to use FMLA days in conjunction with that workers’ comp leave? The workers’ comp carrier is paying the employee’s reduced wages. —B.F., Pennsylvania

Encourage use of generic drugs by waiving co-pay

12/01/2005
To persuade employees to switch from expensive brand-name prescription drugs to generics, some employers are eliminating co-payments for generic drugs. Others are waiving the first two or three months of generic …

More states mandate coverage for infertility treatments

11/01/2005
Connecticut recently became the 15th state to require insurers to offer some type of infertility coverage. But Connecticut’s program is the most limited enacted by any state so far. Federal laws …

Health premium costs still rising, but not as sharply

11/01/2005
When it comes to health insurance premiums, the good news is relative.
It’s true that premiums rose less in 2005 than the previous four years. This year’s 9.2 percent average …

Screen supplemental insurance vendors: Ask right questions

11/01/2005
Issue: More employers are offering voluntary supplemental medical insurance, and insurers are offering more products.
Benefit/risk: Such plans can fill gaps left by medical coverage cutbacks, but the strategy can …

Cut health costs by dangling the right opt-out incentives

11/01/2005
Issue: Employee health premiums have jumped 73 percent since 2000 and are predicted to rise 10 percent more in 2006.
Benefit: Offering employees a lump-sum payout or other incentive to …