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Insurance

Quest offers health assessments, follow-up wellness programs

07/29/2010
Quest Diagnostics is helping its workforce stay healthy by offering free health risk assessments and then following up with wellness programs that help employees address potential problems. Last year, 36,000 employees took part after Quest reduced the cost of biweekly medical plan contributions as an incentive.

Wellness programs: Clash between health care reform and GINA

07/27/2010
Approximately 70% of employers sponsor wellness programs designed to drive down health care costs, reduce absenteeism and promote better employee health. Wellness programs that offer premium discounts have long been required to comply with HIPAA. More recently, two other laws muddied the wellness waters: the new health care reform law and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.

Keep health costs out of the equation when considering hiring and firing

07/27/2010
Before you even consider firing (or refusing to hire) someone because they might jack up your health insurance costs, count your dollars, not your pennies. You may be staring down a lawsuit that could dwarf whatever premium costs you hoped to avoid.

What you should look for in a health benefits broker

07/27/2010

It’s probably the toughest part of a benefits administrator’s job: choosing next year’s health insurance plan. If they’re lucky, benefits pros have powerful allies in that high-stakes game: insurance brokers. But some brokers are little more than order-takers. If you’re starting to think your broker is part of the problem and not part of the benefits solution, maybe it’s time to look for a new one.

Don’t break the bank for effective wellness programs

07/27/2010
Employers are warming up to wellness programs to help reduce health care costs. And it works! But choosing the wrong pieces of the wellness puzzle can lower your ROI dramatically. For the most bang for your wellness buck, focus on these five efforts that drive the greatest cost savings.

What’s a ‘grandfathered’ health plan? Feds release new rules

07/26/2010
Group health plans that were in effect when the big reform law was signed on March 23, 2010, can earn “grandfather” status. Employers will lose their grandfather status if they change insurance carriers or “substantially increase” out-of-pocket costs for employees.

The truth about employee wellness … and 7 ways to get workers to take it seriously

07/12/2010

Want your employees to take more responsibility for improving and protecting their health? Examine how you communicate with them about their benefits, says a new report from the Midwest Business Group on Health. Here are seven major findings from its new research, along with tips on using the information to trigger employee participation in wellness programs:

Do I now have to provide long-term care insurance to my employees’ same-sex domestic partners?

07/09/2010
Q. I recently heard that same-sex domestic partners of employees are now eligible for the long-term care insurance. Is that true?

Feds clarify tax status of dependent coverage

07/09/2010
The IRS has clarified that, under the new health care reform law, coverage provided for employees’ children under age 27 is tax-free to the employee. That means employers with cafeteria plans may permit employees to immediately make pretax salary-reduction contributions to provide coverage for children under age 27.

New anti-drug initiative could reduce your WC premiums

07/08/2010
A new drug-abuse prevention program promises significant savings on workers’ compensation premiums for Ohio employers that agree to participate in it. The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s Drug-Free Safety Program allows Ohio employers to opt into the program—which requires drug and alcohol education, testing and accident reporting—in exchange for discounts on workers’ comp insurance.