Dear Health Care Executives:

This edition of the ASHHRA Benefits and Wellness Bulletin (BWB) will provide new ways to motivate you and help you think out of the box to enhance your benefit offerings and wellness programs. All organizations are trying to find savings in benefit programs and you might just find a new idea here in the BWB. We want you, an ASHHRA member, to be a benefits and wellness leader. As you read these articles, we are certain they will help you take your organization to the next level. 

ASHHRA appreciates your dedication to health care, and we will continue to improve in assisting you in the way you do your work. Please feel free to email me at sdrake@aha.org for any reason—we are here to serve you, our valued members. Just a reminder, you can read this edition of the BWB on your smart phone—to learn more, click here.

Sincerely,

Stephanie H. Drake

Executive Director—American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration 

Senior Executive Director—American Hospital Association Professional Services

 

Another ordinary enrollment season, it is not.

As health care costs for employers continue to rise, they are taking steps to control costs and manage risks.

Ever since the Obama administration announced it would be delaying enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate to provide health insurance, the natural inclination has been to wonder: What’s this mean for the individual mandate? 

Only 9 percent of companies, meanwhile, indicate they are very prepared to implement required changes to their business based on the health care reform law at this time.

The cost of providing employee health care benefits at the nation's largest employers is projected to increase 7 percent in 2014—the third consecutive year employers have budgeted this amount, according to a survey by the National Business Group on Health (NBGH).

The White House hosted a summit September 12 to promote Out2Enroll—a campaign to connect the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community to health coverage.

Your company may be having second thoughts about the health insurance it offers to your spouse.

Like an iceberg in the distance, private health insurance exchanges look small now—but could be huge very soon.

EBN spoke to Jay Starkman, CEO of Engage PEO, about the AMA classification of obesity and how it might affect employer decisions.

The U.S. Department of Labor has provided guidance on Family and Medical Leave Act protections for same-sex couples.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American workers get more paid vacation time today than two decades ago.

Although many employers may have breathed a sigh of relief when new health care insurance reform delays were announced this summer, these delays do not mean employers should postpone their planning efforts.

Hospitals are leading the way to improving population health.

Glued to your desk at work? Cross that off the list of excuses for not having the time to exercise.

The next big change to your employee policies may need to come from the latest smoking cessation fad: the use of electronic cigarettes. 

The World Health Organization’s World Suicide Prevention Day was this month, with a theme of "Stigma: A Major Barrier to Suicide Prevention." Now in its 10th year, Suicide Prevention Day aims to combat the 800,000 suicides a year, and stigma is one of the areas where employers can really help.

The benefits of wellness programs are unknown so their value is up for debate.

Employers believe in wellness programs for their workers. Now, if they could only get the workers to share that belief.

It has been a tough couple of months for Pennsylvania State University’s new wellness program, Take Care of Your Health.

As the president of a corporate wellness company, Kinema Fitness, I have noticed a recent trend in the way companies are approaching employee-based wellness programs. 

Don’t smoke. Exercise more. Snack less. Unless it’s broccoli. Have all you want of that. How much do you walk every day? Is it more than Mike in accounting? Want to challenge him? Come on, I dare you. Do you have chronic conditions? How are you treating them?

Not only will a mentally healthy workforce directly translate to direct benefits for the American worker, it will bolster businesses' bottom lines by greatly reducing lost productivity, absenteeism, and worker's compensation and disability claims. 

How three employers are making employee health a priority and seeing the results in their bottom line.

An ever-changing demographic landscape creates both challenges and opportunities for employers that want to establish a healthy workplace culture that contributes to worker productivity, while keeping health care cost increases at bay.