ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse
FROM ASHHRA
Visit https://www.naylornetwork.com/ahh-health/index.com?aid=234306&issueID=32594 to view the full article online. 
BENEFITS
By Kathryn Mayer Another ordinary enrollment season, it is not. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/09/11/changes-coming-to-open-enrollment to view the full article online. By Mary Mosquera As health care costs for employers continue to rise, they are taking steps to control costs and manage risks. SOURCE: HEALTHCARE FINANCE NEWS Visit http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/employers-outsource-retiree-coverage to view the full article online. By Christian Schappel 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? SOURCE: HRMORNING.COM Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/finally-answers-to-employee-questions-about-reforms-individual-mandate/ to view the full article online. By Andrea Davis 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. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/employees-say-companies-have-yet-to-communicate-benefit-changes-2735683-1.html to view the full article online. 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). SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=73635 to view the full article online. By Ankita Rao 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. SOURCE: KAISER HEALTH NEWS Visit http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2013/09/campaign-to-enroll-lbgt-community-in-health-coverage-launched-at-white-house/?referrer=search to view the full article online. By Tom Murphy Your company may be having second thoughts about the health insurance it offers to your spouse. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/09/11/employers-look-to-cut-back-on-spousal-coverage to view the full article online. By Dan Mangan Like an iceberg in the distance, private health insurance exchanges look small now—but could be huge very soon. SOURCE: CNBC Visit http://www.cnbc.com/id/101018999 to view the full article online. By Andrea Davis EBN spoke to Jay Starkman, CEO of Engage PEO, about the AMA classification of obesity and how it might affect employer decisions. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/obesity-disease-label-spell-trouble-employers-2735969-1.html to view the full article online. By Elisabeth Blattner-Thompson, Diane A. Thompson, Brian D. Pedrow and Mary Cate Gordon The U.S. Department of Labor has provided guidance on Family and Medical Leave Act protections for same-sex couples. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS
Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/fmla-extended-to-same-sex-couples-2735749-1.html to view the full article online. By Leonard Sanicola According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, American workers get more paid vacation time today than two decades ago. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=73681 to view the full article online. By Jessica Webb-Ayer, JD 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. SOURCE: HR.BLR.COM Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Benefits-Leave/Health-Insurance-Play-or-Pay/Employers-must-tackle-healthcare-insurance-reform- to view the full article online. WELLNESS
By Kelsey Brimmer Hospitals are leading the way to improving population health. SOURCE: HEALTHCARE FINANCE NEWS
Visit http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/disruptive-innovators-hospitals-increase-community-access-healthier-food to view the full article online. By Sam Hananel Glued to your desk at work? Cross that off the list of excuses for not having the time to exercise. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/09/12/more-americans-exercise-while-they-work to view the full article online. By Christian Schappel The next big change to your employee policies may need to come from the latest smoking cessation fad: the use of electronic cigarettes. SOURCE: HRMORNING.COM Visit http://www.hrmorning.com/your-newest-policy-dilemma-how-do-you-handle-use-of-e-cigarettes/ to view the full article online. 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. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/gallery/ebn/3-ways-employers-can-help-prevent-suicide-2736156-1.html to view the full article online. By Vlad Gyster The benefits of wellness programs are unknown so their value is up for debate. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/faster-cheaper-way-to-wellness-programs-that-work-2735879-1.html to view the full article online. By Dan Cook Employers believe in wellness programs for their workers. Now, if they could only get the workers to share that belief. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/09/05/employers-embrace-wellness-but-employees-dont to view the full article online. By Austin Frakt and Aaron Carroll It has been a tough couple of months for Pennsylvania State University’s new wellness program, Take Care of Your Health. SOURCE: BLOOMBERG Visit http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-16/the-feel-good-promise-of-wellness-programs.html to view the full article online. By Joshua Love 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. SOURCE: FORBES Visit http://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2013/09/12/five-reasons-corporate-wellness-is-more-important-than-ever/ to view the full article online. By Chad O'Connor 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? SOURCE: BOSTON.COM
Visit http://www.boston.com/business/blogs/global-business-hub/2013/08/workplace_welln.html to view the full article online. By Melissa Thompson 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. SOURCE: HR.BLR.COM Visit http://hr.blr.com/HR-news/Benefits-Leave/Employee-Wellness/The-mentally-well-workforce-Healthy-equals-wealthy to view the full article online. By Kathleen Koster How three employers are making employee health a priority and seeing the results in their bottom line. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/profiles-of-achievemet-in-wellness-2735621-1.html to view the full article online. By Jessica Grossmeier 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. SOURCE: HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE ONLINE Visit http://www.hreonline.com/HRE/view/story.jhtml?id=534355957&ss=BENEFITS to view the full article online. |