ASHHRA Health and Wellness Pulse
BENEFITS
By Andy Stonehouse A new study conducted by human capital risk management firm HCMS Group suggests that employers who offer vision benefits to their employees might be able to save as much as $5.8 billion in cost savings over a four-year period, partly due to the preventative screening opportunities afforded by low-cost eye check-ups. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS
Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/vision-insurance-offers-a-look-at-bigger-savings-2738530-1.html to view the full article online.
By Kristen Ricaurte Knebel Beginning in 2015, health plans and issuers are required to apply all out-of-pocket maximums across all essential benefits, the federal government said in a new set of frequently-asked-questions and answers on implementation of the Affordable Care Act. SOURCE: BLOOMBERG BNA
Visit http://www.bna.com/new-aca-guidance-n17179881320/ to view the full article online.
By Paula Aven Gladych What’s going to take off this year? Fidelity's 401(k) team put together a list of trends it believes will gain a lot of traction in the coming months, including higher adoption of Roth 401(k) and managed account options. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2014/01/10/the-7-hottest-401k-trends-for-2014 to view the full article online.
By Christian Schappel You’re trained to be an HR professional, but every year – usually around open enrollment – you’re asked to put on your communicator hat. The onus is then on you to communicate your company’s benefits package to the workforce, and we recognize that some of you may like a little help doing so. SOURCE: HR BENEFITS ALERT
Visit http://www.hrbenefitsalert.com/7-powerful-tips-for-your-next-benefits-presentation/ to view the full article online.
By Michael Ollove The promise of the Affordable Care Act is right there in its title: Affordable. Yet, anti-poverty agencies across the country fear that even with the federal financial assistance available under the law, health insurance will remain unaffordable for significant numbers of low-income Americans. SOURCE: USA TODAY
Visit http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/01/14/stateline-obama-health-care/4471957/ to view the full article online.
By Kathryn Mayer No doubt, 2014 is a pivotal year in the health care industry. With the individual mandate, market reforms, and new insurance taxes – and quite a lot of other provisions – now in effect, it’s the most important year yet for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. SOURCE: BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2013/12/20/what-2014-will-look-like-in-the-benefits-world to view the full article online.
By Jared Bilski Thanks to new DOL regs and enforcement efforts, HR pros are being asked to pay more attention to their companies’ 401ks – and all of the plans’ features and investments – than ever before. SOURCE: HR BENEFITS ALERT
Visit http://www.hrbenefitsalert.com/401k-plans-4-best-practices-hr/ to view the full article online.
WELLNESS
By Carol W. Berman, M.D. "It's all over now, baby blue." Bob Dylan may have been referring to the end of a love affair in that refrain, but it rings true for most of us after all the hoopla of the holidays. There is so much buzz, so much activity, during Christmas and New Year's celebrations, that just the lack of action after January 1 is enough to cause some people anxiety, feelings of disappointment, and depression. SOURCE: HUFFINGTON POST
Visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/carol-w-berman-md/holiday-health-tips_b_4507751.html to view the full article online.
By Richard Besser This year’s flu season is now in full swing so we have some of the answers to such questions. We know that the number of flu cases started to spike first in the southeastern United States. Visits for flu-like illness started to rise in December and have continued to rise and spread. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 states have high levels of flu activity and all regions of the country are now seeing flu cases. The website, Google flu trends, which tends to be more up to date, reports that 33 states are seeing high levels of flu. SOURCE: ABC NEWS
Visit http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2014/01/14/the-flu-everything-you-need-to-know-this-season/ to view the full article online.
Over the past year, Americans were afforded 14 days of vacation and took 10, leaving four days on the table, twice as many as the year prior, according to the Expedia 2013 Vacation Deprivation. At the same time, a full 90 percent of employed French adults either strongly or somewhat agree with the sentence, "I feel vacation deprived," well above the global average. SOURCE: WORLD AT WORK
Visit http://www.worldatwork.org/adimComment?id=74410&from=Benefits%20News to view the full article online.
By Dr. Jeff Rubin We’ve all heard the legend that depression and suicides spike in December due to holiday stress, but that’s just what it is: legend. Research shows that depression and anxiety actually do not peak during the holidays; in fact, some studies show these rates actually decrease in December. Client calls related to anxiety, depression, substance abuse, and stress spike after the holidays each year, according to health care consumer services company Accolade. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS
Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/gallery/ebn/5-steps-coping-with-new-years-slump-2738455-1.html to view the full article online.
By Rose Rosa Maximizing the positive impact of a wellness program is a goal of many employers. Much of the discussion around wellness focuses on how to increase employee participation. Doing so remains a challenge for many employers, but there are some innovative approaches employers are exploring. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS
Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/blog/ebviews/making-hsa-wellness-work-together-2738608-1.html to view the full article online.
By Abigail Tracy It might be time to take a second look at your workplace wellness program. As companies continue to seek new ways to cut back on health care costs, wellness programs have become quite pervasive. According to a new study for the Labor Department conducted by Santa Monica, nearly half of U.S. employers with a minimum of 50 workers offered workplace wellness programs in 2012, while 90 percent of companies with greater than 50,000 workers offered the programs over the same period. SOURCE: INC.COM
Visit http://www.inc.com/abigail-tracy/take-a-second-look-at-your-wellness-program.html to view the full article online.
By Paul Mulhausen, M.D. Whether your business is self-insured or purchases a health plan, it’s time to bend the cost curve in your favor. Using a combination of robust data analytic tools and care management, population health management offers benefit managers a proactive approach to improve the health and well-being for members whose chronic conditions can account for 75 percent or more of your health care expenses. SOURCE: EMPLOYEE BENEFIT NEWS
Visit http://ebn.benefitnews.com/blog/ebviews/6-pillars-for-population-health-management-2738580-1.html to view the full article online.
By Rita Pyrillis The explosion in wellness apps and devices is making it easier for employers to help their workers stay healthy and active. But with products that do everything from count steps to measure glucose levels, deciding which tools to offer requires a focused wellness strategy, experts say. SOURCE: WORKFORCE.COM
Visit http://www.workforce.com/articles/20165-wellness-apps-for-workers-becoming-more-apropos to view the full article online.
By Elizabeth Lopatto Obesity among children from lower earning families rose compared to their well-off counterparts, according to a study that suggests the U.S. weight epidemic may be another sign of a growing divide between rich and poor. SOURCE: BLOOMBERG / BENEFITS PRO
Visit http://www.benefitspro.com/2014/01/14/study-ties-obesity-to-income?t=wellness to view the full article online.
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