Employer Healthcare Strategies

Remember when the ACA was in its infancy, and people warned that businesses would start cutting full time employees' hours, to avoid paying for their health benefits?

Well that day has come for the Dave & Busters in Times Square, which has been sued by one long-time employee.

In a case proceeding to trial, a 10-year employee says that her bosses cut her full-time hours to 10-25 per week to avoid the cost of the ACA's regulations.

There are numerous new technologies geared toward employee health and wellness. And even though the full extent of benefits is not known, this isn't keeping companies from taking the plunge with this employee health investment!

These tech innovations come in four main categories: Wearables, Gamification, Social Media, and Mobile. Mobile is the biggest so far, with employers using novel apps to integrate with mobile devices, either the personal property of the employee or bought for employee use.

The Senate is preparing a bi-partisan mental health reform bill, which actually shows promise of getting passed (no mean feat in an election year).

It all starts with the American problem of mental health. 1 in 5 adults suffer from mental health problems, but psychiatric resources are actually dwindling.

The bill would create a new government position to address mental health, as well as expanded grants to get help for children who show signs of burgeoning psychological problems.

Changes in American political and social cultures have been tough for the healthcare insurance industry.

The passage of the ACA marked a change in public opinion: denying insurance coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions, or charging the sick more money, were now unacceptable.

The insurance industry wanted to be on the right side of history, but the internal transitions needed to achieve near-universal coverage have been demanding.

As employer healthcare coverage transforms, and as some major hospitals start offering independent health plans, the traditional insurance industry has an identity crisis on its hands.

Years after its initiation, the Affordable Care Act is still controversial.

Opinions are divided on what is to be done about President Obama's legacy legislative achievement, even among members of the same political party.

A Business Insurance survey of 1,202 individuals demonstrates the diversity of opinion.

There is no contemporary issue more politically charged than health care. In the 6 years since the passage of the Affordable Care Act, a lot of stuff has happened!

Many uninsured people gained access to health care, costs soared for many, and media outlets from all sides poured out all kinds of reports (not all of them very good representations of reality).

Today, many of the most difficult adjustments have already been made, and industry leaders and economists hope that the health care system will begin to settle into relative stability. But what do the numbers indicate?

Healthy, happy employees are also more productive employees. In fact, employee health and wellness – or lack thereof – is possibly the single biggest determining factor when it comes to employee productivity.

Think about it. The barriers to productivity are either physical: Fatigue, illness, injury. Or mental: Depression, stress, distraction.

Reducing these physical and mental factors will increase attendance and ensure that employees are able to perform at their best, as well as create an environment with high morale that employees enjoy being at.

On-site health centers are becoming increasingly popular among employers looking for innovative solutions to combat rising healthcare costs.

In fact, based on the 2015 Employer-Sponsored Health Care Center survey by Towers Watson, 64% of employers have or are considering sponsoring a medical clinic in the near future.

Proper nutrition is the foundation to a healthy lifestyle for your employees. By helping them implement changes in the way they eat now, it may reduce the chance of them developing chronic diseases in the future.

From a company standpoint, this is an enormous benefit because it can help reduce future healthcare costs. In order to motivate employees to change their nutritional habits we've rounded up 3 critical areas to address in your workplace nutrition solutions.

As mentioned in a recent survey on Employer-Sponsored Health Plans by Mercer, the average total health benefit costs for employers rose 3.9% in 2014. Simply put, our nation is consuming more health care than it can afford. 

With growing concern on Health Reform and how it will impact organizations in the coming years, it is vital for employers to proactively seek ways to combat the declining health of their workforce and the cost associated with it.

Enter Direct Primary Care and On-Site Medical Clinics. These convenient, barrier-free alternatives to the traditional health care delivery model offer a chance for employers to take control of rising health care costs by proactively improving the health of their workforce.

Sound too good to be true? It's not. Check out some common on-site medical clinic myths we've debunked below.