Poll Indicates Employers Will Still Offer Coverage

A recent survey by Crain Communications' publications Business Insurance and Workforce Management indicates that a majority of employers will not be eliminating their health benefits offerings. 

The new health reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, penalizes employers that do not offer coverage $2,000 per full-time employee.  According to the survey, 52.5% of the 3,700 responding executives strongly disagreed that it would be better for their firm to stop offering health benefits and pay the penalty.  On the other end, only 14.1% of respondents strongly believe that dropping health benefits altogether would be better for their organization.

Click here for the rest of story, from Employee Benefit News.

Communicating Benefits Information via Social Media

Employee Benefit News features an article on using social media to communicate benefits news to employees. Using venues such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Wikis, and blogs, among other things, HR professionals can creatively engage employees to communicate short, quick bits of information.

A recent study by Watson Wyatt, the article describes, found that:

"almost two-thirds of companies plan to increase their use of social media in 2010. Of the 328 companies surveyed from across the globe, 78% have increased their electronic communication in the last 24 months, and 55% have increased face-to-face communication. However, nearly half (48%) have diminished their print communication over the past 24 months."

To read the complete article, click here.

Employer Reactions to House Bill

Employee Benefit News's blog writes on three employer and health plan associations' views on the recently passed House health reform bill:

Read the blog here.

Employers and Wellness Incentives

A recent story by Employee Benefit News reports that the average cash incentive in corporate wellness programs has increased from $204 in 2008 to $329 in 2009. In the study conducted by the National Association of Manufacturers and Health2Resources, a health communications firm, researchers also found that in 2007 only 14% of employers were measuring ROI, but in 2009 73% are monitoring their results. In a separate PricewaterhouseCoopers study, those companies that offered gift cards or cash with less than $50 value in exchange for taking a health risk questionnaire had a 42% participation rate, versus the 49% participation rate for those companies offering between $50 and $299.

Read the complete article by clicking here.

New GINA Rules Impose Restrictions on HRAs

On October 1st, the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and the Treasury jointly released an advanced copy of the interim final regulations on the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act. The interim final regulations were posted to the Federal Register on October 7th and clarify several aspects of GINA as it relates to health risk assessments.

The rules become effective December 7th, 2009. GINA’s provisions for group health plans are effective for plan years beginning on or after May 21, 2009. Thus, the effective date for calendar year plans is Jan. 1, 2010.

Read the rest of this story at: http://ebn.benefitnews.com/news/new-gina-rules-impose-restrictions-on-health-risk-assessments-2682139-1.html

Successfully Implementing an HSA

Employee Benefit News recently released a podcast by OptumHealth's Todd Berkley on successfully incorporating an HSA into a client's health benefit offerings.

Find the podcast by clicking here.