New Approaches to Managing Health Care Costs, Improving Outcomes
As health insurance and health care costs continue climbing, some employers are taking new and innovative steps to tamp down costs for themselves and their covered employees while not sacrificing the quality of care they receive. Some of the strategies
New Rule Aims to Expedite Prior Authorization Requests
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has published a final rule aimed at improving how prior authorizations are handled by health insurers. The measure primarily limits the time insurers have to approve or deny requests.In addressing wait times for
Workplace Age Discrimination Cases Grow Nationwide
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission continues seeing a steady flow of complaints for one of the more common forms of workplace bias — age discrimination. The number of court filings the EEOC made under the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
Employers Avoid Cost-Shifting, Focus on Reducing Employee Outlays: Study
Despite group health plan inflation increasing again in 2024, a new study has found that employers continue staying the course in not shifting costs to employees who may already be overstretched by inflation and medical bills. Instead, 64% of employers say
More Employers Offering Wellness, Mental Health Chatbots
As a record amount of U.S. workers struggle with mental health issues and stress, more employers are offering new chatbot apps to help them. A survey this past summer of 457 employers by Willis Towers Watson found that 24% of them
EEOC Proposes New Workplace Anti-Harassment Guidance
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued proposed language to update its guidance on harassment in the workplace.The proposed guidance "reflects notable changes in law, including the Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock vs. Clayton County (which held that LGBTQ individuals
Family Coverage Costs Hit Small-Business Workers Hardest: Study
A new study has found that most employer-sponsored family health plans are increasingly unaffordable for workers due to rising costs and them footing a significant part of the premium, even with employer assistance. Workers at smaller firms, defined as those with
Employers Wrestling with Covering Weight-Loss Drugs
The explosion in demand for new, costly and highly effective weight-loss and diabetes drugs is poised to play an outsized role in increasing the cost of health care, and in turn, health insurance in America. These groundbreaking drugs — the most
Flexible Spending Account Contribution Limit Climbs
The IRS recently announced that the annual contribution limit for flexible spending accounts will rise to $3,200 in 2024, up $150 from this year. Also, employees will be able to carry over up to $640 next year into 2025 if they
American Workers Are Burned Out; Employers Can Help
American employers are trying to meet their workers' mental health needs as they struggle with burnout and stress from their jobs and finances, according to a new report. The annual "Aflac WorkForces Report" found that more than 50% of American