Human Resources: Medical Benefits

Most Workers Content with Compensation Package, Yet Many Yearn for Flexible Schedules
Hudson survey of 10,000 reveals trends in pay, health & retirement plans, and non-traditional benefits.

Incentives Motivate Human Resource Departments to Reduce Costs
Motivating human resource departments with incentives to reduce costs will give them a reason to research alternative health care systems and reduce insurance premiums, writes Ryan Kennedy.

PharmaCare´s Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan Results in Increased Safety for Seniors
Clinical programs increase safety.

Two-Thirds of Large Employers Now Offering Incentives to Improve Employees´ Health
39 percent providing employees with data on Healthcare Quality: While the concept of providing healthcare quality information is relatively new and there may be opportunities for improvement in both the data and its packaging, many see it as a win-win.

Improved Productivity, Lower Employer Health Costs are Hallmarks of New Health Coaching Phenomenon
Leade Health covers over six million lives thanks to dedicated coaching that focuses on assets instead of deficits.

JAPAN: GOVERNMENT ADOPTS POLICY TO CUT MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR THE ELDERLY
Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) announces changes to medical care benefits.

Absence and Disability
Looking at absence and disability management programs as a means to helping reduce these costs makes sense as it is one of the only ways an organization can reduce costs without cutting benefits and passing on the costs to the employees. From HR.com's Benefits analyst Jeff Chad.

Employee health insurance: Where are we headed?
Lopsided benefit expenses that favor employers have employee advocacy groups across the U.S. uniting to take a stand.

EAPs Can Help Employees Manage Changing Health Care Benefits
When debilitated by illness and stressed from losing days at work, the last thing employees need is to decipher the dozens of confusing bills and statements that are piling up at home. For many companies and their employees - that resource can and should be their Employee Assistance Program (EAP), writes Zachary Meyer.

Care Focused Purchasing Presses Ahead With Agenda
Employers and health plans provide momentum for health care quality initiatives

Winning the Battle: Reducing Costs AND Keeping Employees Happy with Benefits Lifecycle Management
Innovative HR executives are shifting to a competitive model that taps the power of information to drive down costs, while keeping the quality benefits that are key to employee retention and satisfaction, writes Mary Haigis.

Benefits Governance
Governance comprises processes and systems by which organizations of all sizes operate. From HR.com´s Jeff Chad.

Trends in Employee Benefits: What's Hot and What's Not
HR.com´s Jeff Chad discusses using employee benefits as a tool to attract, retain, and grow good employees.

Sometimes Fighting is Part of the Job
An employee starts a fight on the job, gets injured, and files for workers' comp benefits. Outrageous, you say! But what if fighting is part of his job and his boss told him to do it? Welcome to the wild world of professional hockey; from M. Lee Smith.

The Changing Face of the American Workplace: Baby Boomers Are Turning 60
Now, as the baby boomers begin to celebrate their 60th birthday, it is more important than ever that employers understand the changing health and benefits needs of this demographic, writes Ronald S. Leopold.

Japan: The MHLW Says Sexual Harassment-Related Mental Illness Can Be Covered by Workers Accident Insurance
Japan's Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare (MHLW) reminded all labor bureaus in Japan that workers can receive compensation for any mental illness relating to sexual harassment in the workplace. Â

New Mercer Program Helps Employers Manage Frozen Pension Plans
New Mercer program helps employers manage frozen pension plans. Freezing the plan is just the first step in managing financial and fiduciary risk.

Health Coaching Lowers Employer Medical Costs, Propels Leade Health to Strong Growth
Leade Health, a disease prevention company, expanded its full-time staff by more than 20 percent in 2005 and anticipates 100 percent employee growth in 2006, officials announced today.

Changing The Employee Mindset From Entitlement to Engagement: It Can Be Done!
New Guide Features Tips To Motivate Workers To Make Critical Benefits Decisions

Dear Mr. President: Five Steps Toward A Stronger Workforce
Ray Roe, president of Adecco Group North America, has some suggestions for motivating and retaining the American workforce.

MetLife Study: Nearly One-Quarter of Workers Changed Employers in 2005 Favoring Balance & Mission
Nearly three-quarters of employers expect competition for talent to intensify this year. A recent MetLife study reveals that the array of benefits are important for recruiting and retention, since workers favor relationships, balance and mission over traditional job selection criteria.

Let 'em Eat Aspirin
With health care costs rising faster than nearly any other business expense line item - up 59 percent between 2000 and 2004 - many employers are wielding the ax to health benefits; from Mark I. Schickman and M. Lee Smith.

American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and VitalSmarts Partner to Improve Patient Safety
American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and VitalSmarts partner to improve patient safety with new training program for healthcare practitioners.

MDA 101: How to Use The Medical Disability Advisor in Disability Case Management
New Accredited On-line Education Offered by Reed Group

Integrated Program Takes Aim at Co-Morbidity
Common sense has long tied a person´s recovery from a medical illness to their state of mind. Â Research is finally identifying links between depression and medical illness --- in both directions, writes Sean Fogarty.

Intoxication as a Defense in Workers' Compensation Claims
When is intoxication a defense in MN workers´ compensation claims? Â Rarely, as demonstrated by a Workers´ Compensation Court of Appeals reversal of the Compensation Judge´s decision to deny benefits based on that defense, writes Kathleen Bray.

Trends in Employee Benefits: What's Hot, What's Not
The highest priority for employer provided benefits programs should be to protect the employee from significant financial hardship due to illness, disability, or death. A recent study listed the top five HR concerns of employers and employees.

Value Rx for Healthcare: How to Make the Most of Your Organization's Assets and Relationships - 600 Word Review
Even when the economy is strong, the health care industry often struggles, at least in part because of the mistaken belief that profits can be sacrificed in the quest to provide adequate quality health care. Find out more. Read this review.

Value Rx for Healthcare: How to Make the Most of Your Organization's Assets and Relationships - 300 word review
Even when the economy is strong, the health care industry often struggles, at least in part because of the mistaken belief that profits can be sacrificed in the quest to provide adequate quality health care. Find out more. Read this review.

Value Rx for Healthcare: How to Make the Most of Your Organization's Assets and Relationships - summ
Not enough time to read the latest books? Enjoy these three reviews and catch up on the industry buzz.

Value Rx for Healthcare: How to Make the Most of Your Organization's Assets and Relationships
Enjoy this complete review of Value Rx for Healthcare: How to Make the Most of Your Organization's Assets and Relationships.

Health Benefit Cost Slows for a Third Year, Rising just 6.1% in 2005
When annual health benefit cost increases peaked three years ago at nearly 15%, employers responded with an unprecedented flurry of plan redesign.

HighRoads Announces $8 Million in Series-B Financing
Round Reflects Market Imperative for Solutions and Services that Lower Employee Health & Welfare Costs

Cardiac Arrest in the Workplace--- A Growing Concern
As the workforce ages and hours spent at the workplace increase, the likelihood of employers experiencing this event also increases. With the release of these new guidelines employers have an opportunity to update their CPR programs and create a safer workplace for their employees.