Study: Firms Want Workers to Be Health Care Consumers
As employer health care cost increases have begun to stabilize, more companies are focused on engaging employees to become better consumers of health care, according to a Watson Wyatt/National Business Group on Health annual survey published Thursday, March 15.
Overall health care costs grew by 8 percent in 2006 and are expected to remain at that level in 2007 and 2008, representing sharp declines since 2002, when costs grew by 14.7 percent.
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Health Care Consumers.
The Fundamentals of Health Promotion Incentives
Employer interest in consumer driven healthcare is accelerating. Shifting more responsibility to employees entails changing a number of well-entrenched assumptions, values and practices related to the way sick care is viewed and utilized. One such shift is getting employees to focus more on maintaining and improving their health rather than on seeking treatment once they are sick.
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Good Health Pays Off!
Job-Based CDHPs On The Rise
More employers are offering consumer-driven health plans to workers, and evidence shows CDHPs are helping lower companies’ health care costs, according to research unveiled today by Watson Wyatt Worldwide and the National Business Group on Health during at a conference in Washington, D.C.
The percentage of large firms offering a CDHP increased from 33% last year to 38% this year. Five years ago, only a handful of companies offered such plans, according to Watson Wyatt and NBGH. Forty percent of employers now offer or plan to offer a health savings account, while 26% provide or plan to provide a health reimbursement arrangement, the survey of 573 large companies shows.
Article provided by BenefitNews 3-18-07
The 60-Minute Lunchtime Workout
Sherri, a busy 42-year-old paralegal from Newark, NJ, is not a morning person. And by the time she's done with work, the last place she wants to go is the gym; usually she's tired and just wants to go home.
If Sherri wants to fit in regular workouts, then, the only time that will work is lunchtime. But how do you do that without skimping on your fitness routine or taking too much time away from your desk?
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60 Minute Lunch Crunch
Spring Into Fresh-Air Fitness
It's almost spring, that time of year when we put our fleece-lined boots in storage, dust off the deck chairs and get re-acquainted with the great outdoors. Many of us also look forward to the "extra" hour of evening light that comes with the return of Daylight Saving Time.
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Fitness.
Employees In Pain Contribute To Presenteeism
The number of employees experiencing persistent, chronic pain is growing, and it may be costing employers. Eighteen percent of the U.S. full-time workforce reported experiencing chronic pain in 2006, up from 13% in 1996, reports a new
survey conducted by Harris Interactive, PriCara and the National Pain Foundation. What’s more, 89% of employees with chronic pain experienced it at work, and 65% of employers cited pain-related conditions as a cause of lost productivity in the workplace.
BenefitNews, March 6, 2007
Americans Value E-health Services
A majority of Americans say online tools helped them improve management of their health care, but most physicians have been slow to adopt electronic health services, according to new research.
One in three Americans say the Internet has changed the way they manage and maintain their health, and nearly 25% of Americans feel they are a healthier person today because of the Internet, a study from Illuminas finds. Sixty-two percent have used online health tools, while 56% reported an improvement in health management because of the Internet. When asked what sources they were likely to get their health information from, 62% of patients said their physician, 44% cited medical Web sites and 32% said online research.
However, 62% of Americans said their doctor has not offered any online tools, such as emails to patients, scheduling appointments online or a Web site with the doctor’s credentials. Only 27% of Americans say their physician has fully embraced the Internet to deliver health information and services.
Benefit News - March 6, 2007
Caring For Dear Old Dad Gets A Little Easier
Freddie Mac started offering backup child care to its employees in December 2001 to keep them at work and happy. This December, responding to changing demographics in its workforce, it extended that benefit to let employees care for their elderly relatives.
"It's an enormous drain on productivity" when employees are faced with taking care of elderly relatives, said Randall Abbott, a senior consultant with Watson Wyatt Worldwide. "It creates a real challenge on their ability to be at work, stay at work and focus on work."
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Caring for the Elderly.
Firms Don't Track Short-Term Disability Costs
Many employers are unaware of their short-term disability benefit costs, and employees don’t realize the value of the benefit, according to a new survey from the International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists.
Companies often handle disability through payroll, and 41% of employers don’t know what they spend on short-term disability benefits as a percentage of payroll.
“Given that studies have shown 30% of employees will become disabled for at least 90 days at least once during their working career, we find it surprising that most employers are unaware of how much they spend on their short-term disability benefits,” says Leanne Fosbre, vice president of ICEBS and manager of group insurance administration for Madison, New Jersey-based Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
Fifty-three percent of firms that do know what they’re spending say they dedicate 0-5% of payroll to short-term disability benefits. A whopping 86% of companies offer a non-contributory disability benefit, while the remaining 14% that require employee contributions indicate that it hampers enrollment.
Employees ranked health benefits, 401(k)s, paid time off and pensions as more valuable to them than disability benefits.
Article provided by BenefitNews 3-1-07
Online Tool Helps With Drug Choices
Patients are 58% more likely to switch to a lower-cost prescription drug when assisted by an online tool that allows them to compare prices, a new study from pharmacy benefit manager Medco reveals.
Medco unveiled its online tool, Savings Advisor, in March 2006 and studied the usage habits of more than 55,000 patients for 180 days. Half of the patients used the tool, and the other half did not. The study concluded that those who used the tool were more likely to change their prescriptions to cheaper alternatives, compared to the control group.
On average, patients switching to a lower-cost alternative saved $171 annually per drug on their out-of-pocket expenses. Employers also are likely to reap big savings when their workers use lower-cost drugs.
Information provided by Benefitnews 3-1-07
