Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS, Author at Word on Benefits

Responding to the COVID-19 Environment: Nine Actions for Health Plan Sponsors

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

05 Nov 202003 Nov 2020

The changes to the health care system brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic are creating a new set of risks and opportunities for health care purchasers and plan sponsors, some of which are not yet fully known. In their article “Charting a […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Multiemployer U.S.

Five Steps for Moving to Paperless Benefit Fund Administration

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

21 Oct 202019 Oct 2020

The COVID-19 global pandemic has added urgency to the case for paperless employee benefit fund administration. In her article “A Virus Makes Paperless Fund Administration Go Viral” in the September issue of Benefits Magazine, Jenny Morgan discusses the advantages and considerations involved […]

Communication Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Health Care U.S.

Communication Is Key to Open Enrollment During COVID-19

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

01 Oct 202030 Sep 2020

This year’s annual benefits enrollment process presents new challenges for benefits professionals as they find themselves in the middle of a pandemic with workers nervous about their financial security as well as their health and safety. In her article “Communication Is Key […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits U.S. Work Life Balance

Back to School . . . Virtually—Helping Employees-Turned-Teachers

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

02 Sep 202003 Nov 2020

At the end of a typical summer, many parents of school-aged children would be breathing a sigh of relief, knowing the struggle to keep kids busy and to cobble together child-care arrangements during the summer is over because their kids are back […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Financial Education Financial Education (U.S.) Financial Wellness U.S.

COVID-19 Highlights the Need for Workplace Emergency Savings Programs

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

20 Aug 202017 Feb 2023

About 31% of people in the United States have faced negative economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent report from the Commonwealth Fund. Those economic effects include being unable to pay for basic necessities like food, heat or rent, […]

Canada Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Mental Health U.S.

COVID-19’s Impact on Employee Mental Health Continues

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

21 Jul 202021 Jul 2020

Forced isolation. Trauma caused by loss of life, jobs and normal routines. Uncertainty about the future, not to mention anxiety about becoming infected with the virus. These are just a few of the ways the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Health Care

Next Steps for Health Plans During and After COVID-19

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

04 Jun 202003 Jun 2020

Unless they had multiple members who contracted COVID-19, many health plans may have experienced a temporary reprieve from rising health care costs as plan participants delayed care while the country was shut down. But any decline is likely temporary, explained the Mayo […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Health Care

Interest in Telemedicine Has Exploded During COVID-19: Here’s How It Works

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

19 May 202002 Nov 2020

Telemedicine benefits have garnered increased attention during the COVID-19 pandemic as people look for ways to avoid going to the doctor or simply can’t get an appointment with their primary care provider. A new International Foundation report Employee Benefits in a COVID-19 […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Multiemployer

Tips for Virtual Trust Meetings

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

20 Apr 202018 Apr 2020

As multiemployer benefit plan boards of trustees adjust to a new way of operating during the coronavirus pandemic, many are using videoconferencing tools to conduct virtual trust meetings. Martha Henrickson, CEBS, labor relations director for Management Guidance LLP in Saint Paul, Minnesota, […]

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Employee Benefits Multiemployer

COVID-19: Emerging Collection Issues for Multiemployer Plans

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

08 Apr 202013 Apr 2020

One of the issues that multiemployer benefit funds must be concerned with is how the spread of COVID-19 may affect the ability of signatory employers to contribute to pension and health and welfare funds. Multiemployer benefit plan trustees must fulfill their fiduciary […]