Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS, Author at Word on Benefits

Opioid Crisis and the Workforce: A Firsthand Perspective

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

05 Sep 201821 Jan 2019

The opioid crisis has far-reaching impacts in both the United States and Canada, including the workforce. John S. Gaal, Ed.D., director of training for St. Louis-Kansas City Carpenters Regional Council, saw firsthand the impact opioid abuse has had on the construction industry […]

Defined Benefit (DB) Plans Defined Contribution (DC) Plans Employee Benefits Investments

What Plan Sponsors Need to Know About SRI Investing

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

09 Aug 201809 Aug 2018

Could offering sustainable, responsible and impact (SRI) investment options in your retirement plan be an employee recruitment and retention tool? Quite possibly, according to recent research. A 2017 survey by Nuveen showed that 57% of respondents (94% of Millennials) would choose an […]

Employee Benefits Mental Health Opioid Abuse Prescription Drugs

4 Ways to Control Substance Abuse Treatment Costs

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

18 Jun 201820 Jun 2018

Treating opioid addiction has become a costly problem for health plans. Particularly troubling are reports of unethical treatment facilities that exploit patients, failing to deliver on their promises of recovery. Because many of these facilities are not in-network health care providers, they […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance

New Recipe for Health Care Purchasing Blends Savings and Quality

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

04 Jun 2018

What’s the best recipe for making sure your plan participants are receiving high-value health care? The old cookbook called for health plan sponsors to focus on getting the cheapest health care possible and using their leverage to convince providers to offer a […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance

Four Key Ingredients to High-Value Health Care

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

06 Apr 2018

Employee Benefits Health Care Wellness

Four Health Care Trends Straight From the Experts

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

03 Apr 201803 Apr 2018

I recently had the opportunity to talk with Zirui Song, M.D., Ph.D., and Jeffrey Levin-Scherz, M.D, M.B.A., F.A.C.P., faculty advisors for Evidence, Insight and Strategy for Optimizing Health Benefits, a new International Foundation educational program taught by Harvard Medical School faculty. We […]

Employee Benefits Investments

Four Questions to Evaluate Your Investment Manager Relationship

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

14 Feb 201814 Feb 2018

Roses are red, violets are blue, is it time to bid your fund’s investment manager adieu? With Valentine’s Day upon us, you may be thinking about relationships. And an employee benefit fund’s relationship with its investment manager is an important one to […]

Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Employee Benefits Health Care Mental Health Opioid Abuse Prescription Drugs

When Opioid Addiction Shows Up at Work

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

02 Feb 201822 Sep 2020

When his teenaged daughter came home with an opioid prescription after having her wisdom teeth removed, Randall Kratz challenged her doctor. Kratz, senior account manager for FEI Behavioral Health in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had worked as a substance abuse counselor and knew about […]

Employee Benefits Global Benefits Health Care

Global Health Plan Risks Following Domestic Trends

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

19 Dec 2017

High blood pressure. Obesity. Lack of exercise. Many of the same risk factors that drive up health care costs in the United States are pushing up medical costs around the world, presenting challenges to global employers. In his article “Managing Medical Plans […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Insurance Opioid Abuse Prescription Drugs

Opioid Epidemic: The Role of Workplace Injuries

Kathy Bergstrom, CEBS

21 Nov 201721 Jan 2019

Private employers reported 2.9 million nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2016, and it’s likely that some of those employees received prescriptions for an opioid to manage their pain. In fact, research shows that workers’ compensation insurers spend about $1.54 billion annually […]