Word on Benefits

Your Janus v. AFSCME Explainer

Guest Contributor

27 Jun 201827 Jun 2018

Update: The Supreme Court has issued its final decision on Janus v. AFSCME, ruling in a 5-4 decision that individuals who want to opt out of public-sector unions are no longer required to pay fair share fees. The Court stated that its […]

Employee Benefits

Trendy Employee Perks

Anne Patterson

25 Jun 201825 Jun 2018

Each month on Talking Benefits, I join the International Foundation’s three resident benefits nerdthusiasts Julie Stich, Kelli Kolsrud and Justin Held to discuss the top stories in retirement and health care, the latest benefits hot topics, and take a deeper dive into a […]

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

An Employee Turns 65: How Medicare Enrollment Impacts Their HSA

Anne Newhouse, CEBS

11 Jun 2018

Although health saving accounts (HSAs) have been available since 2003, for many plan sponsors new situations continue to arise. One of those situations could be having an employee turn 65. Now what happens? Medicare eligibility and enrollment seem simple but in reality […]

Employee Benefits Flexible Work Options Human Resources (HR)

5 Ways to Get Your Workplace Summer-Ready

Anne Patterson

07 Jun 201819 Jun 2019

Your neighbor’s pool is open, your summertime playlist is perfectly curated and ready to debut, and the weekends are filling up with weddings, BBQs and soccer games. However, with most of us soaking up indoor institutional lighting in lieu of real vitamin […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Prescription Drugs

No Magic Pill to Cure Specialty Drug Costs (But Some Preventive Measures)

Julie Stich, CEBS

05 Jun 201808 Aug 2018

Employers and plan sponsors scrutinize the cost of their health care benefit plans with a keen eye. One area that causes major eye twitch is specialty prescription drugs. As reported by AARP, the retail price of specialty drugs increased by almost 10% […]

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 […]

Behavioral Decision Making Communication Employee Benefits

Nudging Employees to Good Health Through Behavioral Economics

Staff

30 May 2018

We humans, despite our best intentions, often don’t make rational decisions when it comes to our own health. Just because we know what we should be doing—say taking a blood pressure medication daily or getting in 30 minutes of exercise most days […]

Employee Benefits Health Care Prescription Drugs Talking Benefits Podcast

The Costly and Complicated World of Specialty Drugs

Anne Patterson

25 May 201808 Aug 2018

Each month, the International Foundation’s three resident benefits nerdthusiasts Julie Stich, Kelli Kolsrud and Justin Held, meet to discuss the top stories in retirement and health care, the latest benefits hot topics, and take a deeper dive into a trending benefits topic. This […]

Employee Benefits Wellness

15 Technology Trends to Enhance Your Wellness Program

Robbie Hartman, CEBS

23 May 201823 Jan 2020

Employers want wellness programs that are robust yet cost-efficient, accessible yet secure, and the latest breakthroughs in digital technology can make these goals more easily achievable, writes Anna Mittag, vice president of operations at LifeSpeak, in “15 Technology Trends That Can Elevate […]