Wellness As a Means to the Ends

If you want a raise, then participate in your company Wellness program.

I am sure by now many HR professionals and even employees have heard about corporate wellness programs. In fact, the term "wellness" sometimes means something different to everyone. Our health insurance industry has been promoting wellness for years as a way to change unhealthy behaviors and save on claim dollars down the road.

For some organizations, this may simply mean putting in a fitness center at work or organizing a daily walk for the staff. More sophisticated programs involve handing out pedometers, having guest speakers for lunch and learns and completing Health Risk Assessments. Some companies go as far as hiring a company to do Biometric Screenings - like Blood pressure and cholesterol checks; others may alter your health insurance payroll deduction based on participation in the program or give extra monies to your H S A account.

Now a company called Lincoln Industries is taking wellness a step further - they are incorporating it into employee's annual reviews. Imagine if part of your annual bonus or merit increase were based on following a healthy lifestyle. Come to think of it, maybe that is not such a bad idea. According to Health care statistics at www.preventdisease.com 2006 study estimated that - "70% to 90% of health care costs are due to unhealthy choices and preventable risks"


Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.

Go Red for Women

The American Heart Association created 'Go Red for Women' to dispel the myths and raise awareness of heart disease as the number one killer in women.

Friday is National Wear Red Day and I urge everyone to wear something red.

Ladies - pull your red suits, dresses, skirts, and jackets out of your closet. This sends a powerful message to other women to take care of their heart health. Remember, we cannot take care of others, if we don't take care of ourselves.

Men - you may consider a red tie or sweater and support the women in your lives to send the same message.

To learn more about the Go Red for Women program, please visit:

www.goredforwomen.org
or
www.americanheart.org.


Lori DiBattista, Senior Account Manager Lori is licensed in Life and Health in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Florida. Lori is actively involved in the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and serves on United’s Advisory Council. Lori is also a long-time volunteer with the Special Olympics of Delaware and Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.

High Deductible Help

Health Care costs are increasing, the economy is not turning around quick enough - what are employers doing about health insurance ? Some are reducing benefits by putting in higher co-pays or large deductibles (some are doing both!). If there is substantial cost savings by doing this, a company may give back some of the savings by "funding" all or part of the large deductible in an H S A (health savings account) or an HRA (health reimbursement arrangement). Another option is to offer a voluntary set of benefits to employees designed to offset these larger potential expenses. Recently I was interviewed on this exact topic. Read more here.

Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.

Joe the Plumber Doesn’t Need to Wait Any Longer

Steve Blewitt has had an article published in National Healthcare Reform Magazine. The article sights some methods of controlling health insurance costs now.

Click here for the article.

Employers and Brokers Find Tips at a National Conference

About a week ago I attended a national conference that was geared towards brokers and consultants as well as HR professionals. Although the speakers and topics were different for each group there were some relevant points in this ever evolving world of health insurance that we live in.

*A survey by the National Business Group on Health on how employers will deal with health insurance increases: 63% plan to increase payroll deductions, 46% plan to downgrade benefits - 61% will offer a Consumer Driven Health Plan like an HSA or HRA in 2011.

*Many larger employers are looking into Dependent Eligibility Audits. This procedure identifies dependents that should no longer be covered on the plan (a divorced spouse, a cousin, an aged out child or custody arrangement) and their coverage is terminated - saving the employer money.

*Under health care reform penalties now exist when employers discriminate with benefits for highly compensated employees. Giving these employees a separate richer benefit or paying more towards premiums could result in fines of $100 per day per individual discriminated against. In fact the public is invited to comment on this up until November 4th. use this e-mail address Notice.Comments@irscounsel.treas.gov. Include “Notice 2010-63” in the subject line.

*Experts suggested that employers increase waiting periods to at least 90 days for new hires, disclose the full cost of insurance premiums to employees, implement a Section 125 FSA plan and consider self funding health insurance with a third party administrator.

*Small employers should explore the small business tax credit that is a part of health care reform. In general the credit is available to small employers, less than 25 employees and pay at least half the cost of single coverage for their employees in 2010. Because the eligibility rules are based in part on the number of FTEs, not the number of employees, businesses that use part-time help may qualify even if they employ more than 25 individuals.

*Health care reform allows children to stay on their parents plan up to age 26. This does NOT mean they are still considered dependents for tax reasons. perhaps they are 25 and married and live on their own - yet they are still on mom and dad's health plan. If so be careful if you participate in an H S A or FSA - you most likely cannot use these tax free funds on these "children" (are they really still children??) since they are no longer considered a "dependent".

Hopefully some of these strategies may benefit you and your business.

Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.

W-2 Health Costs Reporting is Optional

The IRS announced last week that it will defer the new requirement under Health Care Reform set to take place in 2011 that employers must report on W-2s the cost of health care coverage. The Treasury Dept and the IRS feel it is necessary to provide employers the time needed to make changes to payroll systems and internal procedures. Guidance from the IRS will be forthcoming. For 2001 the reporting of costs on w-2s is optional and a draft of that form exists for those employers wishing to do so. It can be found here: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/draft_w-2.pdf

Steve Blewitt, GBA Vice President of IFS Benefits Steve is licensed in Life and Health in many states. Steve is actively involved in the National Association of Health Underwriters, National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Delaware Society of Human Resource Management, Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware, Delaware Contractors Association, Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, and New Castle County Chamber of Commerce.

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