Most employers considering opening an onsite health clinic focus on how it will benefit the physical health of their workforce. And, for good reason. Providing onsite primary care, health screenings, risk assessments and other educational programs can dramatically increase employee wellness and significantly reduce employer healthcare costs. But, employers should also think about their worker’s mental health, [...]
Friday, September 25, 2009
Are rising employer health care costs leaving your company cash-strapped? Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School might find that ironic. Because their studies have shown that the best incentive for changing unhealthy employee behavior is, well, cash. “We know that people in the short term have a lot of trouble changing their behavior in ways [...]
Thursday, September 24, 2009
When necessary, the care provided in an emergency room can be the difference between life and death. When it’s unnecessary, it can be the difference between profit and loss. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality recently published a report which estimated that treatment in an emergency room costs on average five times more than similar [...]
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
One of the main advantages of having an onsite health clinic is the reduction in employer health care costs can comes from an educated workforce. But, if your workforce includes a large immigrant population, you better make sure your clinic staff can communicate in their language. In fact, to ensure that Hispanic employees reap the full [...]
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
If you told municipal risk managers in Plano and Odessa that onsite health clinics would help them control health care costs, they’d tell you that you’re being way too modest. In Texas, they use them to lower costs. I found an article on the Business Insurance website, which really caught my eye. Basically, these two cities [...]
Monday, September 21, 2009
“A healthier workforce equals lower costs, better recruitment and increased retention,” says Edward Schwartz, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer of Cigna-Medical Services. We couldn’t agree more. In an effort to improve the health and wellness of its 800 employees, Cigna Healthcare in Scranton, Pennsylvania opened an onsite health clinic that offers a range of medical [...]
Friday, September 18, 2009
If you’re worried that your employees might not be interested in an onsite health clinic, consider what people are telling the Wall Street Journal. Most adults responding to a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care poll indicated that onsite health clinics located in retail chains might be more convenient and accessible, and offer some medical [...]
Thursday, September 17, 2009
As healthcare costs continue to rise, employers and employees alike are looking for ways to reduce them. Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and Health Reimbursement Arrangements (HRAs) are two increasingly popular approaches. Over the past decade, the average annual premium paid to cover an employee and his or her family has more than doubled. According to a [...]
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tackling the problem of exploding employer health care costs can be very humbling. Lowering the rate of increase is often the best you can hope for. In a 12 month forecast just released by Aon Consulting, employer health care costs are predicted to rise by 10.5% over the next year. Despite the fact that this projected increase [...]
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
First, the bad news: Employer health care costs are rising at twice the rate of inflation. Now, the good news: The rate of increase is much lower for employers offering health management programs to their employees. According to research done by Mercer (a leading human resource consulting firm), total health benefit costs rose by over 6% in [...]
Monday, September 28, 2009
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