As many as 9 million surprise medical bills have been prevented since January 2022 due to the impact of the No Surprises Act, according to a new report. This is the first data that indicates the law, aimed at eliminating surprise medical billing for insured patients getting emergency treatment, is working. The number of claims…
As the holiday season nears, your business will have new safety considerations to confront. From holiday parties and risk of electrical shock to fires and trips and falls, companies have a set of safety and risk management challenges that may not be present during most of the year. Decorations present their own set of safety…
Inflation, an aging workforce and people catching up on care they skipped during the COVID-19 pandemic are some of the main ingredients that will drive the cost of group health benefits over the coming years. The key for employers grappling with these higher costs is how they can reduce their impact by switching up plan…
A recent study has found that injured workers are often left feeling frustrated and fending for themselves after they file a workers’ compensation claim. The survey of injured workers by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada found that workers reacted in a number of ways when experiencing “procedural” unfairness, frustration in how…
The IRS has released the 2023 maximum contribution amounts for health savings accounts and flexible spending accounts. You’ll want to make note of the changes when discussing your employee benefits during annual open enrollment. The changes, which the IRS releases in November each year, will affect contribution limits for HSAs, FSAs and 401(k) and other…
Commercial insurance companies are raising rates in most of their lines to account for increasing claims as well as the cost of claims, but another factor is forcing them to increase their rates further: reinsurance. When insurance companies underwrite policies, they will often not retain all of the risk. They will purchase reinsurance, which kicks…
Despite the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau recommending that benchmark rates in California be increased in the last two years, the rates that insurance companies are charging for coverage continue falling. But the party may soon be coming to an end, according to a new report. The California Department of Insurance in fact rejected the…
One of the most difficult aspects of annual open enrollment is reaching workers who are disengaged from the process and never bother signing up for your group health plan and other benefits they could take advantage of. While employers shoot for maximum employee enrollment, there are always those employees who for a multitude of reasons…
A new law will require almost all contractors in California to carry workers’ compensation coverage, regardless of if they have employees or not. According to the author of the bill, State Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, the new law was necessary due to the tendency of many small contractors to claim they have no employees, when…
By now you will know about the rapid uptake in telemedicine after the COVID-19 pandemic drove patients to use virtual appointments with their doctors. While this form of medicine seems like it’s here to stay, there are other technologies that employers can look to include in their group health plans to help employees get the…