The Department of Health and Human Services has issued some new “frequently asked questions” for its Affordable Care Act pages, and new guidelines that require health plans to expand what they are required to cover with no cost-sharing. The new FAQ section expands the age group for which insurers must cover colonoscopies and adds some…
With many companies having decided to allow staff to work remotely permanently or split time between working at home and in the office, employers have to be especially careful about timekeeping and complying with wage and hour laws. That includes requiring staff to show they take meal and rest breaks and are compensated for overtime…
Medical-related identity theft accounted for 43% of all identity theft in the United States in 2020, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center. And the majority of documents criminals steal are the same ones your employees receive from their group health insurers. If an employee becomes a victim of medical identity theft it can take…
As rising health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs for health care are burdening workers, more employers are looking for ways to help their staff put aside money for those expenses. While health savings accounts have grown in popularity, you can only offer them to employees who are enrolled in high-deductible health plans. Fortunately, there is…
It’s no secret that most employees do not fully understand all of their health insurance benefits, which can lead to worse health outcomes and them spending more money than they need to for some medical procedures. A recent survey of 226 executives by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services concluded that employees and employers could enjoy…
The latest trend in workplace safety best practices is tracking “leading indicators” ― or measuring performance based on the lessons learned from past events ― to reduce the chances of future injuries. Safety professionals are increasingly keeping track of near misses, hours spent on training and facility housekeeping and measuring the impact on the organization’s…
A new report has concluded that the Affordable Care Act, which took full effect in 2013, did not result in a significant change in the number of employers offering health insurance, although the rate at which small employers offered coverage declined slightly by 2.6 percentage points between 2013 and 2020. The study by the Urban…
One fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic has been an increase in the number of Americans who are working from home permanently. With so many people being freed from the yokes of the office, many have chosen to move to other states for a variety of lifestyle or cost reasons. But while these arrangements can be…
The way courts have interpreted a California law — the Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA), which has been on the books for 18 years — has led to an explosion of lawsuits against employers during the last few years. The law has generated more than 20,000 lawsuits against employers since 2017 at an average cost…
Legislators in Sacramento have fast-tracked new legislation that will extend paid COVID-19 leave benefits for workers in California. AB 84, which Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to sign, would require employers with 26 or more workers to provide up to 40 hours of supplemental paid sick leave for employees who are unable to work on…