As in all other businesses, IT is bringing great changes to the area of medical record keeping.... (Continue reading)
Recently, Judge Roger Vinson of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA,” known by its opponents as “Obamacare,” but arguably much more appropriately named “Americare”) unconstitutional. Vinson stated... (Continue reading)
A survey found: (1) "a dramatic increase in the number of organizations that offer benefits to part-time employees": and (2) an increase in those offering part time employment. ... (Continue reading)
A concession by a major health insurance trade group seems to be good news on the road to implementing badly-needed healthcare reforms and controlling health insurance costs. And that’s good news for employers — and everyone else. Health Insurance Cost... (Continue reading)
A federal subsidy of continued health coverage under COBRA is one of the main “ease-the-pain” provisions of the Stimulus Act enacted Tuesday, February 17, 2009 (the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009). This provision is intended to keep... (Continue reading)
Mental Health Parity Act: One of the “Sweeteners” Added to the Wall Street Bailout Bill Thanks to the mess on Wall Street, over a third of Americans will have better health insurance coverage for mental illness and addiction treatments beginning... (Continue reading)
Two New York Times items today create a useful, if discouraging, overview of the way the American reliance on employers to provide health and pension benefits hurts our economy (and health). One explores how collectively-bargained benefit commitments hampered GM... (Continue reading)
Score that employees 2, employers 2. High Court rules: disability retirement program did not discriminate on age; employer has burden of proving reasonable factor other than age in age discrimination disparate impact cases; insurer conflict of interest is factor... (Continue reading)
"Laws are like sausages. It's better not to see them being made." Otto von Bismarck This quote came to mind as my fatigued late-night-blogging mind struggled through last week's Supreme Court decision in LaRue v. DeWolff, Boberg & Assoc.,... (Continue reading)
An effort to summarize 2008 workplace trend forecasts from a number of sources and assemble them in one place for quick comparison, followed by a few humble thoughts of my own. ... (Continue reading)
In my humble opinion, the health insurance crisis in the U.S. has many causes, and the “solution” is a puzzle with many pieces. I am extremely leery of solutions that merely shift costs (such as to a single government payer),... (Continue reading)
The subject of this post was suggested by Granite Solutions Groupe, a recruiting firm specializing in senior-level managers, analysts, and IT contractors in the financial services and high-tech industries. As demand for highly qualified financial services and IT workers continues... (Continue reading)
Some things to consider in looking for savings. The rising cost of healthcare and unaffordability of health insurance is, of course, a national problem. But with our employer-provided insurance model, it is above all a crisis for employers seeking to... (Continue reading)
Between problems with the social security fund, and the demise of the defined retirement benefit programs, there has been a great deal of discussion lately about retirement and whether people will be able to afford to retire. Now, comes this... (Continue reading)
Under FMLA (Family and Medical Leave Act), if you are an “eligible” employee, you are entitled to as much as 12 weeks of leave for certain family and medical reasons during a 12-month period. Question: How is the 12-month period... (Continue reading)
Last week, at a St. Louis bloggers’ lunch, Dennis Kennedy and I were joking about all our uncompleted posts, and all my Part I’s that never got Part II’s. Back in November 2005, when I wrote Wal-Mart in the News... (Continue reading)
Sometimes I note a flurry of articles on related topics, which may point towards important trends. The other day I was hurrying through a mass of headlines, looking for good stuff to post on the “Recent Reading” page, when I... (Continue reading)
Hopefully, this week’s update brings a little something for everyone, starting with this delightful winter photo entitled “A Snow Angel.” This great pic attracted many comments on flickr, including: “It brings me right back to being a small child bundled... (Continue reading)
I’m not gaining anything by pitching this book — and at a hefty $495 it’s clearly “value-priced” based on the notion that it promises business hundreds of times that sum in the cost of providing health insurance to employees. But... (Continue reading)
Recently there has been a fascinating string of Wal-Mart news, much of it employment-related. I’m not just gratuitously piling on the beat-up-Wal-Mart heap here. Wal-Mart is important — and bears watching — for a number of reasons. First, Wal-Mart Stores,... (Continue reading)
I’ve been so busy switching to the new format and keeping up with the “Our Recent Reading” page that I’ve neglected to do this update for over a month. (New readers: I had been doing it weekly, publishing on Monday,... (Continue reading)
Success of consumer-driven health plans, such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) depends on consumers’ willingness and ability, when their own money is on the line, to “research more about the cost, quality and the underlying necessity of the health care... (Continue reading)