Is your Company Prepared for the H1N1 Virus

The Harvard School of Public Health study released several weeks ago found that two out of three U.S. businesses are unprepared to deal with the effects of a flu pandemic, when employee absences can be a major disruption.

The Kineo Group’s Crisis Practice has created a H1N1 Readiness Check List that leverages its principals’ expertise from work at the American Red Cross and other global organizations to help leaders manage their workforce effectively.

• Don’t be taken off guard. Those companies with no crisis plan will be surprised by the extent of employee absences and other disruptions, forcing them to be reactive and accept higher losses;
• Review your existing plan, if you have one. Firms with existing crisis communications plans should review and update their plans for H1N1 flu, referencing the latest government guidance, including visiting www.flu.gov. This effort should start immediately and be reviewed monthly;
• Develop a plan now if you don’t. Organizations without existing crisis plans should immediately formulate a basic H1N1 response plan relying heavily upon published guidance from government agencies and medical associations;
• Form an assessment team. Firms should form a team to quickly assess those recommendations, identify issues unique to their industry and develop an action plan;
• Communicate regularly. All companies should communicate regularly to key stakeholders, particularly employees, about what the company is doing, and provide them clear information on what they need to do to sustain the enterprise.
• H1N1  douments:  H1N1 Legislative Brief, H1N1 Employee Awareness Poster, H1N1 Flu Vaccine Poster. For more detailed flu pandemic planning guides please contact me at jsbradley@chhins.com or 631-329-7268.

Swine Flu Employee Education

Below are links to a variety of swine flu educational resources that will help you stay on top of the situation. They include:

• General information about swine flu from the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC is updating this page several times a day.
• Information about workplace planning for a pandemic such as swine flu from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and OSHA.
• Additionally, we encourage you to contact your state and local health departments for additional guidance on this topic.

The CDC has offered recommendations for everyday actions people can take to protect themselves from this new strain of flu.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
  • If you get sick, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

On October 3, 2008, as part if the economic bail out bill, President Bush signed into law the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 – Amends the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), the Public Health Service Act, and the Internal Revenue Code to require a group health plan that provides both medical and surgical benefits and mental health or substance use disorder benefits to ensure that: (1) the financial requirements, such as deductibles and copayments, applicable to such mental health or substance use disorder benefits are no more restrictive than the predominant financial requirements applied to substantially all medical and surgical benefits covered by the plan; (2) there are no separate cost sharing requirements that are applicable only with respect to mental health or substance use disorder benefits; (3) the treatment limitations applicable to such mental health or substance use disorder benefits are no more restrictive than the predominant treatment limitations applied to substantially all medical and surgical benefits covered by the plan; and (4) there are no separate treatment limitations that are applicable only with respect to mental health or substance use disorder benefits.

Requires the criteria for medical necessity determinations and the reason for any denial of reimbursement or payment for services made under the plan with respect to mental health or substance use disorder benefits to be made available by the plan administrator.

Requires the plan to provide out-of network coverage for mental health or substance use disorder benefits if the plan provides coverage for medical or surgical benefits provided by out-of network providers.

Exempts from the requirements of this Act a group health plan if the application of this Act results in an increase for the plan year of the actual total costs of coverage with respect to medical and surgical benefits and mental health and substance use disorder benefits by an amount that exceeds 2% for the first plan year and 1% for each subsequent plan year. Requires determinations as to increases in actual costs under a plan to be made and certified by a qualified and licensed actuary.

Summary of Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008

 

Wellness Programs in Health Coverage in the Group Market

The attached document below contains final rules governing the provisions prohibiting discrimination based on a health factor for group health plans and issuers of health insurance coverage offered in connection with a group health plan.

 

These final regulations apply for plan years beginning on or after July 1, 2007.

 Final Regs 

 

 

Hewitt Data Reveals Little Change in U.S. Health Care Cost Increases for 2009

This Hewitt report indicates that the average health plan increases across the U.S will average between 6%-7% for 2009 with several exceptions for metropolitan areas that experienced increases as high 11%.  

 

Jim Winkler, North American practice leader of Hewitt’s Health Management Consulting business states “The “Employers continue to diligently manage health care costs through a combination of approaches, including continued cost shifting, tougher negotiations with health plans, and expanded health and wellness programs with incentives to encourage behavior change.

 

Read more

Expediting Employee Behavior Change by Implementing the Right Incentives

Bill Simms sits down with Wellness Council of America’s President, Dr. David Hunnicutt, to discuss what works best when it comes to developing and implementing employee incentive based wellness campaigns.   This interview discusses the importance of financial incentives in building employee participation.   

 

Click here to read the interview

Can your wellness program pass the test?

 

What types of health promotion or disease prevention programs offered by a group health plan must comply with the Department’s final wellness program regulations and how does a plan determine whether such a program is in compliance with the regulations?

 

Click here to take the test

Taking Stock of Wellness Programs

Kathryn Fitch and Bruce Pyenson of the Milliman Group author an article “Taking Stock of Wellness Programs” that encourages employers to go back to the basics of evaluating health and wellness programs.  They describe how many employers offer wellness programs and they look at the utility of ROI and wellness programs. 

 

This is a must read for all that currently have and or developing a wellness program.

 

“Taking Stock of Wellness Programs”  

 

 I discovered this article on the “,  ”The Friday Wellness Wrap Up”  by Fiona Gathright, the President of  Corporate Wellness Solutions.

Can Health Plan Enrollment be Contingent on Completion of Health Risk Assessment (HRA)?

An Employer can require that its employees complete a HRA or participate in a qualified wellness program as a condition to enroll in the employer’s group health plan.  These employer requirements do not violate HIPAA nondiscrimination provision because enrollment is not conditioned on the employee’s health status or on attaining specific health outcomes.

 

Programs that comply with HIPAA, such programs are those under which none of the conditions for obtaining a reward is based on an individual satisfying a standard related to a health factor or under which no reward is offered.  These are       

·    A program that encourages preventive care through the wavier of the copayment or deductible requirement under a group health plan

·    A diagnostic testing program that provides a reward for participation and does not base any part of the reward on outcomes

·    A program that reimburses all or part of the costs for membership in a fitness center

·    A program that reimburses employees for the costs of smoking cessation programs without regard to whether the employee quits

·    A program that provides a reward to employees for attending a monthly education seminar

·    a program that reimburses employees for the costs of smoking cessation programs without regard to whether the employee quits smoking; and

·    a program that provides a reward to employees for attending a monthly health education seminar.

 

IRS Reg. §54.9802-1(f)(1).

 

Raising Healthcare Costs no Longer Employers No. 1 Concern

According to a most recent Deloitte & Touche and International Society of Certified Employee Benefits Specialists survey “a shortage of skilled and talented workers has become the most pressing concern among employers, supplanting the perennial leading problem, raising healthcare costs.”

 

Given this information how are you managing your human capital to maximize the health and productivity of your talented workforce. 

 

Click here