Dependent Health Care Audits Become a Hot Topic
August 18, 2008 - Workforce Management
A growing number of employers have launched dependent health care audits as a relatively painless effort to reduce health care costs. General Motors Corp. announced last week that it was auditing its 80,700 hourly workers and 345,000 retirees in an effort to reduce more than $4.6 billion it spent on health care last year. This follows a just-completed audit of its 36,600 salaried workers and 97,400 retirees. Dependent audits are "very much a hot topic", said Mark Rucci, a Princeton, New Jersey-based consultant with Gallagher Benefit Services Inc. "The employers are at least discussing it. If they're not doing one now, many of them are planning to do it within the next couple of months."
Business Week Examines Practice of Balance Billing by Medical Providers
September 2, 2008 - Kaiser Family Foundation
Business Week on Thursday examined how millions of confused consumers are being asked by hospitals to pay the remaining balances of medical bills not covered by their insurers, even though the practice, called balance billing, often is illegal. Balance billing can occur when medical providers participating in a managed care network believe the plan's insurer is imposing too deep a discount on medical bills or is taking too long to pay and demands the balance from the patient, according to Business Week.
Companies Offering On-Site Health Care
September 3, 2008 - The Philadelphia Inquirer
While many manufacturers historically had doctors or nurses around to treat injuries or give drug tests, the Cardone center follows a new template that offers work-site primary care plus preventive services such as vaccines, health screening, and weight-loss counseling.Employers see the centers as an attractive perk for employees, but also a way to increase worker productivity and hold down health costs by treating problems early and efficiently.
