Swine Influenza (Flu)
April 28, 2009 - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
There is a lot of talk about the Swine Flu outbreak. Help your employees sort out fact from fiction by sharing resources from the Centers for Disease Control. The CDC web site has daily updates on the outbreak, plus information on flu prevention and what to do if you get sick. The resources are available in English and Spanish, ready to download and print, or email to your staff.
Workers Making Greater Use of Health Benefits, Survey Shows
April 17, 2009 - Journal Sentinel
People are making greater use of their health benefits because of the risk of losing their job and health insurance in the economic downturn, according to a recent survey by the International Foundation of Employee Benefits Plan.
14th Annual National Business Group on Health/Watson Wyatt Employer Survey on Purchasing Value in Health Care
April , 2009 - Watson Wyatt
While some companies are making short-term moves to increase employee cost sharing, a group of best-performing employers are achieving success by keeping their health care cost trend almost flat over a two-year period. In addition, another group of companies is building an even longer track record of consistently low health care cost increases. Their keys to effective cost management lie primarily in five areas: appropriate financial incentives, effective information delivery, quality care, metrics and evidence, and maximizing health and productivity.
Reminder: Illinois Dependent Coverage Law Effective beginning June 1, 2009
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
All individual and group health insurance and HMO contracts must abide by the provisions of Public Act 95-0958, a new Illinois law (215 ILCS 356z. 12) that gives parents with insurance policies that cover dependents the right to elect coverage for qualifying dependents up to age 26, and up to age 30 for military veteran dependents. The law does not apply to: individual or group health insurance policies or HMO contracts that do not include dependent coverage, self-insured, non-public employers, self-insured health and welfare plans, such as union plans. Insurance policies or trust issued in other states. Here are the basic fact about the new law:HB5285-Dependent Coverage_12-17-08.pdf
