Skip to main content

SEARCH

Showing 638 results found

Community Wellness: A Lesson in Social Distancing

Viewpoints from Claire Letourneau Let me tell you what keeps me up at night. I’m a risk-averse person by nature, so when the officials said to stay home, I surely did. I only went out for food and to walk my four-legged fur baby. When I did venture into public, I was thrilled to see the measures Trader Joe’s had taken to keep everyone safe! They were only letting 10 people in at a time and we had the full length of a disinfected shopping cart between us as we waited in line outside! It was …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/community-wellness-a-lesson-in-social-distancing/

Flight to Quality

For more of our coronavirus coverage, visit epicbrokers.com/coronavirus  Viewpoints from Adam Okun On March 23, 2010, when the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, I remember my initial sense of resignation. There was so much uncertainty as to what its impact would be on our industry. Putting aside the broader social debate over whether the law would be beneficial for the country (hint: it varied based upon your economic and employment position), as a young actuarial healthcare consultant, I was looking at the 30-year+ career ahead of me and wondering if this would change everything – perhaps …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/flight-to-quality/

2021 Healthcare Cost Trends Are Rising

The EPIC actuarial team and many others have projected 2020 employer-based medical cost trends to be relatively unscathed by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we highlighted the potential bounce-back of costs due to deferred medical care. While we haven’t been as specific with 2021, trends are starting to emerge. For more of our coronavirus coverage, visit epicbrokers.com/coronavirus  Viewpoints from Craig Hasday A recent PwC report expects costs to rise by 4% to 10% in 2021, a sharp increase from recent years. The survey points to mental health utilization and specialty drugs as two big drivers …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/2021-healthcare-cost-trends-are-rising/

The Truth About Weight: Why Weight-Based Health Programs Can Cause More Harm Than Good

Viewpoints from Craig Schmidt Wellness programs, challenges and social media influencers focus on weight as if it’s a true indicator of health. Hate to break it to you (and them) – it’s not. Health is more than a number on a scale, it’s a way of life that should be as diverse in its evaluation and outlook as people are. Let’s quickly define health; according to the World Health Organization (WHO) health is the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing – not merely the absence of disease. I don’t see weight in there, do you …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/the-truth-about-weight-why-weight-based-health-programs-can-cause-more-harm-than-good/

Healthcare Is at the Crossroads Again

Viewpoints from Craig Hasday In a largely symbolic effort, House Democrats introduced a bill to modify healthcare laws. It’s too bad this one has no chance – some of the changes look pretty good and what we might get after the election power shift could end up much worse. The bill expands and protects Medicaid and reduces or eliminates premiums for the lowest earners and most vulnerable populations. It also clears up a technical error in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that eliminated subsidies for spouses and children in the event the employee is eligible for employer-sponsored coverage (despite …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/healthcare-is-at-the-crossroads-again/

Traditional Insurance Carriers Are Reimagining Healthcare – They Have To

For more of our coronavirus coverage, visit epicbrokers.com/coronavirus  Viewpoints from Craig Hasday Blue Shield of California has introduced a new program, called “Health Reimagined.” Their press release indicates that “they couldn’t just incrementally improve on a system that’s fundamentally dysfunctional.” Trying to address the needs of increasingly stressed providers, and patients who continually complain about healthcare costs and frustrations with the system, Blue Shield of California is experimenting with a clinic model. It’s no surprise that this initiative is based in California, the operational base of Kaiser Permanente, one of the most successful HMOs ever …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/traditional-insurance-carriers-are-reimagining-healthcare-they-have-to/

Cost Modeling Projections

Introduction The cost impact to the U.S. healthcare system by the COVID-19 pandemic has been estimated by reputable studies in a range of 6%-15% of U.S. healthcare spend in 2020. These studies are of special interest to self-insured employers, health plans, and reinsurers for pricing and planning purposes. An important feature of these models is that they do not attempt to quantify the behavioral changes of beneficiaries who are unable or unwilling to seek care during times of social distancing and hospital resource scarcity. EPIC calculates that in 2020, COVID costs for the U.S …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/cost-modeling-projections/

Reactive vs. Proactive Benefits - Don’t Get Caught in the Trap

… some things have not changed. Like the need to be strategic in planning for your employee benefits program. I was reminded of this in a recent 2021 strategic planning meeting with a new client who mentioned they’d never had a discussion like this before. That comment explained why their benefits plans were so dysfunctional; too expensive, poorly communicated, ineffective, and out of compliance. Does this sound like your program? It’s a simple concept – most employee benefit plans react, rather than plan. Medical rate increase? Reduce benefits or find a new carrier. Salesperson calls with a new product offering …

https://www.epicbrokers.com/insights/reactive-vs-proactive-benefits-dont-get-caught-in-the-trap/