North Carolina employers increasingly want their workers to prove they are actually getting healthier to receive a health insurance financial benefit, not just participating in a wellness program to check a box. According to the latest N.C. Healthcare Benefits and Cost survey, published by consultants Hill, Chesson & Woody, nearly 40 percent of North Carolina employers have implemented a wellness program, and 27 percent of employers are incentivizing their employees financially for participating…
Reported by bizjournals 22 hours ago.
Simply participating in wellness programs may not be enough for employers anymore
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The Urban Institute's Attack On Single Payer: Ridiculous Assumptions Yield Ridiculous Estimates
The Urban Institute and the Tax Policy Center today released analyses of the costs of Sen. Bernie Sanders' domestic policy proposals, including single-payer national health insurance. They claim that Sanders' proposals would raise the federal deficit by $18 trillion over the next decade.
We won't address all of the issues covered in these analyses, just single-payer Medicare for all. To put it bluntly, the estimates (which were prepared by John Holahan and colleagues) are ridiculous. They project outlandish increases in the utilization of medical care, ignore vast savings under single-payer reform, and ignore the extensive and well-documented experience with single-payer systems in other nations - which all spend far less per person on health care than we do.
The authors' anti-single-payer bias is also evident from their incredible claims that physicians' incomes would be squeezed (which contradicts their own estimates positing a sharp rise in spending on physician services), and that patients would suffer huge disruptions, despite the fact that the implementation of single-payer systems elsewhere, as well as the start-up of Medicare, were disruption-free.
We outline below some of the most glaring errors in the Holahan analysis (which served as the basis for Tax Policy Center's estimates) regarding health care spending under the Sanders plan.
*
1. Administrative savings, Part 1:* Holahan assumes that insurance overhead would be reduced to 6 percent of total health spending from the current level of 9.5 percent. They base this 6 percent estimate on figures for Medicare's current overhead, which include the extraordinarily high overhead costs of private Medicare HMOs run by UnitedHealthcare and other insurance firms. However, Sen. Sanders' proposal would exclude these for-profit insurers, and instead build on the traditional Medicare program, whose overhead is less than 3 percent. Moreover, even this 3 percent figure is probably too high, since Sanders' plan would simplify hospital payment by funding them through global budgets (similar to the way fire departments are paid), rather than the current patient-by-patient payments. Hence a more realistic estimate would assume that insurance overhead would drop to Canada's level of about 1.8 percent. Cutting insurance overhead to 2 percent (rather than the 6 percent that Holahan projects) would save an additional $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years.
*2. Administrative savings, Part 2:* Holahan completely ignores the huge savings on hospital administration and doctors' billing under a streamlined single-payer system. Every serious analyst of single-payer reform has acknowledged these savings, including the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office, the Lewin Group (a consulting firm owned by UnitedHealth Group), and even Kenneth Thorpe (a former Clinton administration official who has criticized Sanders' plan, although his recent estimates of savings are far lower than those he made prior to the current presidential campaign).
These provider savings on paperwork would, in fact, be much larger than the savings on insurance overhead. At present, U.S. hospitals spend one-quarter of their total budgets on billing and administration, more than twice as much as hospitals spend in single-payer systems like Canada's or Scotland's. Similarly, U.S. physicians, who must bill hundreds of different insurance plans with varying payment and coverage rules, spend two to three times as much as our Canadian colleagues on billing.
*Overall, these administrative savings for doctors and hospitals would amount to about $2.57 trillion over 10 years.* Additional savings of more than *$1.5 trillion* from streamlined billing and administration would accrue to nursing homes, home care agencies, ambulance companies, drug stores and other health care providers.
In total, the Holahan analysis underestimates administrative savings by about *$6 trillion over 10 years.*
*3. Drug costs:* Holahan projects that a single-payer plan would have to pay 50 percent higher drug costs than those paid at present by Medicaid. Moreover, their estimate assumes that the U.S. would continue to pay much higher prices for drugs than other nations, despite the fact that a U.S. single-payer system would have much greater negotiating leverage with drug companies than other national health insurance schemes.
Reducing drug prices to the levels currently paid by European nations *would save at least $1.1 trillion more than Holahan posits over 10 years. *
*
4. Utilization of care:* Holahan projects a massive increase in acute care utilization, but does not provide detailed breakdowns of how big an increase they foresee for specific services like doctor visits or hospital care. However, it is clear that the medical care system does not have the capacity to provide the huge surge in care that he posits.
For instance Holahan's figures for the increase in acute care suggest that Sanders' plan would result in more than 100 million additional doctor visits and several million more hospitalizations each year. But there just aren't enough doctors and hospital beds to deliver that much care. Doctors are already working 53 hours per week, and experience from past reforms tells us that they won't increase their hours, nor will they see many more patients per hour.
Instead of a huge surge in utilization, more realistic projections would assume that doctors and hospitals would reduce the amount of unnecessary care they're now delivering in order to deliver needed care to those who are currently not getting what they need. That's what happened in Canada. Doctors and hospitals can adjust care to meet increasing demand, as happens every year during flu season.
Moreover, no surge materialized when Medicare was implemented and millions of previously uninsured seniors got coverage. Between 1964 (before Medicare) and 1966 (the year when Medicare was fully functioning) there was absolutely no increase in the total number of doctor visit in the U.S.; Americans averaged 4.3 visits per person in 1964 and 4.3 visits per person in 1966. Instead, the number of visits by poor seniors went up, while the number of visits by healthy and wealthy patients went down slightly. The same thing happened in hospitals. There were no waiting lists, just a reduction in the utilization of unneeded elective care by wealthier patients, and the delivery of more care to sick people who needed it.
Bizarrely, despite projecting a roughly $1.6 trillion increase in total payments to doctors over 10 years, Holahan says in his discussion that "Physician incomes would be squeezed by the new payment rates."
*5. Holahan's argument that the Sanders plan would cause a huge disruption of health care:* This argument mirrors scare tactics used by Medicare's opponents in 1963. Back then, there were claims that doctors would boycott Medicare, and Wall Street Journal headlines warned of a "Patient Pileup," as "flocks of Medicare beneficiaries ... suddenly clog the nation's 7,200 hospitals." Nothing like that ever happened, nor did it happen when Taiwan implemented single payer more recently. And there's no reason to think it would happen here.
Moreover, surveys show that most doctors would welcome national health insurance, and thousands of doctors have recently issued a call (and detailed proposal) for single-payer reform in the American Journal of Public Health.
*In summary,* Holahan grossly underestimates the administrative savings under single payer; projects increases in the number of doctor visits and hospitalizations that far exceed the capacity of doctors and hospitals to provide this added care; and posits that our country would continue to pay much more for drugs and medical equipment than people in every other nation with national health insurance.
Rather than increasing national health spending, as Holahan claims, Sanders' plan (and the plan proposed by Physicians for a National Health Program) would almost certainly decrease total health spending over the next 10 years.
Drs. Himmelstein and Woolhandler are professors of health policy and management at the City University of New York School of Public Health and lecturers in medicine at Harvard Medical School. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those institutions'.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.
We won't address all of the issues covered in these analyses, just single-payer Medicare for all. To put it bluntly, the estimates (which were prepared by John Holahan and colleagues) are ridiculous. They project outlandish increases in the utilization of medical care, ignore vast savings under single-payer reform, and ignore the extensive and well-documented experience with single-payer systems in other nations - which all spend far less per person on health care than we do.
The authors' anti-single-payer bias is also evident from their incredible claims that physicians' incomes would be squeezed (which contradicts their own estimates positing a sharp rise in spending on physician services), and that patients would suffer huge disruptions, despite the fact that the implementation of single-payer systems elsewhere, as well as the start-up of Medicare, were disruption-free.
We outline below some of the most glaring errors in the Holahan analysis (which served as the basis for Tax Policy Center's estimates) regarding health care spending under the Sanders plan.
*
1. Administrative savings, Part 1:* Holahan assumes that insurance overhead would be reduced to 6 percent of total health spending from the current level of 9.5 percent. They base this 6 percent estimate on figures for Medicare's current overhead, which include the extraordinarily high overhead costs of private Medicare HMOs run by UnitedHealthcare and other insurance firms. However, Sen. Sanders' proposal would exclude these for-profit insurers, and instead build on the traditional Medicare program, whose overhead is less than 3 percent. Moreover, even this 3 percent figure is probably too high, since Sanders' plan would simplify hospital payment by funding them through global budgets (similar to the way fire departments are paid), rather than the current patient-by-patient payments. Hence a more realistic estimate would assume that insurance overhead would drop to Canada's level of about 1.8 percent. Cutting insurance overhead to 2 percent (rather than the 6 percent that Holahan projects) would save an additional $1.7 trillion over the next 10 years.
*2. Administrative savings, Part 2:* Holahan completely ignores the huge savings on hospital administration and doctors' billing under a streamlined single-payer system. Every serious analyst of single-payer reform has acknowledged these savings, including the Congressional Budget Office, the Government Accountability Office, the Lewin Group (a consulting firm owned by UnitedHealth Group), and even Kenneth Thorpe (a former Clinton administration official who has criticized Sanders' plan, although his recent estimates of savings are far lower than those he made prior to the current presidential campaign).
These provider savings on paperwork would, in fact, be much larger than the savings on insurance overhead. At present, U.S. hospitals spend one-quarter of their total budgets on billing and administration, more than twice as much as hospitals spend in single-payer systems like Canada's or Scotland's. Similarly, U.S. physicians, who must bill hundreds of different insurance plans with varying payment and coverage rules, spend two to three times as much as our Canadian colleagues on billing.
*Overall, these administrative savings for doctors and hospitals would amount to about $2.57 trillion over 10 years.* Additional savings of more than *$1.5 trillion* from streamlined billing and administration would accrue to nursing homes, home care agencies, ambulance companies, drug stores and other health care providers.
In total, the Holahan analysis underestimates administrative savings by about *$6 trillion over 10 years.*
*3. Drug costs:* Holahan projects that a single-payer plan would have to pay 50 percent higher drug costs than those paid at present by Medicaid. Moreover, their estimate assumes that the U.S. would continue to pay much higher prices for drugs than other nations, despite the fact that a U.S. single-payer system would have much greater negotiating leverage with drug companies than other national health insurance schemes.
Reducing drug prices to the levels currently paid by European nations *would save at least $1.1 trillion more than Holahan posits over 10 years. *
*
4. Utilization of care:* Holahan projects a massive increase in acute care utilization, but does not provide detailed breakdowns of how big an increase they foresee for specific services like doctor visits or hospital care. However, it is clear that the medical care system does not have the capacity to provide the huge surge in care that he posits.
For instance Holahan's figures for the increase in acute care suggest that Sanders' plan would result in more than 100 million additional doctor visits and several million more hospitalizations each year. But there just aren't enough doctors and hospital beds to deliver that much care. Doctors are already working 53 hours per week, and experience from past reforms tells us that they won't increase their hours, nor will they see many more patients per hour.
Instead of a huge surge in utilization, more realistic projections would assume that doctors and hospitals would reduce the amount of unnecessary care they're now delivering in order to deliver needed care to those who are currently not getting what they need. That's what happened in Canada. Doctors and hospitals can adjust care to meet increasing demand, as happens every year during flu season.
Moreover, no surge materialized when Medicare was implemented and millions of previously uninsured seniors got coverage. Between 1964 (before Medicare) and 1966 (the year when Medicare was fully functioning) there was absolutely no increase in the total number of doctor visit in the U.S.; Americans averaged 4.3 visits per person in 1964 and 4.3 visits per person in 1966. Instead, the number of visits by poor seniors went up, while the number of visits by healthy and wealthy patients went down slightly. The same thing happened in hospitals. There were no waiting lists, just a reduction in the utilization of unneeded elective care by wealthier patients, and the delivery of more care to sick people who needed it.
Bizarrely, despite projecting a roughly $1.6 trillion increase in total payments to doctors over 10 years, Holahan says in his discussion that "Physician incomes would be squeezed by the new payment rates."
*5. Holahan's argument that the Sanders plan would cause a huge disruption of health care:* This argument mirrors scare tactics used by Medicare's opponents in 1963. Back then, there were claims that doctors would boycott Medicare, and Wall Street Journal headlines warned of a "Patient Pileup," as "flocks of Medicare beneficiaries ... suddenly clog the nation's 7,200 hospitals." Nothing like that ever happened, nor did it happen when Taiwan implemented single payer more recently. And there's no reason to think it would happen here.
Moreover, surveys show that most doctors would welcome national health insurance, and thousands of doctors have recently issued a call (and detailed proposal) for single-payer reform in the American Journal of Public Health.
*In summary,* Holahan grossly underestimates the administrative savings under single payer; projects increases in the number of doctor visits and hospitalizations that far exceed the capacity of doctors and hospitals to provide this added care; and posits that our country would continue to pay much more for drugs and medical equipment than people in every other nation with national health insurance.
Rather than increasing national health spending, as Holahan claims, Sanders' plan (and the plan proposed by Physicians for a National Health Program) would almost certainly decrease total health spending over the next 10 years.
Drs. Himmelstein and Woolhandler are professors of health policy and management at the City University of New York School of Public Health and lecturers in medicine at Harvard Medical School. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those institutions'.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 20 hours ago.
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Treasury Secretary Says Puerto Rico Faces Chaos Without Congressional Action
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Monday that if Congress doesn’t act soon to give Puerto Rico powers to restructure its mountainous debt, the island will face two choices -- “chaos and a bailout.”
“We are now at a moment of necessity and crisis,” Lew told reporters during a daylong visit to the commonwealth. Lew said he's optimistic lawmakers will make progress toward a solution once the House returns from recess this week.
Puerto Rico has been gripped by an economic recession that’s worsening as residents leave. That, in turn, deepens the financial crisis for the government, which can't afford payments on its $70 billion of debt.
Republicans this week are likely to unveil a third draft of legislation that would give Puerto Rico powers to restructure its debt, establish an oversight board to help the island's government, and craft a broader Puerto Rico economic reform plan.
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) told Reuters on Monday that the House Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs, will release the revised legislation on Wednesday. Like Lew, he argued that without swift congressional action, a bailout could become the only option.
The bill includes language that may allow Puerto Rico to seek bankruptcy protection, worrying conservatives that it may set precedent for other debt-ridden states. Proponents of the legislation argue that no taxpayer dollars would be needed to bail out Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico defaulted on nearly $400 million in debt payments due on May 1, and owes a $2 billion bond payment on July 1.
Lew spoke to reporters after visiting Centro Medico, the third-largest Level 1 trauma center in the U.S. and its territories. The 22-acre campus houses 18 health institutions, and cares for more than 7,400 patients per year. The center has said it may need to reduce services beginning in July without congressional action, and has been unable to post job vacancies due to a shrinking budget. Some private hospitals, plagued by payment delays between health insurers and suppliers, are refusing to provide services. That sends more patients to Centro Medico, a public hospital. "If it collapses, all hell will break loose,” Ricardo Rivera, executive director of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, told Lew, according to a press pool report.
Lew later reflected on seeing little babies -- “not even four pounds” -- receiving dialysis at the center. He said personnel told him they are unable to keep an inventory of necessary medications, because of dwindling resources caused by the debt crisis.
“I don’t think there’s a member of Congress who would find it acceptable for a 5-week-old baby to not have access to the medications they need for dialysis, or for a 5- or 10-year-old who needs an infusion for cancer treatment to be told we couldn’t pay [cash on delivery], so we don’t have the medicine,” Lew told reporters. * *
A handful of nurses and doctors in lab coats watched as Lew peppered health officials with questions about problems getting cancer drugs, management of the Zika virus, and the hospital's funding challenges.
Dr. Juan Nazario, executive director of the hospital, told Lew he worries about losing nurses and physicians to the continental United States, according to the press pool report. "We are getting near the bottom," added Jorge Hernandez, a trauma center doctor. "We are struggling every day -- equipment, drugs, personnel."
Ana Rius, secretary of health for Puerto Rico, told Lew that in five months since the outbreak of Zika was identified, the center has seen 26 hospitalizations for the virus.
Earlier in the day, Lew joined Puerto Rican Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla at an elementary school in San Juan for a tour of termite-infested classrooms, poorly maintained school buildings, and a cafeteria that can’t keep its lights on when it rains due to faulty circuit breakers."The financial crisis is not just a question of bondholders, but a question of the lives that are being led by 3.5 million Americans who live on Puerto Rico," Lew told reporters* *before visiting a kindergarten class. “Their children are Americans no less than the Americans born on the mainland.”
“We need Congress to act,” Garcia Padilla said solemnly.
Garcia Padilla faces poor approval ratings that reflect the island's decade-long financial woes and isn’t running for re-election. He pushed back against Republican complaints that the legislation would be a "bailout" for the island.
"We haven’t been offered and we are not asking for a bailout," Garcia Padilla said.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 19 hours ago.
“We are now at a moment of necessity and crisis,” Lew told reporters during a daylong visit to the commonwealth. Lew said he's optimistic lawmakers will make progress toward a solution once the House returns from recess this week.
Puerto Rico has been gripped by an economic recession that’s worsening as residents leave. That, in turn, deepens the financial crisis for the government, which can't afford payments on its $70 billion of debt.
Republicans this week are likely to unveil a third draft of legislation that would give Puerto Rico powers to restructure its debt, establish an oversight board to help the island's government, and craft a broader Puerto Rico economic reform plan.
Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) told Reuters on Monday that the House Natural Resources Committee, which he chairs, will release the revised legislation on Wednesday. Like Lew, he argued that without swift congressional action, a bailout could become the only option.
The bill includes language that may allow Puerto Rico to seek bankruptcy protection, worrying conservatives that it may set precedent for other debt-ridden states. Proponents of the legislation argue that no taxpayer dollars would be needed to bail out Puerto Rico.
Puerto Rico defaulted on nearly $400 million in debt payments due on May 1, and owes a $2 billion bond payment on July 1.
Lew spoke to reporters after visiting Centro Medico, the third-largest Level 1 trauma center in the U.S. and its territories. The 22-acre campus houses 18 health institutions, and cares for more than 7,400 patients per year. The center has said it may need to reduce services beginning in July without congressional action, and has been unable to post job vacancies due to a shrinking budget. Some private hospitals, plagued by payment delays between health insurers and suppliers, are refusing to provide services. That sends more patients to Centro Medico, a public hospital. "If it collapses, all hell will break loose,” Ricardo Rivera, executive director of the Puerto Rico Health Insurance Administration, told Lew, according to a press pool report.
Lew later reflected on seeing little babies -- “not even four pounds” -- receiving dialysis at the center. He said personnel told him they are unable to keep an inventory of necessary medications, because of dwindling resources caused by the debt crisis.
“I don’t think there’s a member of Congress who would find it acceptable for a 5-week-old baby to not have access to the medications they need for dialysis, or for a 5- or 10-year-old who needs an infusion for cancer treatment to be told we couldn’t pay [cash on delivery], so we don’t have the medicine,” Lew told reporters. * *
A handful of nurses and doctors in lab coats watched as Lew peppered health officials with questions about problems getting cancer drugs, management of the Zika virus, and the hospital's funding challenges.
Dr. Juan Nazario, executive director of the hospital, told Lew he worries about losing nurses and physicians to the continental United States, according to the press pool report. "We are getting near the bottom," added Jorge Hernandez, a trauma center doctor. "We are struggling every day -- equipment, drugs, personnel."
Ana Rius, secretary of health for Puerto Rico, told Lew that in five months since the outbreak of Zika was identified, the center has seen 26 hospitalizations for the virus.
Earlier in the day, Lew joined Puerto Rican Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla at an elementary school in San Juan for a tour of termite-infested classrooms, poorly maintained school buildings, and a cafeteria that can’t keep its lights on when it rains due to faulty circuit breakers."The financial crisis is not just a question of bondholders, but a question of the lives that are being led by 3.5 million Americans who live on Puerto Rico," Lew told reporters* *before visiting a kindergarten class. “Their children are Americans no less than the Americans born on the mainland.”
“We need Congress to act,” Garcia Padilla said solemnly.
Garcia Padilla faces poor approval ratings that reflect the island's decade-long financial woes and isn’t running for re-election. He pushed back against Republican complaints that the legislation would be a "bailout" for the island.
"We haven’t been offered and we are not asking for a bailout," Garcia Padilla said.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 19 hours ago.
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Four Seasons Financial Education Comments on Aetna's Decision to Pay Employees for Sleep
Aetna applauded for action, encouraged to focus on financial wellness program for sleep improvement.
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) May 10, 2016
Four Seasons Financial Education (FSFE), a provider of workplace financial wellness programs, today commented on a recent decision made by health insurance company, Aetna, to pay employees for adequate sleep. Aetna's CEO stated on CNBC's "Squawk Box" the company will pay an employee $25 if they can prove they've slept for seven hours or more a night for at least 20 nights in a row, with a maximum payment of $500 for the year.
"We applaud Aetna for their push for total well-being," says FSFE president, Travis Freeman. "Obviously Aetna understands the importance of employee wellness. We encourage all employers to focus on lowering stress for productivity purposes, including using financial wellness programs," says Freeman.
A 2015 survey of 3,600 respondents by creditcards.com showed that 62% of Americans lose sleep over at least one financial concern. Retirement was found to be the most common reason for lost sleep. According to FSFE's Financial Health Assessment, financial wellness programs can decrease average employee financial stress by 12% in 12 months. Many employers continue to search for new ways to help employees while also boosting productivity.
About Four Seasons Financial Education
Four Seasons Financial Education is positioned to provide workplace financial wellness services to companies throughout the US to help them improve their bottom line. Since 1986, we have helped corporations increase workplace productivity by focusing on the most important asset of the company - the employees. Services provided through RFG Advisory Group, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.
St. Louis, MO (PRWEB) May 10, 2016
Four Seasons Financial Education (FSFE), a provider of workplace financial wellness programs, today commented on a recent decision made by health insurance company, Aetna, to pay employees for adequate sleep. Aetna's CEO stated on CNBC's "Squawk Box" the company will pay an employee $25 if they can prove they've slept for seven hours or more a night for at least 20 nights in a row, with a maximum payment of $500 for the year.
"We applaud Aetna for their push for total well-being," says FSFE president, Travis Freeman. "Obviously Aetna understands the importance of employee wellness. We encourage all employers to focus on lowering stress for productivity purposes, including using financial wellness programs," says Freeman.
A 2015 survey of 3,600 respondents by creditcards.com showed that 62% of Americans lose sleep over at least one financial concern. Retirement was found to be the most common reason for lost sleep. According to FSFE's Financial Health Assessment, financial wellness programs can decrease average employee financial stress by 12% in 12 months. Many employers continue to search for new ways to help employees while also boosting productivity.
About Four Seasons Financial Education
Four Seasons Financial Education is positioned to provide workplace financial wellness services to companies throughout the US to help them improve their bottom line. Since 1986, we have helped corporations increase workplace productivity by focusing on the most important asset of the company - the employees. Services provided through RFG Advisory Group, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.
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MCG Recognizes WEA Trust with 2015 Doyle Award
Wisconsin Health Plan Leverages MCG’s Cite to Transform Care Coordination
(PRWEB) May 10, 2016
MCG, part of the Hearst Health network and a leading provider of informed care strategies, has named WEA Trust a recipient of the 2015 Doyle Award. The award recognizes WEA Trust’s innovative implementation of MCG’s informed care solution. WEA Trust implemented Cite, the industry’s most interactive evidence-based solution, to create a member-centric, coordinated care program. WEA Trust now assigns a single nurse “quarterback” to a member, reducing care delays and confusion. The result has been $12 million in reduced costs, but most importantly, reassurance for their members.
WEA Trust was able to accomplish this transformation by merging utilization review, complex care management, and disease management into the Harmony Care Management program. “A piecemeal approach to member care can mean settling for member confusion and fear,” said Mary Hughes, director of Member Health Services at WEA Trust. “Why settle? Using MCG’s Cite to help drive transformative change in care coordination, we’ve lowered costs by helping members know the care that is not appropriate and can even be harmful. Quality can cost less”
With Harmony Care Management in place, WEA Trust is seeing results. Patient length of stay has reduced by 7.4%, inpatient admissions per 1,000 members have trended down, and readmissions have remained low. Hughes attributes the strong metrics to early, systematic use of Cite’s admissions guidance and discharge planning tools. “Unnecessary care exposes patients to needless inconvenience, but worse, to unnecessary risk. The patients understand this as we purposefully include them in the care discussion,” said Hughes. “MCG supports our conversations with patients and providers by offering objective, transparent evidence about admissions and procedures, along with care alternatives. A patient suffering from back pain sees the Harmony nurse not as an obstacle, but as an ally in exploring care options...and we have received thank you notes for this.”
WEA Trust has avoided significant unnecessary care in three key areas: Advanced imaging, spinal procedures, and inpatient sleep studies. According to Hughes, Cite’s extensive discussion of these high-cost procedures, with the underlying science referenced completely, has consistently helped care teams reach decisions based on patient outcomes, resulting in reduced costs.
The Harmony program has used Cite to improve administrative efficiency in a number of ways. Cite CareWebQI allows staff to access MCG’s evidence within the existing medical management system. With simplified workflow through integration, Harmony nurses spend more time with patients and less time documenting care decisions. By using MCG tools to cross-train nurses, the Harmony program has reduced internal hand-offs, improving both efficiency and patient experience. Harmony managers use Cite’s flexible reporting to identify variations in care decisions across staff, focusing further training and more effective clinical decision making.
“In creating a new model for care coordination, the WEA Trust has demonstrated vision and a commitment to care focused on patient outcomes,” said MCG President Jon Shreve. “It is rewarding to partner with such a high-performing healthcare organization.”
About WEA Trust
The WEA Trust provides group health insurance and administrative services to public employers throughout Wisconsin. The not-for-profit WEA Trust was created in 1970 to serve Wisconsin school district employees. Today, the WEA Trust offers its top-rated service and quality benefits to all state, county, and municipal groups. To learn more, visit http://www.weatrust.com.
About MCG
MCG, part of the Hearst Health Network, helps healthcare organizations implement informed care strategies that proactively and efficiently move patients toward health. MCG’s transparent assessment of the latest research and scholarly articles, along with our own data analysis, gives patients, providers and payors the vetted information they need to feel confident in every care decision, in every moment. http://www.mcg.com.
About Hearst Health
MCG is part of the Hearst Health network, which also includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health and Homecare Homebase, Hearst Health International, Hearst Health Ventures and the Hearst Health Innovation Lab. The mission of the Hearst Health network is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person’s health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from the Hearst Health network reaches 84 percent of discharged patients, 174 million insured individuals, 41 million home health visits, and 4 billion prescriptions. http://www.hearsthealth.com
About The Richard L. Doyle Award for Innovation and Leadership in Healthcare
The Doyle Award was developed to recognize organizations that make innovative use of the care guidelines to help deliver effective healthcare.
Dr. Doyle, the care guidelines founding editor, was a hospital chief-of-staff when he began creating clinical guidelines in the 1980s to help improve healthcare efficiency and quality at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. He later joined Milliman & Robertson and in 1990 published the first set of what was to become the care guidelines.
Judges for this award are independent healthcare quality experts, not currently associated with MCG. Applicants were judged on how well their projects supported the MCG mission to help drive effective care. Judges looked for evidence of improvements in healthcare quality and patient safety; patient/member satisfaction; staff efficiency, productivity and satisfaction; internal/external communication; and effective use of
resources.
Media Contact
Arri Burgess
MCG
Tel 206 389 5405
Arri.Burgess(at)mcg.com Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
(PRWEB) May 10, 2016
MCG, part of the Hearst Health network and a leading provider of informed care strategies, has named WEA Trust a recipient of the 2015 Doyle Award. The award recognizes WEA Trust’s innovative implementation of MCG’s informed care solution. WEA Trust implemented Cite, the industry’s most interactive evidence-based solution, to create a member-centric, coordinated care program. WEA Trust now assigns a single nurse “quarterback” to a member, reducing care delays and confusion. The result has been $12 million in reduced costs, but most importantly, reassurance for their members.
WEA Trust was able to accomplish this transformation by merging utilization review, complex care management, and disease management into the Harmony Care Management program. “A piecemeal approach to member care can mean settling for member confusion and fear,” said Mary Hughes, director of Member Health Services at WEA Trust. “Why settle? Using MCG’s Cite to help drive transformative change in care coordination, we’ve lowered costs by helping members know the care that is not appropriate and can even be harmful. Quality can cost less”
With Harmony Care Management in place, WEA Trust is seeing results. Patient length of stay has reduced by 7.4%, inpatient admissions per 1,000 members have trended down, and readmissions have remained low. Hughes attributes the strong metrics to early, systematic use of Cite’s admissions guidance and discharge planning tools. “Unnecessary care exposes patients to needless inconvenience, but worse, to unnecessary risk. The patients understand this as we purposefully include them in the care discussion,” said Hughes. “MCG supports our conversations with patients and providers by offering objective, transparent evidence about admissions and procedures, along with care alternatives. A patient suffering from back pain sees the Harmony nurse not as an obstacle, but as an ally in exploring care options...and we have received thank you notes for this.”
WEA Trust has avoided significant unnecessary care in three key areas: Advanced imaging, spinal procedures, and inpatient sleep studies. According to Hughes, Cite’s extensive discussion of these high-cost procedures, with the underlying science referenced completely, has consistently helped care teams reach decisions based on patient outcomes, resulting in reduced costs.
The Harmony program has used Cite to improve administrative efficiency in a number of ways. Cite CareWebQI allows staff to access MCG’s evidence within the existing medical management system. With simplified workflow through integration, Harmony nurses spend more time with patients and less time documenting care decisions. By using MCG tools to cross-train nurses, the Harmony program has reduced internal hand-offs, improving both efficiency and patient experience. Harmony managers use Cite’s flexible reporting to identify variations in care decisions across staff, focusing further training and more effective clinical decision making.
“In creating a new model for care coordination, the WEA Trust has demonstrated vision and a commitment to care focused on patient outcomes,” said MCG President Jon Shreve. “It is rewarding to partner with such a high-performing healthcare organization.”
About WEA Trust
The WEA Trust provides group health insurance and administrative services to public employers throughout Wisconsin. The not-for-profit WEA Trust was created in 1970 to serve Wisconsin school district employees. Today, the WEA Trust offers its top-rated service and quality benefits to all state, county, and municipal groups. To learn more, visit http://www.weatrust.com.
About MCG
MCG, part of the Hearst Health Network, helps healthcare organizations implement informed care strategies that proactively and efficiently move patients toward health. MCG’s transparent assessment of the latest research and scholarly articles, along with our own data analysis, gives patients, providers and payors the vetted information they need to feel confident in every care decision, in every moment. http://www.mcg.com.
About Hearst Health
MCG is part of the Hearst Health network, which also includes FDB (First Databank), Zynx Health and Homecare Homebase, Hearst Health International, Hearst Health Ventures and the Hearst Health Innovation Lab. The mission of the Hearst Health network is to help guide the most important care moments by delivering vital information into the hands of everyone who touches a person’s health journey. Each year in the U.S., care guidance from the Hearst Health network reaches 84 percent of discharged patients, 174 million insured individuals, 41 million home health visits, and 4 billion prescriptions. http://www.hearsthealth.com
About The Richard L. Doyle Award for Innovation and Leadership in Healthcare
The Doyle Award was developed to recognize organizations that make innovative use of the care guidelines to help deliver effective healthcare.
Dr. Doyle, the care guidelines founding editor, was a hospital chief-of-staff when he began creating clinical guidelines in the 1980s to help improve healthcare efficiency and quality at Mercy Hospital in San Diego. He later joined Milliman & Robertson and in 1990 published the first set of what was to become the care guidelines.
Judges for this award are independent healthcare quality experts, not currently associated with MCG. Applicants were judged on how well their projects supported the MCG mission to help drive effective care. Judges looked for evidence of improvements in healthcare quality and patient safety; patient/member satisfaction; staff efficiency, productivity and satisfaction; internal/external communication; and effective use of
resources.
Media Contact
Arri Burgess
MCG
Tel 206 389 5405
Arri.Burgess(at)mcg.com Reported by PRWeb 8 hours ago.
↧
↧
The 50 Best Companies For New Dads
These days, you don’t have to be Mark Zuckerberg to get great paternity leave.
Companies are offering new dads more time off than ever before, according to research from Fatherly, a dad-focused parenting site that compiles an annual list of the "50 Best Places To Work For New Dads."
This year, the site found that the average number of weeks offered for paternity leave has nearly doubled since last year. The average is now seven and a half weeks, up from four in 2015.
Fatherly compiled its 2016 ranking by using data from academics, activist groups, HR departments at large companies and more. The site didn't just factor in the amount of paid time off companies gave to new dads; it also considered companies' other family-friendly policies.
Some of the top firms from 2015 have dropped in the ranks -- not because their policies got worse, but because other companies' offerings improved. Google, for instance, famous for its family-friendly policies, fell from first to sixth. Netflix, which recently began offering a full year of leave for new parents of any gender, now sits in the number-one spot.
“By allowing me to figure out how to navigate this crucial time in my family’s development, my team is helping me be great, not just at home but at the office as well,” wrote Casey Rosenthal, a Netflix dad, in a LinkedIn blog earlier this year.
It seems that, during a year of forward momentum for parental leave in cities and states across the country, companies have finally caught on to the fact that parental leave is good for business -- and that moms aren’t the only ones who need support.
*Here are the top 50 companies to work at if you’re a new dad:*
*1. Netflix*
Policy: Unlimited first year
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: New entry
·
The policy allows parents to return part time or full time, or return and then go back out as needed, while continuing to to be paid normally.
*2. Spotify*
Policy: 24 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
New dads can use the time however they see fit, up to their child’s third birthday. ·
The company also runs a “Welcome Back!” program, which lets employees ease back into a full schedule with telecommuting and flexible hours.
*3. Facebook*
Policy: 17 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 2
·
New parents at Facebook receive a $4,000 “new child benefit.”·
Facebook supplements its health insurance with $20,000 worth of fertility and family planning benefits, covering everything from egg freezing and sperm retrieval to surrogacy agency fees, all of which are available to same-sex couples as well.
*4. Patagonia*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Retail
2015 Rank: 4
·
Patagonia’s onsite child care is staffed with child development professionals.·
New parents who have to travel for business are provided a traveling child care professional so they can bring their baby with them.
*5. Pinterest*
Policy: 16 weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: New entry
·
In addition to Pinterest's 4-month paternity leave, the company offers new dads a fifth “transition” month, during which they can work a reduced schedule while still receiving full pay.
*6. Google*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 1
·
The company has one-on-one consultations to help parents figure out their options, including discounts for nanny placement agencies, five free days of backup child care and priority access to Bright Horizons child care centers.·
It provides parents with $500 for "baby bonding."
*7. Microsoft*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 16
·
Microsoft offers a child care subsidy of up to 20 percent of tuition at national providers near its offices around the country.·
The company's corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, has an on-site health care clinic that provides same-day appointments with doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors.
*8. Bank of America*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 3
·
It provides confidential counseling and resources to assist with everything from financial planning to parenting issues.·
The company's health insurance includes a service called TelaDoc, which lets employees talk to a doctor by phone or video chat for a $40 copay.
*9. LinkedIn*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 6
·
Parents receive a $2,000 annual child care subsidy.·
The company recently moved from a "Paid Time Off" policy to "Discretionary Time Off," meaning employees work with managers to schedule their vacation days, with no set maximum.
*10. Twitter*
Policy: 10 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 11
·
It lets employees take whatever time off they need, as long as they meet obligations.·
The company runs "Dads On Leave" roundtables, which bring together employees who have paternity leave experience to share tips and best practices.
*11. AirBnB*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Hospitality
2015 Rank: New entry
·
All parents at AirBnB receive a complimentary membership to UrbanSitter.·
Everyone receives a $2,000 annual traveling stipend.
*12. Johnson & Johnson*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Biotech and pharmaceuticals
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Johnson & Johnson has seven on-site child care centers.·
The company’s leave policy can be divided up as employees see fit any time during their kid’s first year.
*13. Accenture*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Business services
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Accenture allows employees to work remotely for a full year after their kid is born.
*14. MasterCard*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 39
·
MasterCard provides employees preferred enrollment status and a 10 percent discount at a national network of child care centers, along with a subsidy of up to $2,000 annually.·
The company also provides college scholarships to employees' kids.
*15. Intuit*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 29
·
The company’s scholarship program offers $5,000, which can be used for college, secondary school and even vocational schools for students of employees.
*16. Intel*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Intel covers $15,000 per adoption.·
The company provides four weeks of paid sabbatical for every four years of employment. This can be combined with the existing eight weeks of parental leave.
*17. Zillow*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Information technology
2015 Rank: New entry
·
It offers 16 days of backup child care.·
The company also provides new parents with $1,000 “Baby Bucks” on Amazon.
*18. Paypal*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: New entry
·
In addition to paid parental leave, PayPal also offers up to eight weeks of paid family care leave, for when a child gets sick.·
PayPal offers employees unlimited vacation. And after five years with the company, employees earn a four-week paid sabbatical.
*19. Bain Capital*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Business services
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Bain provides health and dental benefits immediately upon hire.·
New hires also receive three weeks of vacation on day one. This offering expands to four weeks after two years at the company.
*20. Yahoo*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: 13
·
Employees get a monthly $500 "Daily Habits" stipend for things like child care, laundry and groceries.·
After five years, employees earn an eight-week unpaid sabbatical.
*21. Genentech*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Biotech and pharmaceuticals
2015 Rank: 6
·
In addition to the six weeks of paid leave, employees can take another six weeks unpaid over the course of the kid's first 12 months.·
A sabbatical program provides six weeks paid time off every six years.
*22. Roche Diagnostics*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Health care
2015 Rank: 9
·
Kids of employees at the Indianapolis headquarters are eligible for a summer camp operated by the city's YMCA.
*23. CA Tech*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 18
·
The company runs a "phase back to work" program for new parents, allowing employees to work 50 percent of their normal schedule the first week back and 75 percent the second week back -- all at 100 percent pay.·
The on-site child care centers are Montessori-certified and serve kids between the ages of 6 month and 6 years. The centers also offer a Summer Academy, plus care during school holidays.
*24. Amazon*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Retail
2015 Rank: New entry
·
A “Leave Share” program allows employees to share all or some of their six weeks with a spouse or partner who doesn’t have paid leave through their own employer.·
Any primary caregiver can participate a “Ramp Back Program,” which eases him or her back into full-time work at 50-75 percent of their normal schedule for up to eight weeks.
*25. Kimpton*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Hospitality
2015 Rank: 12
·
All company meetings have an exercise component — like yoga or jogging — scheduled into them, to improve employee wellness.
*26. Pricewaterhouse*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: 10
·
PwC allows "Flex Days," days off employees can take, provided their work schedules allow for it and they still work a 40-hour week.·
It also offers unprescribed sick days, whether it's an employee who is sick or their child, parent or spouse.
*27. Arnold & Porter*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: 8
·
Employees only have to work 25 hours a week to qualify for benefits, and the firm maintains a panel of partners who advise employees looking to transition to part-time work.·
It offers onsite child care at its D.C. headquarters.
*28. Apple*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
In addition to its standard vacation policy, Apple provides a paid week off during Christmas.
*29. Alston And Bird*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: 25
·
The firm maintains a concierge service to cover errands, like car repairs, vacation planning, gift shopping or waiting on home maintenance appointments.
*30. Akami*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Akami provides its employees unlimited paid time off.·
The company offers free premium memberships to Care.com and helps with child care assistance through an au pair program discount as well.
*31. Ultimate Software*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015: 47
·
It offers 100 percent health care coverage for employees and all of their dependents.·
The company encourages employees to utilize its flex time policies, including weekly work-from-home days.
*32. Adobe*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Adobe provides paid time off for all employees over Christmas and July 4th, which don’t count against annual vacation days.·
In addition to covering up to $1,200 in child care expenses, tax-free, the company provides access to Bright Horizon’s Care Advantage, a subsidized child care program that activates when a parent’s existing child care falls through for whatever reason.
*33. Cooley*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Employees at Cooley are eligible for up to 20 days of child care through Bright Horizon’s Care Advantage backup day care solutions.·
The firm will cover a health club initiation fee plus up to $65 a month in dues, which can also be used for yoga classes, tennis lessons or other health activities.
*34. Diageo*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Food and beverage
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Diageo claims that 95 percent of employees utilize flex time to some degree in their personal work schedules.·
Offers employees Bright Horizon's Care Advantage, including up to 15 days of backup child care services at a cost of $15 per child.·
Every month, employees receive eight hours of school activity leave (up to 40 hours per year).
*35. Humana*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Insurance
2015 Rank: 50
·
Humana provides 23 vacation days per year.·
Humana offers up to $5,000 tuition reimbursement, and its 401(k) is a 125 percent match for up to 6 percent of an employee's salary.
*36. State Street*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 5
·
The four weeks of paternity leave don't have to be taken consecutively.
*37. Fannie Mae*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 20
·
Fannie Mae’s flex time adoption by employees stands at approximately 30 percent.·
Fannie Mae provides personal financial planners.
*38. Red Hat*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
One quarter of Red Hat employees work remotely full time.
*39. HP, Inc*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
HP offers up to eight weeks of paid leave for families going through the adoption process.·
It offers Bright Horizon's Care Advantage backup day care solutions.
*40. Discovery*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: 17
·
Discovery offers on-site child care and an on-site medical center.·
The company also offers a personal concierge service to handle tasks like grocery shopping, vacation research, car and home maintenance.
*41. Viacom*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: New entry
·
An employee resource group called “The Parenthood” creates programming and events for Viacom employees with kids.
*42. Perkins Coie*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Primary caregivers are given 140 hours of transition time that can be used to extend paid leave, or to “ramp down” before taking leave or “ramp up” prior to returning from leave.·
Half of the firm’s attorneys use flex time to some extent in their personal work schedule.
*43. Procter & Gamble*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Consumer goods
2015 Rank: 44
·
Procter & Gamble covers 80 percent of all continuing education expenses, up to $40,000 over the course of an employee's career.
*44. Goldman Sachs*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 32
·
Goldman provides a coordinator that helps arrange flex time and plans parents’ leave.·
It doesn’t define primary and secondary caregiver along gender lines.
*45. Power Home Remodeling Group*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Remodeling
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Flex time and telecommute policies are used by 35 percent of employees.·
It has an annual three-day Mexico trip, where every employee is invited along with a guest.
*46. Factset*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: New entry
·
The company upped its paternity leave from one week to four.·
Forty-five percent of employees use the company’s flex time policy in some capacity.
*47. Allstate*
Policy: Starts at four weeks; increases to six weeks after four years of employment
Industry: Insurance
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Allstate offers on-site child care at its largest offices and discounts at reputable nationwide chains elsewhere.
*48. Wellstar Health Systems*
Policy: Three weeks
Industry: Health care
2015 Rank: 21
·
An on-site concierge service is tasked with making sure errands like car service, holiday gift buying and dry cleaning are handled.·
Wellstar offers adopting families $20,000.
*49. McGraw-Hill Financial*
Policy: Three weeks
Industry: Financial
2015 Rank: 27
·
The company lets employees contribute up to $5,000 pre-tax to a flexible spending account for child care expenses and, if they make less than $85,000 in salary, it will match the first $1,000 contribution to the account.·
It provides annual $5,000 college scholarships for the kids of employees.
*50. RSM*
Policy: Three weeks
Industry: Accounting
2015 Rank: New entry
·
RSM provides “extended care cash” to parents who frequently work outside traditional hours or travel often. It can be used for extended day care or to bring kids on business trips.·
The company runs a new parent coaching program that provides counseling services, tips and advice to new parents.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.
Companies are offering new dads more time off than ever before, according to research from Fatherly, a dad-focused parenting site that compiles an annual list of the "50 Best Places To Work For New Dads."
This year, the site found that the average number of weeks offered for paternity leave has nearly doubled since last year. The average is now seven and a half weeks, up from four in 2015.
Fatherly compiled its 2016 ranking by using data from academics, activist groups, HR departments at large companies and more. The site didn't just factor in the amount of paid time off companies gave to new dads; it also considered companies' other family-friendly policies.
Some of the top firms from 2015 have dropped in the ranks -- not because their policies got worse, but because other companies' offerings improved. Google, for instance, famous for its family-friendly policies, fell from first to sixth. Netflix, which recently began offering a full year of leave for new parents of any gender, now sits in the number-one spot.
“By allowing me to figure out how to navigate this crucial time in my family’s development, my team is helping me be great, not just at home but at the office as well,” wrote Casey Rosenthal, a Netflix dad, in a LinkedIn blog earlier this year.
It seems that, during a year of forward momentum for parental leave in cities and states across the country, companies have finally caught on to the fact that parental leave is good for business -- and that moms aren’t the only ones who need support.
*Here are the top 50 companies to work at if you’re a new dad:*
*1. Netflix*
Policy: Unlimited first year
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: New entry
·
The policy allows parents to return part time or full time, or return and then go back out as needed, while continuing to to be paid normally.
*2. Spotify*
Policy: 24 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
New dads can use the time however they see fit, up to their child’s third birthday. ·
The company also runs a “Welcome Back!” program, which lets employees ease back into a full schedule with telecommuting and flexible hours.
*3. Facebook*
Policy: 17 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 2
·
New parents at Facebook receive a $4,000 “new child benefit.”·
Facebook supplements its health insurance with $20,000 worth of fertility and family planning benefits, covering everything from egg freezing and sperm retrieval to surrogacy agency fees, all of which are available to same-sex couples as well.
*4. Patagonia*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Retail
2015 Rank: 4
·
Patagonia’s onsite child care is staffed with child development professionals.·
New parents who have to travel for business are provided a traveling child care professional so they can bring their baby with them.
*5. Pinterest*
Policy: 16 weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: New entry
·
In addition to Pinterest's 4-month paternity leave, the company offers new dads a fifth “transition” month, during which they can work a reduced schedule while still receiving full pay.
*6. Google*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 1
·
The company has one-on-one consultations to help parents figure out their options, including discounts for nanny placement agencies, five free days of backup child care and priority access to Bright Horizons child care centers.·
It provides parents with $500 for "baby bonding."
*7. Microsoft*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 16
·
Microsoft offers a child care subsidy of up to 20 percent of tuition at national providers near its offices around the country.·
The company's corporate headquarters in Redmond, Washington, has an on-site health care clinic that provides same-day appointments with doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors.
*8. Bank of America*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 3
·
It provides confidential counseling and resources to assist with everything from financial planning to parenting issues.·
The company's health insurance includes a service called TelaDoc, which lets employees talk to a doctor by phone or video chat for a $40 copay.
*9. LinkedIn*
Policy: 12 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 6
·
Parents receive a $2,000 annual child care subsidy.·
The company recently moved from a "Paid Time Off" policy to "Discretionary Time Off," meaning employees work with managers to schedule their vacation days, with no set maximum.
*10. Twitter*
Policy: 10 weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 11
·
It lets employees take whatever time off they need, as long as they meet obligations.·
The company runs "Dads On Leave" roundtables, which bring together employees who have paternity leave experience to share tips and best practices.
*11. AirBnB*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Hospitality
2015 Rank: New entry
·
All parents at AirBnB receive a complimentary membership to UrbanSitter.·
Everyone receives a $2,000 annual traveling stipend.
*12. Johnson & Johnson*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Biotech and pharmaceuticals
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Johnson & Johnson has seven on-site child care centers.·
The company’s leave policy can be divided up as employees see fit any time during their kid’s first year.
*13. Accenture*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Business services
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Accenture allows employees to work remotely for a full year after their kid is born.
*14. MasterCard*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 39
·
MasterCard provides employees preferred enrollment status and a 10 percent discount at a national network of child care centers, along with a subsidy of up to $2,000 annually.·
The company also provides college scholarships to employees' kids.
*15. Intuit*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 29
·
The company’s scholarship program offers $5,000, which can be used for college, secondary school and even vocational schools for students of employees.
*16. Intel*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Intel covers $15,000 per adoption.·
The company provides four weeks of paid sabbatical for every four years of employment. This can be combined with the existing eight weeks of parental leave.
*17. Zillow*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Information technology
2015 Rank: New entry
·
It offers 16 days of backup child care.·
The company also provides new parents with $1,000 “Baby Bucks” on Amazon.
*18. Paypal*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: New entry
·
In addition to paid parental leave, PayPal also offers up to eight weeks of paid family care leave, for when a child gets sick.·
PayPal offers employees unlimited vacation. And after five years with the company, employees earn a four-week paid sabbatical.
*19. Bain Capital*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Business services
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Bain provides health and dental benefits immediately upon hire.·
New hires also receive three weeks of vacation on day one. This offering expands to four weeks after two years at the company.
*20. Yahoo*
Policy: Eight weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: 13
·
Employees get a monthly $500 "Daily Habits" stipend for things like child care, laundry and groceries.·
After five years, employees earn an eight-week unpaid sabbatical.
*21. Genentech*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Biotech and pharmaceuticals
2015 Rank: 6
·
In addition to the six weeks of paid leave, employees can take another six weeks unpaid over the course of the kid's first 12 months.·
A sabbatical program provides six weeks paid time off every six years.
*22. Roche Diagnostics*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Health care
2015 Rank: 9
·
Kids of employees at the Indianapolis headquarters are eligible for a summer camp operated by the city's YMCA.
*23. CA Tech*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: 18
·
The company runs a "phase back to work" program for new parents, allowing employees to work 50 percent of their normal schedule the first week back and 75 percent the second week back -- all at 100 percent pay.·
The on-site child care centers are Montessori-certified and serve kids between the ages of 6 month and 6 years. The centers also offer a Summer Academy, plus care during school holidays.
*24. Amazon*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Retail
2015 Rank: New entry
·
A “Leave Share” program allows employees to share all or some of their six weeks with a spouse or partner who doesn’t have paid leave through their own employer.·
Any primary caregiver can participate a “Ramp Back Program,” which eases him or her back into full-time work at 50-75 percent of their normal schedule for up to eight weeks.
*25. Kimpton*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Hospitality
2015 Rank: 12
·
All company meetings have an exercise component — like yoga or jogging — scheduled into them, to improve employee wellness.
*26. Pricewaterhouse*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: 10
·
PwC allows "Flex Days," days off employees can take, provided their work schedules allow for it and they still work a 40-hour week.·
It also offers unprescribed sick days, whether it's an employee who is sick or their child, parent or spouse.
*27. Arnold & Porter*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: 8
·
Employees only have to work 25 hours a week to qualify for benefits, and the firm maintains a panel of partners who advise employees looking to transition to part-time work.·
It offers onsite child care at its D.C. headquarters.
*28. Apple*
Policy: Six weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
In addition to its standard vacation policy, Apple provides a paid week off during Christmas.
*29. Alston And Bird*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: 25
·
The firm maintains a concierge service to cover errands, like car repairs, vacation planning, gift shopping or waiting on home maintenance appointments.
*30. Akami*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Akami provides its employees unlimited paid time off.·
The company offers free premium memberships to Care.com and helps with child care assistance through an au pair program discount as well.
*31. Ultimate Software*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015: 47
·
It offers 100 percent health care coverage for employees and all of their dependents.·
The company encourages employees to utilize its flex time policies, including weekly work-from-home days.
*32. Adobe*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Adobe provides paid time off for all employees over Christmas and July 4th, which don’t count against annual vacation days.·
In addition to covering up to $1,200 in child care expenses, tax-free, the company provides access to Bright Horizon’s Care Advantage, a subsidized child care program that activates when a parent’s existing child care falls through for whatever reason.
*33. Cooley*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Employees at Cooley are eligible for up to 20 days of child care through Bright Horizon’s Care Advantage backup day care solutions.·
The firm will cover a health club initiation fee plus up to $65 a month in dues, which can also be used for yoga classes, tennis lessons or other health activities.
*34. Diageo*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Food and beverage
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Diageo claims that 95 percent of employees utilize flex time to some degree in their personal work schedules.·
Offers employees Bright Horizon's Care Advantage, including up to 15 days of backup child care services at a cost of $15 per child.·
Every month, employees receive eight hours of school activity leave (up to 40 hours per year).
*35. Humana*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Insurance
2015 Rank: 50
·
Humana provides 23 vacation days per year.·
Humana offers up to $5,000 tuition reimbursement, and its 401(k) is a 125 percent match for up to 6 percent of an employee's salary.
*36. State Street*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 5
·
The four weeks of paternity leave don't have to be taken consecutively.
*37. Fannie Mae*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 20
·
Fannie Mae’s flex time adoption by employees stands at approximately 30 percent.·
Fannie Mae provides personal financial planners.
*38. Red Hat*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
One quarter of Red Hat employees work remotely full time.
*39. HP, Inc*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Tech
2015 Rank: New entry
·
HP offers up to eight weeks of paid leave for families going through the adoption process.·
It offers Bright Horizon's Care Advantage backup day care solutions.
*40. Discovery*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: 17
·
Discovery offers on-site child care and an on-site medical center.·
The company also offers a personal concierge service to handle tasks like grocery shopping, vacation research, car and home maintenance.
*41. Viacom*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Media
2015 Rank: New entry
·
An employee resource group called “The Parenthood” creates programming and events for Viacom employees with kids.
*42. Perkins Coie*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Accounting and legal
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Primary caregivers are given 140 hours of transition time that can be used to extend paid leave, or to “ramp down” before taking leave or “ramp up” prior to returning from leave.·
Half of the firm’s attorneys use flex time to some extent in their personal work schedule.
*43. Procter & Gamble*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Consumer goods
2015 Rank: 44
·
Procter & Gamble covers 80 percent of all continuing education expenses, up to $40,000 over the course of an employee's career.
*44. Goldman Sachs*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: 32
·
Goldman provides a coordinator that helps arrange flex time and plans parents’ leave.·
It doesn’t define primary and secondary caregiver along gender lines.
*45. Power Home Remodeling Group*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Remodeling
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Flex time and telecommute policies are used by 35 percent of employees.·
It has an annual three-day Mexico trip, where every employee is invited along with a guest.
*46. Factset*
Policy: Four weeks
Industry: Finance
2015 Rank: New entry
·
The company upped its paternity leave from one week to four.·
Forty-five percent of employees use the company’s flex time policy in some capacity.
*47. Allstate*
Policy: Starts at four weeks; increases to six weeks after four years of employment
Industry: Insurance
2015 Rank: New entry
·
Allstate offers on-site child care at its largest offices and discounts at reputable nationwide chains elsewhere.
*48. Wellstar Health Systems*
Policy: Three weeks
Industry: Health care
2015 Rank: 21
·
An on-site concierge service is tasked with making sure errands like car service, holiday gift buying and dry cleaning are handled.·
Wellstar offers adopting families $20,000.
*49. McGraw-Hill Financial*
Policy: Three weeks
Industry: Financial
2015 Rank: 27
·
The company lets employees contribute up to $5,000 pre-tax to a flexible spending account for child care expenses and, if they make less than $85,000 in salary, it will match the first $1,000 contribution to the account.·
It provides annual $5,000 college scholarships for the kids of employees.
*50. RSM*
Policy: Three weeks
Industry: Accounting
2015 Rank: New entry
·
RSM provides “extended care cash” to parents who frequently work outside traditional hours or travel often. It can be used for extended day care or to bring kids on business trips.·
The company runs a new parent coaching program that provides counseling services, tips and advice to new parents.
-- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. Reported by Huffington Post 7 hours ago.
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Safety Net Connect’s eConsult Telehealth Technology Expands Specialty Care Access for HealthyCT Members, in Partnership with Community eConsult Network
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--#access--HealthyCT Health Insurance, in partnership with Community eConsult Network, to utilize eConsult telehealth technology by Safety Net Connect to increase care coordination and access to specialty care.
Reported by Business Wire 6 hours ago.
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InDemand Interpreting Partners with Chicago Hearing Society
Using video remote interpreting technology, CHS ensures deaf and hard of hearing patients receive the best quality care
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) May 10, 2016
InDemand Interpreting, a language services improvement company and video remote interpreting (VRI) provider within Healthcare, announced a new partnership with Chicago Hearing Society (CHS), to provide video remote interpreting technology as an option for patients who are deaf or hard of hearing in a medical setting.
CHS, a division of Anixter Center, provides an essential service that empowers the deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing and hearing people to contribute and collaborate through an array of programs and assistive technology throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
“We believe that every patient deserves equal access to quality care, and if a live interpreter hasn’t arrived yet, or isn’t available, VRI is an excellent alternative,” said Karen Aguilar, the director of CHS. “Working together with InDemand Interpreting, we are able to immediately connect patients and providers with medically qualified interpreters, which continues to support our high standards for quality of care.”
Through the partnership with InDemand Interpreting, Chicago Hearing Society is now able to provide immediate access to medically qualified and certified interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than 2,000 health facilities throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.
“InDemand is proud to partner with CHS to ensure that every individual, including persons who are deaf and hard of hearing, receive the highest quality care,” said InDemand Interpreting Chairman and CEO Cecil Kost. “We support our partner organizations by providing immediate access to the most experienced medical interpreters and highest quality video technology available.”
InDemand Interpreting and CHS will be demonstrating video remote interpreting technology at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association Conference on May 10th.
In addition to American Sign Language (ASL), InDemand Interpreting also offers medically trained and certified interpreters in 21 languages and more than 200 spoken languages at the touch of a button. For more information about InDemand Interpreting please visit http://www.indemandinterpreting.com or call
1-877-899-3824.
Chicago Hearing Society also offers a full service audiology clinic, domestic violence and victim assistance programs, youth and parent support programs, health insurance and tax assistance programs, sign language classes and assistive technology. For more information about Chicago Hearing Society please visit http://www.ChicagoHearingSociety.org or call 773.248.9121.
About InDemand Interpreting
InDemand Interpreting was founded in 2007 with the vision of ensuring that every patient receives the highest quality healthcare, regardless of language, cultural background or disability. By delivering the most experienced medical interpreters and highest quality video technology InDemand Interpreting provides doctors, nurses and clinicians the language access they need to provide the best possible care. Visit InDemand at http://www.indemandinterpreting.com
About Chicago Hearing Society
Chicago Hearing Society (CHS) empowers deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people to communicate, contribute and collaborate by providing a wide array of programs, services and assistive technology products throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. CHS is a resource for social services, advocacy and support programs, and provides products that enhance communication for deaf and hard of hearing people. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) May 10, 2016
InDemand Interpreting, a language services improvement company and video remote interpreting (VRI) provider within Healthcare, announced a new partnership with Chicago Hearing Society (CHS), to provide video remote interpreting technology as an option for patients who are deaf or hard of hearing in a medical setting.
CHS, a division of Anixter Center, provides an essential service that empowers the deaf, deafblind, hard of hearing and hearing people to contribute and collaborate through an array of programs and assistive technology throughout the Chicago metropolitan area.
“We believe that every patient deserves equal access to quality care, and if a live interpreter hasn’t arrived yet, or isn’t available, VRI is an excellent alternative,” said Karen Aguilar, the director of CHS. “Working together with InDemand Interpreting, we are able to immediately connect patients and providers with medically qualified interpreters, which continues to support our high standards for quality of care.”
Through the partnership with InDemand Interpreting, Chicago Hearing Society is now able to provide immediate access to medically qualified and certified interpreters for the deaf and hard of hearing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than 2,000 health facilities throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.
“InDemand is proud to partner with CHS to ensure that every individual, including persons who are deaf and hard of hearing, receive the highest quality care,” said InDemand Interpreting Chairman and CEO Cecil Kost. “We support our partner organizations by providing immediate access to the most experienced medical interpreters and highest quality video technology available.”
InDemand Interpreting and CHS will be demonstrating video remote interpreting technology at the Illinois Health and Hospital Association Conference on May 10th.
In addition to American Sign Language (ASL), InDemand Interpreting also offers medically trained and certified interpreters in 21 languages and more than 200 spoken languages at the touch of a button. For more information about InDemand Interpreting please visit http://www.indemandinterpreting.com or call
1-877-899-3824.
Chicago Hearing Society also offers a full service audiology clinic, domestic violence and victim assistance programs, youth and parent support programs, health insurance and tax assistance programs, sign language classes and assistive technology. For more information about Chicago Hearing Society please visit http://www.ChicagoHearingSociety.org or call 773.248.9121.
About InDemand Interpreting
InDemand Interpreting was founded in 2007 with the vision of ensuring that every patient receives the highest quality healthcare, regardless of language, cultural background or disability. By delivering the most experienced medical interpreters and highest quality video technology InDemand Interpreting provides doctors, nurses and clinicians the language access they need to provide the best possible care. Visit InDemand at http://www.indemandinterpreting.com
About Chicago Hearing Society
Chicago Hearing Society (CHS) empowers deaf, hard of hearing and hearing people to communicate, contribute and collaborate by providing a wide array of programs, services and assistive technology products throughout the Chicago metropolitan area. CHS is a resource for social services, advocacy and support programs, and provides products that enhance communication for deaf and hard of hearing people. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
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PetPace Announces Strategic Partnership with Leading US Pet Health Insurance Provider
The ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program, offered by Hartville Pet Insurance Group, has partnered with PetPace, creators of the PetPace smart collar that helps detect potentially serious medical issues in dogs and cats, monitors health and enhances pet wellbeing.
Burlington, MA (PRWEB) May 10, 2016
PetPace, the provider of an innovative smart pet collar for remote continuous monitoring and analysis of pet vital signs and activity, today announced a strategic partnership with the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program, offered by Hartville Pet Insurance Group, which will provide preventive care, education and discounts to pet owners across North America.
The PetPace patented smart collar provides continuous monitoring and analysis of pet vital signs and activity. Owners can ensure the health and well-being of their pet via alerts sent to their smartphone through the PetPace app. It also provides veterinarians full access to client data for more complete care. Various sizes are available, and the collar serves as both a cat monitor and dog monitor.
“The care and well-being of pets across America is the anchor of our business, so finding a partner with the same vision and focus is exciting for us,” said President and CEO of PetPace, Avi Menkes. “Hartville, through the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program, has an outstanding knowledge of and history in the pet care marketplace. Our aligned missions make for a mutually beneficial partnership,” he concluded.
Hartville Pet Insurance Group is one of the oldest and largest providers of pet health insurance in the United States. Pet parents can choose from a variety of levels of coverage and add-on options to customize an insurance plan that fits the needs of their pets and their budget. Hartville is promoting the PetPace smart collar to its APHI customers and veterinarian partners to help raise awareness of the product.
“We want our pet parents to have the best access to education on pet health as well as insight into technology and services on the market that will keep their pets safe,” said Liz Watson, CMO for Hartville Pet Insurance Group. “In addition to offering customizable plans that provide coverage options for illnesses and injuries, we also promote wellness plans for our pets. The PetPace smart collar is a perfect companion to help pet parents keep pets well and also be aware of any emergencies,” she continued.
In addition to the consumer collar, PetPace offers a professional pet monitor collar for veterinary hospitals and animal care professionals that can be used in-house for intensive monitoring or on outpatients for detailed follow-up, tracking a pet’s progress, while instantly identifying adverse reactions as soon as they develop. Hartville through the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program has a long-standing relationship with many vet clinics nationwide and will help raise awareness of the collar for these partners as well.
“Pet care is a growing expense among Americans, who overwhelmingly feel that pets are a part of their family,” said Watson. “Our model is to help pet parents keep their furry family members healthy, and preventative care and wellness checkups are a very important aspect of pet health as well as financial management. This partnership allows each company to help customers have access to pet health care options.”
About Hartville
Hartville Pet Insurance Group provides pet insurance products that are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company and administered by Fairmont Specialty Insurance Agency (FSIA Insurance Agency in CA), members of the Crum and Forster Enterprise. In 2006, Hartville was named the only strategic partner for pet insurance of the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®). The ASPCA does not offer insurance. Through a strategic licensing agreement, in exchange for the use of ASPCA trademarks, the ASPCA is paid a royalty fee of up to 10% of the purchase price, with a minimum of $335,000 per year. Hartville Pet Insurance Group is a trademark of United States Fire Insurance Company. C&F and Crum & Forster are registered trademarks of United States Fire Insurance Company.
About PetPace
PetPace was founded in 2012 with the goal of improving the quality of life of our pets. PetPace specializes in remote monitoring of pets vital signs utilizing advanced analytical methods and alerting models. We have developed a low power, wireless collar fitted with an array of sensors that reports abnormal vital signs, physiological and behavioral parameters. Once an abnormal sign or behavior is detected, a sophisticated cloud- based analytical engine evaluates the signs and if needed, sends out an immediate alert regarding the suspected condition, allowing the owner or the vet to take pre-emptive action to protect their pet’s health. Learn more at http://PetPace.com. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
Burlington, MA (PRWEB) May 10, 2016
PetPace, the provider of an innovative smart pet collar for remote continuous monitoring and analysis of pet vital signs and activity, today announced a strategic partnership with the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program, offered by Hartville Pet Insurance Group, which will provide preventive care, education and discounts to pet owners across North America.
The PetPace patented smart collar provides continuous monitoring and analysis of pet vital signs and activity. Owners can ensure the health and well-being of their pet via alerts sent to their smartphone through the PetPace app. It also provides veterinarians full access to client data for more complete care. Various sizes are available, and the collar serves as both a cat monitor and dog monitor.
“The care and well-being of pets across America is the anchor of our business, so finding a partner with the same vision and focus is exciting for us,” said President and CEO of PetPace, Avi Menkes. “Hartville, through the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program, has an outstanding knowledge of and history in the pet care marketplace. Our aligned missions make for a mutually beneficial partnership,” he concluded.
Hartville Pet Insurance Group is one of the oldest and largest providers of pet health insurance in the United States. Pet parents can choose from a variety of levels of coverage and add-on options to customize an insurance plan that fits the needs of their pets and their budget. Hartville is promoting the PetPace smart collar to its APHI customers and veterinarian partners to help raise awareness of the product.
“We want our pet parents to have the best access to education on pet health as well as insight into technology and services on the market that will keep their pets safe,” said Liz Watson, CMO for Hartville Pet Insurance Group. “In addition to offering customizable plans that provide coverage options for illnesses and injuries, we also promote wellness plans for our pets. The PetPace smart collar is a perfect companion to help pet parents keep pets well and also be aware of any emergencies,” she continued.
In addition to the consumer collar, PetPace offers a professional pet monitor collar for veterinary hospitals and animal care professionals that can be used in-house for intensive monitoring or on outpatients for detailed follow-up, tracking a pet’s progress, while instantly identifying adverse reactions as soon as they develop. Hartville through the ASPCA Pet Health Insurance program has a long-standing relationship with many vet clinics nationwide and will help raise awareness of the collar for these partners as well.
“Pet care is a growing expense among Americans, who overwhelmingly feel that pets are a part of their family,” said Watson. “Our model is to help pet parents keep their furry family members healthy, and preventative care and wellness checkups are a very important aspect of pet health as well as financial management. This partnership allows each company to help customers have access to pet health care options.”
About Hartville
Hartville Pet Insurance Group provides pet insurance products that are underwritten by United States Fire Insurance Company and administered by Fairmont Specialty Insurance Agency (FSIA Insurance Agency in CA), members of the Crum and Forster Enterprise. In 2006, Hartville was named the only strategic partner for pet insurance of the ASPCA® (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®). The ASPCA does not offer insurance. Through a strategic licensing agreement, in exchange for the use of ASPCA trademarks, the ASPCA is paid a royalty fee of up to 10% of the purchase price, with a minimum of $335,000 per year. Hartville Pet Insurance Group is a trademark of United States Fire Insurance Company. C&F and Crum & Forster are registered trademarks of United States Fire Insurance Company.
About PetPace
PetPace was founded in 2012 with the goal of improving the quality of life of our pets. PetPace specializes in remote monitoring of pets vital signs utilizing advanced analytical methods and alerting models. We have developed a low power, wireless collar fitted with an array of sensors that reports abnormal vital signs, physiological and behavioral parameters. Once an abnormal sign or behavior is detected, a sophisticated cloud- based analytical engine evaluates the signs and if needed, sends out an immediate alert regarding the suspected condition, allowing the owner or the vet to take pre-emptive action to protect their pet’s health. Learn more at http://PetPace.com. Reported by PRWeb 6 hours ago.
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↧
Health Insurance Innovations' (HIIQ) CEO Patrick McNamee on Q1 2016 Results - Earnings Call Transcript
Reported by SeekingAlpha 4 hours ago.
↧
The Washington Post Accuses Stingy Americans Of Ruining Obama's Recovery
Every year it's the same: some legacy mainstream media mouthpiece muses on how great Obama's recovery would be... if only it wasn't for stingy US consumers refusing to spend like the drunken sailors of days gone by. Last June, it was the WSJ's Jon Hilsenrath who actually wrote a letter to American consumers, confused by their unwillingness to spend and explicitly accused them of being "stingy" even as the "Federal Reserve was counting" on them to spend, spend, spend. For those who have forgotten this absolute pearl, here it is again:
Dear American Consumer,
This is The Wall Street Journal. *We’re writing to ask if something is bothering you. *
*The sun shined in April and you didn’t spend much money. *The Commerce Department here in Washington says your spending didn’t increase at all adjusted for inflation last month compared to March. You appear to have mostly stayed home and watched television in December, January and February as well. We thought you would be out of your winter doldrums by now, but we don’t see much evidence that this is the case.
You have been saving more too. You socked away 5.6% of your income in April after taxes, even more than in March. This saving is not like you. What’s up?
We know you experienced a terrible shock when Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 and your employer responded by firing you. We know stock prices collapsed and that was shocking too. We also know you shouldn’t have taken out that large second mortgage during the housing boom to fix up your kitchen with granite countertops. You’ve been working very hard to pay off this debt and we admire your fortitude. *But these shocks seem like a long time ago to us in a newsroom. Is that still what’s holding you back?*
Do you know the American economy is counting on you? We can’t count on the rest of the world to spend money on our stuff. The rest of the world is in an even worse mood than you are. *You should feel lucky you’re not a Greek consumer*. And China, well they’re truly struggling there just to reach the very modest goal of 7% growth.
*The Federal Reserve is counting on you too. Fed officials want to start raising the cost of your borrowing because they worry they’ve been giving you a free ride for too long with zero interest rates. *We listen to Fed officials all of the time here at The Wall Street Journal, and they just can’t figure you out.
Please let us know the problem. You can reach us at any of the emails below.
Sincerely,
The Wall Street Journal’s Central Bank Team
-By Jon Hilsenrath
In retrospect, we can't help but chuckle at the part about "*Fed officials want to start raising the cost of your borrowing because they worry they’ve been giving you a free ride for too long with zero interest rates*."
That said, one year later, it's the turn of that other administration mouthpiece (owned no less by the man who has converted US consumerism into a business empire, Amazon's Jeff Bezos) the Washington Post, to dwell on precisely the same topic: why are Americans so paralyzed from fears over a recession that ended so long ago, that instead of spending, American consumers are rushing to save in the process preventing Obama's wonderful recovery from blooming.
While it does not go so far as Hilsenrath in explicitly accusing consumers of being "stingy", it does so indirectly when the author of what appears to be a hit piece aimed at the US middle class, or all those who no longer believe in maxing out their credit card, Robert Samuelson says that *the real drag in the US economy is "us*", by which he means all those Americans refusing to go out and buy "stuff" (well, maybe not Samuelson: we are confident Samuelson is well compensated by Jeff Bezos to inspire even more AMZN bottom-line boosting consumerism). As a result, "American consumers aren’t what they used to be .... *and that helps explain the plodding economic recovery.*"
You see, dear American consumers, it's all your fault. Not soaring, record rents, not spiking health insurance premiums that are eating away at your last disposable dollar, not that the so many of the "jobs created" in recent years have been part-time or minimum wage, not the fact that under ZIRP you can't generate any interest income and are forced to save even more for retirement, not that as a result of central bank policy pension and retirement funds are unveiling cuts to retiree benefits, not that real disposable incomes have gone nowhere in the past decade, not even that a third of US households can no longer even afford the basics of food, rent and transportation...
It's *your *unwillingness to spend; it is - in the words of the WaPo author - "*the surge in saving that is the real drag on the economy.*"
Really. Here is the full article:
*American consumers aren’t what they used to be — and that helps explain the plodding economic recovery*. It gets no respect despite creating 14 million jobs and lasting almost seven years. The great gripe is that economic growth has been held to about 2 percent a year, well below historical standards. *This sluggishness reflects a profound psychological transformation of American shoppers, who have dampened their consumption spending, affecting about two-thirds of the economy*. To be blunt: We have sobered up.
This, as much as any campaign proposal, may shape our economic future. There’s an Old Consumer and a New Consumer, divided by the Great Recession. The Old Consumer borrowed eagerly and spent freely. *The New Consumer saves soberly and spends prudently*. Of course, there are millions of exceptions to these generalizations. Before the recession, not everyone was a credit addict; now, not everyone is a disciplined saver. Still, vast changes in beliefs and habits have occurred.
A Gallup poll shows just how vast. In 2001, Gallup began asking: “Are you the type of person who more enjoys spending money or who more enjoys saving money?” Early responses were almost evenly split; in 2006, 50 percent preferred saving and 45 percent favored spending. After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the gap widened spectacularly. *In 2016, 65 percent said saving and only 33 percent spending. *
What’s happening is the opposite of the credit boom that caused the financial crisis. Then, Americans skimped on saving and binged on borrowing. This stimulated the economy. Now, the reverse is happening. Americans *are repaying old debt, avoiding new debt and saving more. Although consumer spending has hardly collapsed, it provides less stimulus than before*. (A conspicuous exception: light-vehicle sales, which hit a record 17.4 million in 2015).
*Consider the personal savings rate: the difference between Americans’ after-tax income and their spending*. If a household has income of $50,000 and spends $45,000, its savings rate is 10 percent. Here are actual figures. From 1990 to 2005, the savings rate dropped from 7.8 percent to 2.6 percent.* Since then, the savings rate has risen; it was 5.1 percent in 2015. *
Federal Reserve figures on debt tell a similar story. From 1999 to 2007, household borrowing (mainly home mortgages and credit card debt) increased nearly 10 percent annually, far faster than income gains. People mistakenly believed that they could safely borrow against the inflated values of their homes and stocks. *Now, borrowing is subdued. In 2015, household debt of $14 trillion was unchanged from 2007. While many consumers borrowed, others repaid or defaulted. *
*The surge in saving is the real drag on the economy*. It has many causes. “People got a cruel lesson about [the dangers] of debt,” says economist Matthew Shapiro of the University of Michigan. Households also save more to replace the losses suffered on homes and stocks. *But much saving is precautionary: Having once assumed that a financial crisis of the 2008-2009 variety could never happen, people now save to protect themselves against the unknown*. Research by economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics finds higher saving at all income levels.
In theory, it’s easy to replace lost consumer demand. In practice, it’s not so easy. Businesses could build more factories and shopping malls. But with weaker consumer spending, do we need them? More exports would help, but economies abroad are weak.
Government policies are also frustrated. The Fed’s low interest rates don’t work if people don’t want to borrow. Ditto for tax cuts. During the Great Recession, Congress enacted several temporary tax cuts to boost consumer spending. The effect was modest, as studies by Shapiro and his collaborators found. Take the case of the two-percentage-point suspension of the Social Security payroll tax in 2011 and 2012. *Two-thirds of the tax cut went to saving and repaying debt — not spending. *
The horror...
There is more but we'll cut off here, wondering why the WaPo article did not have a disclaimer that it is owned by the world's largest retailer by market capitalization, and will instead add to the scorn.
Yes, dear broke American consumers which once made up the world's most vibrant middle class: please stop being such a nuisance and source of confusion to nice Op-Ed columnists at the WaPo, the WSJ and, of course, the Fed and their $4.5 trillion in direct injections into the offshore bank accounts of America's wealthiest 1%, and instead go ahead and splurge all your savings on trinkets, gadgets and gizmos you don't need.
Only that way will Obama's recovery be truly complete. Reported by Zero Hedge 2 hours ago.
Dear American Consumer,
This is The Wall Street Journal. *We’re writing to ask if something is bothering you. *
*The sun shined in April and you didn’t spend much money. *The Commerce Department here in Washington says your spending didn’t increase at all adjusted for inflation last month compared to March. You appear to have mostly stayed home and watched television in December, January and February as well. We thought you would be out of your winter doldrums by now, but we don’t see much evidence that this is the case.
You have been saving more too. You socked away 5.6% of your income in April after taxes, even more than in March. This saving is not like you. What’s up?
We know you experienced a terrible shock when Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008 and your employer responded by firing you. We know stock prices collapsed and that was shocking too. We also know you shouldn’t have taken out that large second mortgage during the housing boom to fix up your kitchen with granite countertops. You’ve been working very hard to pay off this debt and we admire your fortitude. *But these shocks seem like a long time ago to us in a newsroom. Is that still what’s holding you back?*
Do you know the American economy is counting on you? We can’t count on the rest of the world to spend money on our stuff. The rest of the world is in an even worse mood than you are. *You should feel lucky you’re not a Greek consumer*. And China, well they’re truly struggling there just to reach the very modest goal of 7% growth.
*The Federal Reserve is counting on you too. Fed officials want to start raising the cost of your borrowing because they worry they’ve been giving you a free ride for too long with zero interest rates. *We listen to Fed officials all of the time here at The Wall Street Journal, and they just can’t figure you out.
Please let us know the problem. You can reach us at any of the emails below.
Sincerely,
The Wall Street Journal’s Central Bank Team
-By Jon Hilsenrath
In retrospect, we can't help but chuckle at the part about "*Fed officials want to start raising the cost of your borrowing because they worry they’ve been giving you a free ride for too long with zero interest rates*."
That said, one year later, it's the turn of that other administration mouthpiece (owned no less by the man who has converted US consumerism into a business empire, Amazon's Jeff Bezos) the Washington Post, to dwell on precisely the same topic: why are Americans so paralyzed from fears over a recession that ended so long ago, that instead of spending, American consumers are rushing to save in the process preventing Obama's wonderful recovery from blooming.
While it does not go so far as Hilsenrath in explicitly accusing consumers of being "stingy", it does so indirectly when the author of what appears to be a hit piece aimed at the US middle class, or all those who no longer believe in maxing out their credit card, Robert Samuelson says that *the real drag in the US economy is "us*", by which he means all those Americans refusing to go out and buy "stuff" (well, maybe not Samuelson: we are confident Samuelson is well compensated by Jeff Bezos to inspire even more AMZN bottom-line boosting consumerism). As a result, "American consumers aren’t what they used to be .... *and that helps explain the plodding economic recovery.*"
You see, dear American consumers, it's all your fault. Not soaring, record rents, not spiking health insurance premiums that are eating away at your last disposable dollar, not that the so many of the "jobs created" in recent years have been part-time or minimum wage, not the fact that under ZIRP you can't generate any interest income and are forced to save even more for retirement, not that as a result of central bank policy pension and retirement funds are unveiling cuts to retiree benefits, not that real disposable incomes have gone nowhere in the past decade, not even that a third of US households can no longer even afford the basics of food, rent and transportation...
It's *your *unwillingness to spend; it is - in the words of the WaPo author - "*the surge in saving that is the real drag on the economy.*"
Really. Here is the full article:
*American consumers aren’t what they used to be — and that helps explain the plodding economic recovery*. It gets no respect despite creating 14 million jobs and lasting almost seven years. The great gripe is that economic growth has been held to about 2 percent a year, well below historical standards. *This sluggishness reflects a profound psychological transformation of American shoppers, who have dampened their consumption spending, affecting about two-thirds of the economy*. To be blunt: We have sobered up.
This, as much as any campaign proposal, may shape our economic future. There’s an Old Consumer and a New Consumer, divided by the Great Recession. The Old Consumer borrowed eagerly and spent freely. *The New Consumer saves soberly and spends prudently*. Of course, there are millions of exceptions to these generalizations. Before the recession, not everyone was a credit addict; now, not everyone is a disciplined saver. Still, vast changes in beliefs and habits have occurred.
A Gallup poll shows just how vast. In 2001, Gallup began asking: “Are you the type of person who more enjoys spending money or who more enjoys saving money?” Early responses were almost evenly split; in 2006, 50 percent preferred saving and 45 percent favored spending. After the 2008-2009 financial crisis, the gap widened spectacularly. *In 2016, 65 percent said saving and only 33 percent spending. *
What’s happening is the opposite of the credit boom that caused the financial crisis. Then, Americans skimped on saving and binged on borrowing. This stimulated the economy. Now, the reverse is happening. Americans *are repaying old debt, avoiding new debt and saving more. Although consumer spending has hardly collapsed, it provides less stimulus than before*. (A conspicuous exception: light-vehicle sales, which hit a record 17.4 million in 2015).
*Consider the personal savings rate: the difference between Americans’ after-tax income and their spending*. If a household has income of $50,000 and spends $45,000, its savings rate is 10 percent. Here are actual figures. From 1990 to 2005, the savings rate dropped from 7.8 percent to 2.6 percent.* Since then, the savings rate has risen; it was 5.1 percent in 2015. *
Federal Reserve figures on debt tell a similar story. From 1999 to 2007, household borrowing (mainly home mortgages and credit card debt) increased nearly 10 percent annually, far faster than income gains. People mistakenly believed that they could safely borrow against the inflated values of their homes and stocks. *Now, borrowing is subdued. In 2015, household debt of $14 trillion was unchanged from 2007. While many consumers borrowed, others repaid or defaulted. *
*The surge in saving is the real drag on the economy*. It has many causes. “People got a cruel lesson about [the dangers] of debt,” says economist Matthew Shapiro of the University of Michigan. Households also save more to replace the losses suffered on homes and stocks. *But much saving is precautionary: Having once assumed that a financial crisis of the 2008-2009 variety could never happen, people now save to protect themselves against the unknown*. Research by economist Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics finds higher saving at all income levels.
In theory, it’s easy to replace lost consumer demand. In practice, it’s not so easy. Businesses could build more factories and shopping malls. But with weaker consumer spending, do we need them? More exports would help, but economies abroad are weak.
Government policies are also frustrated. The Fed’s low interest rates don’t work if people don’t want to borrow. Ditto for tax cuts. During the Great Recession, Congress enacted several temporary tax cuts to boost consumer spending. The effect was modest, as studies by Shapiro and his collaborators found. Take the case of the two-percentage-point suspension of the Social Security payroll tax in 2011 and 2012. *Two-thirds of the tax cut went to saving and repaying debt — not spending. *
The horror...
There is more but we'll cut off here, wondering why the WaPo article did not have a disclaimer that it is owned by the world's largest retailer by market capitalization, and will instead add to the scorn.
Yes, dear broke American consumers which once made up the world's most vibrant middle class: please stop being such a nuisance and source of confusion to nice Op-Ed columnists at the WaPo, the WSJ and, of course, the Fed and their $4.5 trillion in direct injections into the offshore bank accounts of America's wealthiest 1%, and instead go ahead and splurge all your savings on trinkets, gadgets and gizmos you don't need.
Only that way will Obama's recovery be truly complete. Reported by Zero Hedge 2 hours ago.
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Milosz documentary highlighted in literary film series
A survivor of the Russian Revolution and both world wars, Milosz was isolated from the American literary scene and from literary life in Poland, where his books had been banned since he defected to the West in 1951. At one point he felt so lonely that he mailed his new poems to himself, “as if to get a response from the world,” says poet Robert Hass in the splendid documentary “The Age of Czeslaw Milosz.” A friend, fellow Berkeley prof and Milosz’s primary English translator, Hass will introduce this expansive film by Lithuanian director Juozas Javaitis at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive on June 2 and 3. Other films in the series, curated by movie maven Tom Luddy, include the premiere of “Nelson Algren Live,” introduced by its director, Oscar Bucher, screenwriter Barry Gifford and the venerable San Francisco director Philip Kaufman (Algren appeared as himself in Kaufman’s 1964 Chicago film “Goldstein”); Carroll Ballard’s classic 1979 “The Black Stallion,” digitally restored, with the director on hand to talk about it; and a newly restored version of John Huston’s gritty 1962 “Fat City,” to be discussed by Leonard Gardner, who wrote the screenplay based on his novel, and film historian David Thomson. “I miss him and revisit him all the time — his work, his mind, his way of thinking about things,” says Hass, a former U.S. poet laureate and 2007 National Book Award winner. Milosz, who wrote that from an early age he “grieved because of the cruelty of the world” and “learned to bear misfortune,” tapped many voices to summon and make sense of what it was like to live in his explosive time — or as Hass puts it, “to contain as much of the world as possible.” “He kept inventing ways to try to express as much reality as he could,” adds Hass, whose final project with Milosz was the 1998 book “Road-Side Dog,” a series of prose pieces, flavored with aphorisms and anecdotes, musing on the poet’s life. Local fans and friends of Gina Leishman, the noted composer and multi-instrumentalist who has performed in the Bay Area often with her Kamikaze Ground Crew and other groups, are chipping into a GoFundMe online campaign to help cover Leishman’s expenses as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer. “She has the same health insurance most single, self-unemployed artists have — none — and can use your help,” says San Francisco pianist and musical director Joshua Raoul Brody.
Reported by SFGate 2 hours ago.
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Why some doctors think the government should handle all insurance
There are a lot of ways to get health insurance — but not everyone does. Right now, there are multiple payers, including private companies and the federal government. But a new proposal from the Physicians for a National Health Program advocacy group suggests there should be only one. Proponents in Louisville rallied Tuesday near the University of Louisville School of Medicine to discuss the proposal, which calls for all health insurance to be administered by the federal government — the "single-payer"…
Reported by bizjournals 29 minutes ago.
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Corporations that pay low wages won't be paying extra fees to Colorado
A first-in-the-nation effort to require some large companies that don’t offer health insurance to pay a fee to the state of Colorado ended Tuesday when a Republican-led state Senate committee killed it in the same partisan ways passed the Democratic-majority House. House Bill 1435 — sponsored by House Majority Leader Crisanta Duran, D-Denver, and Rep. K.C. Becker, D-Boulder — would have assessed a fee on corporations with at least 250 employees in Colorado that pay some workers less than $12…
Reported by bizjournals 19 hours ago.
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RAM Technologies, Inc. to Sponsor and Exhibit at AHIP’s Institute 2016 Highlighting Capabilities to Lower Cost of Medicare and Medicaid Administration
RAM Technologies to highlight next generation software for health plan administration at annual meeting of America’s Health Insurance Plans, Institute 2016.
Fort Washington, PA (PRWEB) May 11, 2016
RAM Technologies, Inc., the perennial leader in the development of enterprise software solutions for healthcare payers is pleased to announce its continued support of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) with the sponsorship of Institute 2016. RAM will be participating as both a sponsor and exhibitor and will be demonstrating proven solutions to reduce the cost of Medicare Advantage, Managed Medicaid and Dual Eligible administration. This year’s conference will be held June 15th through 17th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“AHIP is focused on ensuring access to quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans and we proudly support their efforts,” stated Christopher P. Minton, Executive Vice President of RAM Technologies. “We are looking forward to this year’s conference and to demonstrating how our solutions contribute to this goal.”
AHIP’s Institute 2016 is the essential event for the healthcare industry. This year’s conference is focused on answering essential health plan questions including:· What are the biggest disruptors to the health care system, where are they coming from and how will they affect future business strategies?
· How can health plans efficiently direct population health and address the needs of those with chronic conditions?
· How can big data be used to make better business decisions, streamline operational and assessment processes, improve clinical care outcomes and enhance the consumer experience?
· And more…
Within the exhibit hall of this year’s event RAM will be highlighting capabilities to reduce the cost of administering government sponsored healthcare programs, featuring their leading edge solutions HEALTHsuite® Mercato and eHealthsuite™
HEALTHsuite Mercato is a core administrative platform designed to simplify the administration of Medicare and Medicaid. It is a highly flexible and adaptable browser-based solution that provides unparalleled automation across the health plan enterprise. HEALTHsuite Mercato features fully integrated functionality for eligibility and enrollment, plan, product and benefit administration, provider contracting, provider reimbursement, provider credentialing, medical / utilization management, care management, premium billing, encounter / claims administration, overpayment recovery, customer service, contact management, capitation, subrogation, fulfillment, EDI processing, management / operational reporting and more.
In addition to the enterprise capabilities provided by HEALTHsuite Mercato, RAM also offers a flexible and secure web portal, eHealthsuite. eHealthsuite enables members and providers to interact in real time with the health plan through a secure Internet connection. This 24 x 7 self-service functionality lowers administrative costs by reducing demands on a health plan’s customer service personnel.
About America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
AHIP is the national trade association representing the health insurance industry. AHIP’s members provide health and supplemental benefits to 200 million Americans through employer-sponsored coverage, the individual insurance market, and public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. AHIP advocates for public policies that expand access to affordable health care coverage to all Americans through a competitive marketplace that fosters choice, quality and innovation. For more information visit ahip.org
About RAM Technologies:
RAM Technologies is the leading provider of enterprise claims processing software and claims adjudication software for health plans. For over 34 years RAM Technologies has led the way in the creation of Medicaid software solutions, Medicare software solutions and software for dual eligible processing (the Medicare-Medicaid Financial Alignment Initiative). RAM Technologies has been recognized on Inc. Magazine’s List of Fastest Growing Private Companies and the Philadelphia Business Journal’s List of Top Software Developers for their advancements in the creation of comprehensive claims management software for Medicare and Medicaid administration. To learn more about RAM Technologies’ healthcare claims processing and managed care software solutions call (877) 654-8810 or visit ramtechinc.com. Reported by PRWeb 14 hours ago.
Fort Washington, PA (PRWEB) May 11, 2016
RAM Technologies, Inc., the perennial leader in the development of enterprise software solutions for healthcare payers is pleased to announce its continued support of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) with the sponsorship of Institute 2016. RAM will be participating as both a sponsor and exhibitor and will be demonstrating proven solutions to reduce the cost of Medicare Advantage, Managed Medicaid and Dual Eligible administration. This year’s conference will be held June 15th through 17th in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“AHIP is focused on ensuring access to quality and affordable healthcare for all Americans and we proudly support their efforts,” stated Christopher P. Minton, Executive Vice President of RAM Technologies. “We are looking forward to this year’s conference and to demonstrating how our solutions contribute to this goal.”
AHIP’s Institute 2016 is the essential event for the healthcare industry. This year’s conference is focused on answering essential health plan questions including:· What are the biggest disruptors to the health care system, where are they coming from and how will they affect future business strategies?
· How can health plans efficiently direct population health and address the needs of those with chronic conditions?
· How can big data be used to make better business decisions, streamline operational and assessment processes, improve clinical care outcomes and enhance the consumer experience?
· And more…
Within the exhibit hall of this year’s event RAM will be highlighting capabilities to reduce the cost of administering government sponsored healthcare programs, featuring their leading edge solutions HEALTHsuite® Mercato and eHealthsuite™
HEALTHsuite Mercato is a core administrative platform designed to simplify the administration of Medicare and Medicaid. It is a highly flexible and adaptable browser-based solution that provides unparalleled automation across the health plan enterprise. HEALTHsuite Mercato features fully integrated functionality for eligibility and enrollment, plan, product and benefit administration, provider contracting, provider reimbursement, provider credentialing, medical / utilization management, care management, premium billing, encounter / claims administration, overpayment recovery, customer service, contact management, capitation, subrogation, fulfillment, EDI processing, management / operational reporting and more.
In addition to the enterprise capabilities provided by HEALTHsuite Mercato, RAM also offers a flexible and secure web portal, eHealthsuite. eHealthsuite enables members and providers to interact in real time with the health plan through a secure Internet connection. This 24 x 7 self-service functionality lowers administrative costs by reducing demands on a health plan’s customer service personnel.
About America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP)
AHIP is the national trade association representing the health insurance industry. AHIP’s members provide health and supplemental benefits to 200 million Americans through employer-sponsored coverage, the individual insurance market, and public programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. AHIP advocates for public policies that expand access to affordable health care coverage to all Americans through a competitive marketplace that fosters choice, quality and innovation. For more information visit ahip.org
About RAM Technologies:
RAM Technologies is the leading provider of enterprise claims processing software and claims adjudication software for health plans. For over 34 years RAM Technologies has led the way in the creation of Medicaid software solutions, Medicare software solutions and software for dual eligible processing (the Medicare-Medicaid Financial Alignment Initiative). RAM Technologies has been recognized on Inc. Magazine’s List of Fastest Growing Private Companies and the Philadelphia Business Journal’s List of Top Software Developers for their advancements in the creation of comprehensive claims management software for Medicare and Medicaid administration. To learn more about RAM Technologies’ healthcare claims processing and managed care software solutions call (877) 654-8810 or visit ramtechinc.com. Reported by PRWeb 14 hours ago.
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New Tax Credit Would Help Families “Age In Place,” Says The Senior Citizens League
The Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708), legislation that would provide a tax credit for caregiving expenses. Introduced by Reps. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) and Tom Reed (NY-23), the bill would provide up to $3,000 in a family caregiver tax credit.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) May 11, 2016
The Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708), legislation that would provide a tax credit for caregiving expenses. Introduced by Reps. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) and Tom Reed (NY-23), the bill would provide up to $3,000 in a family caregiver tax credit.
At age 62, Susan Gross of Barboursville, Virginia, is nearing retirement age, but has no plans to stop working yet. High prescription costs and the need to provide care for a disabled adult son and her 90 - year old mother are other major reasons. With her rheumatoid arthritis medication, Humira, costing $3,900 a month, both Susan and her husband continue to work full time. Susan is dependent on the health insurance coverage available through her husband’s employer to help her afford her medications.
But in addition to health benefits, Susan needs the income from work to help cover the expenses of family caregiving. Her 43 - year old son, Andrew who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, and has lived at home with Susan his entire life. Suffering from seizures, a speech disorder and difficulties with walking and moving around safely, Andrew requires daily care. More recently Susan moved her 90 - year old mother in as well. With day care help from one of Susan’s daughters and other family members, Susan has been able to keep her son and mom where they want to be — out of institutions, and at home with family — while she continues to work.
Caregiving, however, is a huge commitment in time and financial resources for the caregiver, who often has to take time off from work, and give up his or her own retirement savings to provide care for others. Although Susan’s mom receives Railroad Retirement benefits and has a small savings to reimburse Susan for expenses, Andrew, who is too disabled to ever have ever worked, is dependent on Medicaid and receives only a modest monthly Social Security disability benefit of just $756. Susan and her husband cover all the rest of Andrew’s expenses — housing, food, uncovered medical expenses, transportation, clothing, and anything else.
“The Senior Citizens League believes that as retirees and disabled people live longer, thousands of older Americans like Susan and her husband are working hard to make ends meet while at the same time providing care and support to aging family members and disabled adult children, says TSCL Chairman Ed Cates. The Senior Citizens League recently endorsed The Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708), legislation that would provide a tax credit for caregiving expenses.
Introduced by Reps. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) and Tom Reed (NY-23), the bill would provide up to $3,000 in a family caregiver tax credit. Expenses like groceries, modifications to a home, transportation to a doctors’ visits, or hiring someone to look after an elderly patient or disabled child would qualify for the credit. “A caregiving credit would be a much needed help,” says Susan. “It would benefit me and benefit a lot of other older families that I work with,” she says.
“When family caregivers don’t get the support they need, and few get enough, they are faced with leaving their jobs, taking on significant debt, or moving their loved ones out of their homes and into costly assisted living facilities,” Cates notes. TSCL believes this growing problem must be addressed to enable older and disabled Americans to live with dignity in their homes and communities. TSCL encourages the public to contact Members of Congress and ask elected lawmakers to support the Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708). To learn, more visit http://www.SeniorsLeague.org.
###
With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit http://www.SeniorsLeague.org for more information. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.
Washington, D.C. (PRWEB) May 11, 2016
The Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708), legislation that would provide a tax credit for caregiving expenses. Introduced by Reps. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) and Tom Reed (NY-23), the bill would provide up to $3,000 in a family caregiver tax credit.
At age 62, Susan Gross of Barboursville, Virginia, is nearing retirement age, but has no plans to stop working yet. High prescription costs and the need to provide care for a disabled adult son and her 90 - year old mother are other major reasons. With her rheumatoid arthritis medication, Humira, costing $3,900 a month, both Susan and her husband continue to work full time. Susan is dependent on the health insurance coverage available through her husband’s employer to help her afford her medications.
But in addition to health benefits, Susan needs the income from work to help cover the expenses of family caregiving. Her 43 - year old son, Andrew who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as an infant, and has lived at home with Susan his entire life. Suffering from seizures, a speech disorder and difficulties with walking and moving around safely, Andrew requires daily care. More recently Susan moved her 90 - year old mother in as well. With day care help from one of Susan’s daughters and other family members, Susan has been able to keep her son and mom where they want to be — out of institutions, and at home with family — while she continues to work.
Caregiving, however, is a huge commitment in time and financial resources for the caregiver, who often has to take time off from work, and give up his or her own retirement savings to provide care for others. Although Susan’s mom receives Railroad Retirement benefits and has a small savings to reimburse Susan for expenses, Andrew, who is too disabled to ever have ever worked, is dependent on Medicaid and receives only a modest monthly Social Security disability benefit of just $756. Susan and her husband cover all the rest of Andrew’s expenses — housing, food, uncovered medical expenses, transportation, clothing, and anything else.
“The Senior Citizens League believes that as retirees and disabled people live longer, thousands of older Americans like Susan and her husband are working hard to make ends meet while at the same time providing care and support to aging family members and disabled adult children, says TSCL Chairman Ed Cates. The Senior Citizens League recently endorsed The Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708), legislation that would provide a tax credit for caregiving expenses.
Introduced by Reps. Linda Sanchez (CA-38) and Tom Reed (NY-23), the bill would provide up to $3,000 in a family caregiver tax credit. Expenses like groceries, modifications to a home, transportation to a doctors’ visits, or hiring someone to look after an elderly patient or disabled child would qualify for the credit. “A caregiving credit would be a much needed help,” says Susan. “It would benefit me and benefit a lot of other older families that I work with,” she says.
“When family caregivers don’t get the support they need, and few get enough, they are faced with leaving their jobs, taking on significant debt, or moving their loved ones out of their homes and into costly assisted living facilities,” Cates notes. TSCL believes this growing problem must be addressed to enable older and disabled Americans to live with dignity in their homes and communities. TSCL encourages the public to contact Members of Congress and ask elected lawmakers to support the Credit For Caring Act (H.R. 4708). To learn, more visit http://www.SeniorsLeague.org.
###
With 1.2 million supporters, The Senior Citizens League is one of the nation’s largest nonpartisan seniors groups. Its mission is to promote and assist members and supporters, to educate and alert senior citizens about their rights and freedoms as U.S. Citizens, and to protect and defend the benefits senior citizens have earned and paid for. The Senior Citizens League is a proud affiliate of The Retired Enlisted Association. Visit http://www.SeniorsLeague.org for more information. Reported by PRWeb 13 hours ago.
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CareSource to take part in federal health insurance forum
CareSource will take part in a federal government forum and reveal details about its performance on the health insurance marketplace. The company will be one of several companies which will attend a forum held by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C. There, the companies will share their strategies on consumer engagement, provider contracting and care coordination models. "This discussion will also help us work…
Reported by bizjournals 11 hours ago.
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Allianz confirms it is aiming for €10.5bn for 2016
Allianz today confirmed its operating profit outlook of approximately €10.5bn (£8.3bn) for 2016, after experiencing what it called a strong start to the year.
"The first quarter represented a great start to the year," said Dieter Wemmer, finance chief of Allianz SE. "We are well on our way towards achieving our operating profit target in the range of €10.5bn, plus or minus €500m for the entire year"
The German insurer also confirmed its results highlights today, which it had already reported in an earlier statement at the start of the month. Net income had risen to €2.2bn for the three months ended March 2016, up 20.5 per cent from €1.8bn the year before.
However, revenue had fallen to €35.4bn, down 6.4 per cent from €37.8bn, while operating profit had dropped to €2.8bn, down 3.5 per cent from €2.9bn.
The company pinned some of the fall in revenue on lower premiums in its life and health segment of its Taiwan-based business. Allianz announced yesterday that it has agreed to sell a life insurance portfolio of Allianz Taiwan Life to Taiwan Life Insurance, adding in a statement that, thanks to the constraints of Solvency II, Taiwan Life Insurance would be in a "better position to effectively manage the affected life insurance contracts".
*Read more: *Health insurance is about to become more costly
Performance in the company's asset management division was revealed to have declined particularly sharply, with operating profits falling by 16.5 per cent to €463m, while operating revenues dropped by 11.8 per cent to €1.4bn.
"Although we anticipate a challenging environment for the asset management industry, we continue to expect positive net flows at PIMCO [Pacific Investment Management Company, an investment management company owned by Allianz] in the second half of the year, alongside steady net inflows at Allianz Global Investors," Wemmer remarked.
*Read more: *What EU insurers need to be more coordinated about
Investors, however, were not so optimistic. At time of writing, shares in the company were trading down 1.8 per cent at €139.20. Reported by City A.M. 9 hours ago.
"The first quarter represented a great start to the year," said Dieter Wemmer, finance chief of Allianz SE. "We are well on our way towards achieving our operating profit target in the range of €10.5bn, plus or minus €500m for the entire year"
The German insurer also confirmed its results highlights today, which it had already reported in an earlier statement at the start of the month. Net income had risen to €2.2bn for the three months ended March 2016, up 20.5 per cent from €1.8bn the year before.
However, revenue had fallen to €35.4bn, down 6.4 per cent from €37.8bn, while operating profit had dropped to €2.8bn, down 3.5 per cent from €2.9bn.
The company pinned some of the fall in revenue on lower premiums in its life and health segment of its Taiwan-based business. Allianz announced yesterday that it has agreed to sell a life insurance portfolio of Allianz Taiwan Life to Taiwan Life Insurance, adding in a statement that, thanks to the constraints of Solvency II, Taiwan Life Insurance would be in a "better position to effectively manage the affected life insurance contracts".
*Read more: *Health insurance is about to become more costly
Performance in the company's asset management division was revealed to have declined particularly sharply, with operating profits falling by 16.5 per cent to €463m, while operating revenues dropped by 11.8 per cent to €1.4bn.
"Although we anticipate a challenging environment for the asset management industry, we continue to expect positive net flows at PIMCO [Pacific Investment Management Company, an investment management company owned by Allianz] in the second half of the year, alongside steady net inflows at Allianz Global Investors," Wemmer remarked.
*Read more: *What EU insurers need to be more coordinated about
Investors, however, were not so optimistic. At time of writing, shares in the company were trading down 1.8 per cent at €139.20. Reported by City A.M. 9 hours ago.
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Obamacare Premiums In California May Rise 8 Percent Next Year, State Predicts
California’s health insurance exchange estimates that its Obamacare premiums may rise 8 percent on average next year, which would end two consecutive years of more modest 4 percent increases.
Reported by ajc.com 8 hours ago.
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Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Improves Well-Being Of 600,000 Healthcare Customers through Technology and Managed Services
Ocean State’s Leading Health Insurance Provider Partners with Carousel Industries to Create “As a Service” Model to Future Proof Its Customer Service
Exeter and Providence, RI (PRWEB) May 11, 2016
Carousel Industries, a leading provider of communication and network technologies and managed services, has been selected by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) to transform the company’s IT infrastructure and network support and provide managed services 24x7x365.
As part of a long-term strategic plan designed by BCBSRI’s Managing Director, Information Services Operations, Paul Loveland, BCBSRI and Carousel are implementing new voice and networking solutions aimed at creating a more nimble organization and dramatically improving the organization’s ability to deliver world-class service to more than 600,000 customers state-wide.
“Our corporate mission is to improve our members’ quality of life by facilitating their access to affordable, high-quality healthcare,” said Loveland. “Therefore, our technology platforms must support our business units and not only continuously reduce costs, but also help improve customer service and positively impact the bottom line.
“In selecting Carousel as our managed services provider, complete alignment with our vision was critical, as their team has become a seamless extension to ours. When IT infrastructure becomes outdated, it acts like a spider web and makes everything slower and more complicated. Carousel helps BCBSRI unravel that web and be more structured, more nimble, and more customer-focused,” Loveland added
As the principal managed services provider responsible for overall design, implementation, and ongoing management of the network infrastructure at BCBSRI, Carousel's initial focus will be on delivering all networking and telephony support – from purchasing to implementation, to maintenance and support, to decommissioning, and architecture and assessment around all voice and networking solutions.
Carousel has already initiated work on this project, updating portions of the network infrastructure, allowing for enhanced network performance at a reduced total cost of ownership. Additionally, Carousel has introduced a predictive dialing application into the contact center for improved customer outreach. As Carousel staff assumes day-to-day operational management responsibilities, the existing IT staff at BCBSRI will derive greater value by working with the business units to improve BCBSRI’s healthcare benefits delivery to their customers. This approach drives cost savings and keeps the technology at the forefront of delivering unparalleled customer service.
“Carousel is thrilled and honored to be working with the premier health insurance provider in Rhode Island," commented James Marsh, Chief Revenue Officer, Carousel Industries. "Working with a visionary like Paul Loveland truly challenges our team to take its capabilities to the next level. Our goal is to support Paul’s mission to ensure that the right information is delivered in the right format at the right time to BCBSRI’s most valued asset: its customers."
About Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
Blue Cross has been providing superior health insurance to Rhode Islanders for more than 75 years. The state’s leading health insurer, Blue Cross covers more than 450,000 members. As the company works to support the national and local laws of healthcare reform, one thing is certain: Blue Cross is committed to helping Rhode Islanders meet their healthcare needs by positively impacting both the quality and cost of healthcare in the state.
About Carousel Industries
Carousel Industries is a recognized leader in helping organizations evolve the way they communicate and orchestrate the flow of information throughout their networks. Carousel enables clients to connect and collaborate the way modern IT users demand and advance from their current network infrastructure to meet tomorrow’s standards. With deep expertise across a vast portfolio of communication, network, and security technologies, Carousel is able to design, implement, and support solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each customer. By offering professional and managed services with flexible deployments in the cloud, Carousel ensures clients achieve agility and utilize technologies in the way most effective for their business.
Since 1992 Carousel has grown by an average of 30 percent annually and today has more than 6,000 customers, including 35 of the Fortune 100. The company has been widely recognized by multiple leading industry publications and consortiums as a top technology partner, managed service provider, and cloud solution provider. It has made the Inc. 500/5000 list of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the U.S. seven times overall. Headquartered in Exeter, RI, Carousel has more than 1,000 employees working in 30 locations across the U.S. For more information on Carousel’s Public Safety Practice, please visit: http://www.carouselindustries.com/industry-solutions/public-safety. Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.
Exeter and Providence, RI (PRWEB) May 11, 2016
Carousel Industries, a leading provider of communication and network technologies and managed services, has been selected by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) to transform the company’s IT infrastructure and network support and provide managed services 24x7x365.
As part of a long-term strategic plan designed by BCBSRI’s Managing Director, Information Services Operations, Paul Loveland, BCBSRI and Carousel are implementing new voice and networking solutions aimed at creating a more nimble organization and dramatically improving the organization’s ability to deliver world-class service to more than 600,000 customers state-wide.
“Our corporate mission is to improve our members’ quality of life by facilitating their access to affordable, high-quality healthcare,” said Loveland. “Therefore, our technology platforms must support our business units and not only continuously reduce costs, but also help improve customer service and positively impact the bottom line.
“In selecting Carousel as our managed services provider, complete alignment with our vision was critical, as their team has become a seamless extension to ours. When IT infrastructure becomes outdated, it acts like a spider web and makes everything slower and more complicated. Carousel helps BCBSRI unravel that web and be more structured, more nimble, and more customer-focused,” Loveland added
As the principal managed services provider responsible for overall design, implementation, and ongoing management of the network infrastructure at BCBSRI, Carousel's initial focus will be on delivering all networking and telephony support – from purchasing to implementation, to maintenance and support, to decommissioning, and architecture and assessment around all voice and networking solutions.
Carousel has already initiated work on this project, updating portions of the network infrastructure, allowing for enhanced network performance at a reduced total cost of ownership. Additionally, Carousel has introduced a predictive dialing application into the contact center for improved customer outreach. As Carousel staff assumes day-to-day operational management responsibilities, the existing IT staff at BCBSRI will derive greater value by working with the business units to improve BCBSRI’s healthcare benefits delivery to their customers. This approach drives cost savings and keeps the technology at the forefront of delivering unparalleled customer service.
“Carousel is thrilled and honored to be working with the premier health insurance provider in Rhode Island," commented James Marsh, Chief Revenue Officer, Carousel Industries. "Working with a visionary like Paul Loveland truly challenges our team to take its capabilities to the next level. Our goal is to support Paul’s mission to ensure that the right information is delivered in the right format at the right time to BCBSRI’s most valued asset: its customers."
About Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island
Blue Cross has been providing superior health insurance to Rhode Islanders for more than 75 years. The state’s leading health insurer, Blue Cross covers more than 450,000 members. As the company works to support the national and local laws of healthcare reform, one thing is certain: Blue Cross is committed to helping Rhode Islanders meet their healthcare needs by positively impacting both the quality and cost of healthcare in the state.
About Carousel Industries
Carousel Industries is a recognized leader in helping organizations evolve the way they communicate and orchestrate the flow of information throughout their networks. Carousel enables clients to connect and collaborate the way modern IT users demand and advance from their current network infrastructure to meet tomorrow’s standards. With deep expertise across a vast portfolio of communication, network, and security technologies, Carousel is able to design, implement, and support solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of each customer. By offering professional and managed services with flexible deployments in the cloud, Carousel ensures clients achieve agility and utilize technologies in the way most effective for their business.
Since 1992 Carousel has grown by an average of 30 percent annually and today has more than 6,000 customers, including 35 of the Fortune 100. The company has been widely recognized by multiple leading industry publications and consortiums as a top technology partner, managed service provider, and cloud solution provider. It has made the Inc. 500/5000 list of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the U.S. seven times overall. Headquartered in Exeter, RI, Carousel has more than 1,000 employees working in 30 locations across the U.S. For more information on Carousel’s Public Safety Practice, please visit: http://www.carouselindustries.com/industry-solutions/public-safety. Reported by PRWeb 7 hours ago.
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