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Insurance

Understand links between FMLA and workers’ comp

01/01/2006

Q. If an employee is out on workers’ comp due to a work-related injury that requires surgery, can we also force him to use FMLA days in conjunction with that workers’ comp leave? The workers’ comp carrier is paying the employee’s reduced wages. —B.F., Pennsylvania

Encourage use of generic drugs by waiving co-pay

12/01/2005
To persuade employees to switch from expensive brand-name prescription drugs to generics, some employers are eliminating co-payments for generic drugs. Others are waiving the first two or three months of generic …

More states mandate coverage for infertility treatments

11/01/2005
Connecticut recently became the 15th state to require insurers to offer some type of infertility coverage. But Connecticut’s program is the most limited enacted by any state so far. Federal laws …

Health premium costs still rising, but not as sharply

11/01/2005
When it comes to health insurance premiums, the good news is relative.
It’s true that premiums rose less in 2005 than the previous four years. This year’s 9.2 percent average …

Screen supplemental insurance vendors: Ask right questions

11/01/2005
Issue: More employers are offering voluntary supplemental medical insurance, and insurers are offering more products.
Benefit/risk: Such plans can fill gaps left by medical coverage cutbacks, but the strategy can …

Cut health costs by dangling the right opt-out incentives

11/01/2005
Issue: Employee health premiums have jumped 73 percent since 2000 and are predicted to rise 10 percent more in 2006.
Benefit: Offering employees a lump-sum payout or other incentive to …

Heed looming deadline for Medicare drug-plan notices

10/01/2005
Issue: The 2003 Medicare reform law adds a new paperwork burden for some employers.
Risk: Failing to provide “creditable coverage notices” by Nov. 15 could bring unwanted heat from the …

Congress moves closer to association health plan

09/01/2005
This finally may be the year Congress authorizes association health plans, which would allow small businesses to participate in health insurance plans through trade associations that span state lines. The House …

You can use surveillance to spot workers’ comp fraud

09/01/2005

Q. How far can we go to make sure that employees aren’t taking advantage of our company while they’re out on workers’ comp leave? Can we, for example, call them at home to make sure they are resting and not out working another job or abusing the system? —D.V., Illinois

HIPAA Rules Aren’t Just For Doctors and Hospitals

08/01/2005

Q. I’d like to know if our company needs something like a HIPAA form for employees to sign when we release personal information to others. Is HIPAA only for the medical field? —B.B., New York