Save 50% off Your Health Plan
By Joshua Weinstein
Who doesn’t want to pay half for their health plan? What if it came with lower out-of-pocket costs if you were to get ill or injured? On top of that, you can use any provider of your choice! Too good to be true? Well, you know the saying. It probably is. Welcome to the world of alternative health plan arrangements.
Since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010, health plans have changed. Categories of “Essential Health Benefits” were defined, and dollar-based maximums were prohibited. Denying coverage or claims because of pre-existing conditions was banned. Preventive care had to be covered “in full”, and the list of changes goes on. As a result of these mandates and consumer protections, rates, in general, rose. While most Americans receive their medical coverage through their employers, others get it through governmental plans, such as Medicare or Medicaid. Many are eligible for and receive subsidies to afford individual and family plans on the newly created Marketplaces, which sell Qualified Health Plans that meet these law’s requirements. However, some Americans fall through the gaps and don’t have access to affordable health coverage. Enter alternative plans.
Even prior to the ACA, health sharing plans existed. They are not health insurance, though. In these arrangements, members share each other’s health care costs. To cover these costs, members pay a monthly share amount (similar to paying a health insurance premium) and must pay for their own expenses up to a certain amount (similar to a deductible). After members pay their personal responsibilities, any remaining expenses are split between other members. Many health care cost-sharing arrangements offer different membership options to fit the needs of both individuals and families. Unlike the ACA compliant plans mentioned above, sharing plans are not subject to the law’s requirements. For example, they may deny membership to those who smoke, have a pre-existing condition or live a certain lifestyle. So, there’s lots of fine print to see what’s “shared” in the event of a covered illness or injury.
In the case of sharing plans, new entrants to the market have begun connecting sharing plans with limited supplement plans and they are being proposed to employers as ways to cover employees’ healthcare expenses for less money. Many are sponsored by associations of small businesses that were formed for the purpose of promoting and selling these arrangements. After reviewing a few of the designs, they don’t cover lengthy bouts with chronic conditions. For example, one only covers four months of medications and has a limited chemotherapy benefit. They usually do not provide preventive benefits, behavioral health, or rehabilitative therapies. What’s more is that the dreaded pre-existing condition exclusions and waiting periods are rampant throughout the plan documentation. They are marketing to look like traditional arrangements, and the Alaska Division of Insurance is actively investigating some of these programs for multiple reasons. Again, they are comprised of little, if any, insurance. That implies the companies sponsoring them have no fiscal requirements, regulations to follow, or other statutory appeal review obligations if a claim isn’t covered.
Other alternative health arrangements include short-term medical plans, “skinny plans”, mini-med plans, MEC plans, supplemental benefit plans, and more. There are ways to provide health benefits outside of the confines of the ACA, but the purchaser should be informed about what is or isn’t covered.
In closing, talking with a licensed health benefits consultant about your situation may yield surprising results. You may find that there are regulated, comprehensive insurance options in your reach. On the other hand, if ACA-regulated coverage isn’t an option for you, due to your budget, beliefs, or interests, I suggest diligence in checking the fine print and scouring the internet for reviews of how the specific alternative plans have performed for other purchasers. Going into one of these plans with reasonable expectations and “eyes wide open” is the best advice I can offer.
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Shed a Little Light on the Subject
By Bailey Penrose
My first job out of college involved an office full what felt like an endless maze of cubicles. This particular company had a fun little slogan for employee promotion, “working toward the light”, as the high-ranking employees got actual offices that were cream carpeted, lit with warm yellow light, and located next to the windows. As a lowly intern, my cubical was about 5 rows in from a window and I was one of the lucky ones – at least I had a tantalizing glimpse of daylight bouncing off the ceiling along with the fluorescent strip lighting. My manager, who was tall enough to see over the cubicle walls, would stand and crane his neck to give me periodic weather updates out of pity for my diminutive size.
A couple of things to learn from this anecdote: 1) it pays to be aware of commonly used phrases in your company as they give a good glimpse of the company culture, the good AND the bad, 2) office environment does factor in to employee satisfaction as well as productivity.
Let’s dive into the first issue, phrases that are used in-company that hint at culture. “Working toward the light” started as a joke, even the executives who had achieved the pinnacle of interior lighting used it when meeting new employees. What the management team may not have realized is that the jokiness of the phrase did not last and instead started to draw attention to a perceived inter-office class system. That sounds dramatic, but the saying had stopped implicitly sounding like “work hard and you too can achieve this really awesome office space” and instead started sounding like “management doesn’t care and won’t even give me a fricken’ lamp”. The phrase had become a kernel of contention and no one in the C-Suite was having a light-bulb moment. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
Culture expresses itself in attitudes and behaviors that are reinforced on a daily basis. Because culture is an ongoing thing that happens constantly it’s really hard to call out flashpoints. Companies should focus on culture markers (shared values, goals, and language) as a way to gauge employee engagement, and ultimately the bottom line. Communication and trust are essential to course correcting. Employees want to feel like their employer hears them and know that they won’t be penalized for voicing a concern. A positive office culture is a major driver in successful organizations.
Let’s look at the second issue, office environment and its effect on employees. I think everyone understands that it’s not feasible or cost-effective for a company to remodel their entire office plan so that all employees get a window, a standing desk, a top-of-the-line air purifier, what-have-you. However, there have been studies that show correlation between light and an employee’s productivity (please reference the articles listed below). Small efforts on a company’s part to improve their employee’s workspace will go a long way to fostering good will internally as well as driving up productivity thanks to focused employees. Some options may include the employer reimbursing $20 for a desk lamp or HappyLight, setting up a communal computer station where employees could stand to work when they wanted, or ensuring that at least one conference/lunch/break room had access to natural light. Effort, small or large, can be rewarded in big ways.
https://www.cass.city.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/363217/lighting-work-performance-cass.pdf
https://hbr.org/2018/09/the-1-office-perk-natural-light
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacobmorgan/2015/12/03/how-the-physical-workspace-impacts-the-employee-experience/#1ace7804779e
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The Power in Your Response
By Natasha Kwachka
Have you ever pondered why we, as people, respond or react to certain scenarios in the way that we do? What compels one to respond positively or negatively? What is the driving force behind a meltdown or calmly working your way through a tough situation? I believe we all have so many reasons that cause us to respond or react to different stresses and pressures. How do we respond versus react? Where does the strength come from to slow down and think through a response before you react in a poor manner?
More than I would like to admit, I can think of a time or two that I personally had a full on meltdown at the world around me. Lashing out at the driver in front of me for pumping the breaks last minute. Becoming frustrated as my kids take their time getting into the car knowing that we are already 30 minutes late. These are some of the smaller frustrations. It was my reactions to common day-to-day life events that caused me to take a look inward.
Over the past two years I have spent some time focusing on why I react poorly and why don’t I change that behavior? Change is tough, it takes practice and dedication. Programming your brain can feel like your lost in a maze, it is and always will be a work in progress. We as people will likely never fully master this. We all have breaking points that bring out the worst. What we can master though is our due diligence to slow down and think. In doing so, I have witnessed a change in how I interact with my colleagues and my family. Slowing down, looking inward, has made this thing called life much easier. My best thoughts are put forth and the negative thoughts are laid to rest. Most of the time, let’s be honest, this is truly a work in progress. Reacting is triggered from our subconscious mind, therefore not allowing you time to process, the reaction becomes instinctual. Responding allows you to take control of the next step. Take a moment, think through the pros and cons and thoughtfully plan your response, there is power in your words.
Today I encourage you to stop collect your thoughts, process your feelings before any response is given. Get up and walk the hall at work after finding out you have re-do that report you recreated 5 different times this week alone. Ask yourself what your desired outcome would be to anything coming your way? Empower and challenge yourself to connect with your higher purpose in all you do. Slow down and discover the power in your response. Let this be a challenge to find the greatness you have within and to give the world around you the best you. That you that brings to the table those amazing ideas, thoughts and strategic responses.
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Preventing Employee Burnout
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s MyWave Connect portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
The World Health Organization (WHO) now considers burnout to be a syndrome. In previous editions of the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), burnout wasn’t considered a serious condition, and its only listed symptom was exhaustion.
The WHO’s decision to upgrade burnout to a syndrome and provide a detailed set of symptoms communicates its serious stance on the dangers of burnout. Additionally, the WHO clarified in a public statement that burnout is an “occupational phenomenon” resulting “from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.”
What is burnout?
According to the WHO’s ICD-11, doctors can diagnose an employee with burnout if they exhibit the following symptoms:
- Exhaustion or energy depletion
- Decreased engagement at work, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job
- Reduced productivity or efficacy
For some employees, the negative effects of burnout extend beyond their work life and into their home and social life. Moreover, burnout can increase an employee’s risk for getting sick or developing a chronic condition.
How to Prevent Burnout at Your Organization
Since burnout is the result of prolonged and chronic workplace stress, it’s important to know how to recognize the signs of workplace stress.
While it may not be possible to eliminate job stress altogether for your employees, you can help them learn how to manage it effectively. Common job stressors include a heavy workload, intense pressure to perform at high levels, job insecurity, long work hours, excessive travel, office politics and conflicts with co-workers.
You can implement various activities to help reduce employee stress, which can improve health and morale—and productivity.
- Make sure that workloads are appropriate.
- Have managers meet regularly with employees to facilitate communication.
- Address negative and illegal actions in the workplace immediately. Do not tolerate bullying, discrimination or any other similar behaviors.
- Recognize and celebrate employees’ successes. This contributes to morale and decreases stress levels.
- Encourage a positive work-life balance.
- Promote exercise at your organization, as it’s a proven stress reliever.
- Encourage employees to utilize their paid time off.
- Incorporate company-sponsored activities to give employees a reason to leave their desks and take a break.
- Train managers on how to keep employees engaged and motivated at work, and how to address burnout with employees.
For More Information
Burnout is a serious syndrome that may be affecting your employees. As such, it’s important that you recognize the signs of burnout and take steps to prevent it at your workplace.
For more information on stress reduction resources for employees, contact RISQ Consulting today.
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Remote Scope
By Teena Applegate
I feel fortunate that my company has allowed employees the opportunity to work remote. Sure, we didn’t go full steam when it initially rolled out a couple of years ago. We had a real trickle effect with one to two set days allowing employees to work from home and depending on position; it wasn’t available to all employees. There seems to be a continued surge for its continuum even with news of some companies pulling back or terming remote working. If you’ve had an interest – be sure to see the recent article, Technology Risk Insights: Keys to a Secure Remote Work Program released on MyWave Connect (MyWave is an online employer resource RISQ Consulting provides to all employer clients. Contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Manager for a login). As always, we welcome your tips and shares on how you have implemented a work from home policy for your employees.
To implement a remote working policy in your company, here is another article with great information to get started:
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Workplace Wellness: What It Can Do for You
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s MyWave Connect portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
Workplace wellness affects your company—and its finances—in several ways. Wellness programs have the potential to lower health care costs, increase productivity, decrease absenteeism and raise employee morale.
Because employees spend a large portion of their waking hours at work, the workplace is an ideal setting to address health and wellness issues, benefiting your employees’ personal lives as well as their professional lives.
What Is Workplace Wellness?
Workplace wellness refers to the educational resources and health programs that a worksite might offer to promote healthy lifestyles for employees and their families.
Examples of wellness initiatives include health education classes, subsidized use of fitness facilities, internal policies that promote healthy behavior, and any other activities, policies or environmental changes that affect the health of employees.
What Wellness Can Do
Wellness programs positively impact productivity and finances in several ways, all leading to a more efficient, cost-effective workforce. The following is a list of ways workplace wellness programs can improve your business.
Control coverage costs. Health care costs are a significant portion of a company’s budget, and many employers are taking a close look at those rising expenses, especially with the effects of recent health care law changes. Strategically targeting health-related expenses can significantly benefit an employer’s budget.
Employees with more health risk factors, including being overweight, smoking and having diabetes, cost more to insure and pay more for health care than people with fewer risk factors. A wellness program can help employees with high risk factors make lifestyle changes to improve their quality of life and lower costs, while also helping employees with fewer risk factors remain healthy.
Improve productivity. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supports research that demonstrates that workplace wellness programs can lead to more efficiency in the workplace because healthier employees are more productive. Even when sick or unhealthy employees show up to work, they’re likely not operating at their true potential.
Improved health—fueled by workplace wellness programs and incentives—can reduce the problem of presenteeism, which is a condition where workers show up but produce inefficient or substandard work due to the adverse effects of their ill health.
Reduce absenteeism. Healthier employees means fewer sick days and less time away from work for doctor visits. For example, the CDC reports that overweight and obese employees miss considerably more days of work than normal-weight employees—a 56 percent increase in missed days for overweight and obese men, and a 15 to 141 percent increase in missed days for women who are overweight and obese, respectively.
Additionally, employees’ healthier behavior may translate into better health care and lifestyle choices for their families, potentially leading to less work missed due to caring for ill family members. Reduced absenteeism can yield significant cost savings and return on your wellness investment.
Trim workers’ compensation and disability expenses. Employees who make healthy changes and lower health risks have a lower chance of workplace injury or illness and disability. In both cases, this can save the employer money, not just on insurance premiums and benefits paid out, but also on the cost of recruiting and training a new worker to temporarily replace an employee who is absent due to ill health.
The CDC’s compilation of research suggests that employers can save as much as 25 percent on claims costs after implementing a successful workplace wellness program.
Boost morale and improve recruiting. Expressing a commitment to your employees’ health can improve employee morale and strengthen retention. A company that cares about its employees’ health is often viewed as a better place to work, and wellness programs can also help attract top talent in a competitive market.
Employees can experience many potential benefits after joining a wellness program, including improved well-being, better coping skills for stress, reduced risk for developing or worsening diseases and illnesses, lower health care costs and fewer doctor visits, access to social support through co-workers and a healthier work environment.
Overall, employees who experience positive changes and benefits from a wellness program will often feel more loyalty to the company and demonstrate increased productivity, leading to a stronger, less expensive workforce.
To learn more about workplace wellness programs and their benefits, to gain access to ready-to-go wellness programs or to obtain information on how to get started, contact RISQ Consulting at (907) 263-1401 or visit www.risqconsulting.com.
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5 Ways HR Can Support Employees’ Mental Health
This article is from RISQ Consulting’s MyWave Connect portal, a resource available to all RISQ Consulting clients. Please contact your Benefits Consultant or Account Executive for more information or for help setting up your own login.
An employee’s mental health includes how they think, feel and act, and includes their emotional and social well-being. While mental health includes mental illness, the two aren’t interchangeable. An employee can go through a period of poor mental health but not necessarily have a clear, diagnosable mental illness. Additionally, an employee’s mental health can change over time, depending on factors such as their workload, stress and work-life balance.
While 1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness annually, a recent study by Deloitte revealed that less than half receive treatment. A study from the Mental Health in the Workplace Summit also found that mental illness is the leading cause of disability for U.S. adults aged 15 to 44 and that more workdays are lost to mental health-related absenteeism than any other injury or illness.
Given its prevalence, you can expect that employees at your organization are experiencing mental health challenges or mental illness. That’s why it’s so important that your organization creates a culture that is supports employees’ mental health. While this may sound complicated, creating a workplace that is supportive of mental health and illness is easier than it seems. Here are five simple ways that your company can support employees and their mental health.
Promote Mental Health Awareness in the Office
The first step to creating a workplace that is supportive of employees’ mental health is promoting awareness and destigmatizing mental health or illness. Provide resources to help employees learn more about mental health or mental illnesses, and give information about how employees who may be struggling can seek out help. When you openly talk about mental health, employees are more likely to feel comfortable about the concept and reach out to managers or co-workers if they’re struggling.
You can also establish a workplace environment that is supportive of mental health by:
- Encouraging social support among employees, such as an organized support group that meets regularly
- Setting up an anonymous portal through which employees can reach out to let HR or managers know that they’re struggling with high stress and need help
- Providing training on problem solving, effective communication and conflict resolution
- Promoting your employee assistance program (EAP), if you offer one
Offer Flexible Scheduling
Work-life balance, or a lack thereof, can affect an employee’s mental health. To help employees better balance their work and personal lives, employers across the country are embracing workplace flexibility. While this looks different at every company, workplace flexibility can include flextime, telecommuting and unlimited paid time off (PTO) policies. Flexible schedules provide employees with job satisfaction, better health, increased work-life balance and less stress.
Address Workplace Stress
Nearly 80% of Americans consider their jobs stressful. Chronic workplace stress can contribute to increased employee fatigue, irritability and health problems. Additionally, workplace stress costs U.S. employers approximately $300 billion in lost productivity annually.
While it may not be possible to eliminate job stress altogether for your employees, you can help them learn how to manage it effectively. Common job stressors include a heavy workload, intense pressure to perform at high levels, job insecurity, long work hours, excessive travel, office politics and conflicts with co-workers.
You can implement various activities to help reduce employee stress, which can improve health and morale—and productivity.
- Make sure that workloads are appropriate.
- Have managers meet regularly with employees to facilitate communication.
- Address negative and illegal actions in the workplace immediately—do not tolerate bullying, discrimination or any other similar behaviors.
- Recognize and celebrate employees’ successes. This contributes to morale and decreases stress levels.
Evaluate Your Benefits Offerings
Review the benefits you offer to ensure that they support mental well-being, too. Evaluate your current health plan designs. Do they cover mental health services? Reviewing the offerings that your organization provides is essential to creating a culture that supports employee mental health.
In similar fashion, look to see what voluntary benefits you can offer to support mental well-being. Consider offering simple perks like financial planning assistance (as financial stress often contributes to poor mental health), employee discount programs (where employees can receive gym memberships, stress-reducing massages or acupuncture at a lower cost) and EAPs to support your employees.
Provide Mental Health Training for Managers
One of the most significant problems hindering mental health support at work is the stigma that surrounds mental health. Despite the recent moves in society toward destigmatizing mental health, issues still persist. To ensure that no stigma surrounding mental health exists at your organization, it’s important that you properly train management in recognizing the signs of mental illness, excessive workplace stress, workplace bullying and fatigue. Moreover, managers should be trained to handle potentially difficult conversations with employees surrounding their mental health. Ultimately, they should be prepared to speak openly about mental health rather than avoid the topic. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Workforce webpage to learn more.
For More Information
For additional resources on any of the strategies outlined above, contact us at RISQ Consulting today.
This HR Insights is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as professional advice. © 2019 Zywave, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Death by PowerPoint- We Have a Solution
By Alison Riggan
Death by PowerPoint. This is the phrase that’s used to describe those presentations that are the same ugly overflowing slide again and again and again, often accompanied by a presenter whose charisma makes you want to A) take a nap or B) take a long walk off a short pier. In the age of constant connection, how do we connect with our audience?
Earlier this year, RISQ Consulting was given the opportunity to give a three-hour presentation on insurance. We were then confronted with a question. How exactly can we make a three-hour presentation, about insurance no less, not just bearable, but actually enjoyable and fun? *Cue Mission Impossible theme song* In order to figure out how to make an awesome presentation, we first had to identify what about other presentations did we not like. The list looked something like this-
Death by PowerPoint Causes:
- Being talked at rather than talk to
- No audience participation
- Ugly slides
- Lots of jargon
- Too much information condensed on each slide
Step one was complete, we knew what NOT to do. However, we still were looking for a way to keep the audience on their toes and so immersed that three hours would fly by. That’s when a member of our team brought up the idea of finding a program that would allow us to poll the audience on various slides. The googling frenzy began. I found several sites that would allow us to engage the audience during presentations and did a cost and feature comparison before reviewing with our team and settling on Mentimeter.
Mentimeter allows the audience to follow the presentation on their phones, answer polls, and ask questions in real-time throughout the entire presentation. Here’s where it gets really cool, the presenter can ask questions to better gauge and understand the audience that will allow the presenter to connect more with the audience. The presenter can also see if there’s an influx of questions on a specific slide and spend more time on that slide to make sure that the audience understands. There are also several poll styles available, which ensures that there’s a format for any question style you can think of.
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Veterans at Work Certificate Program
By Bailey Penrose
Loyalty, Respect, Selfless Service, Integrity, Courage, Excellence, Commitment – These are just some of the core values adopted and embraced by the US Military. Do any of these sound familiar? If they do, you might recognize that these values resonate closely with those espoused by companies like AT&T, General Motors, Chevron, and many others.
While we recognize that US Military veterans and their families are crucial components of our communities, as employers in the civilian workplace we do not always understand how best to welcome and support them. There have been great strides in recent years to help veterans transition into the workplace with tools put in place to help both transitioning veterans and civilian employers. Google has even gotten into the action with their ‘Grow With Google’ program, a job search tool that helps veterans search for civilian jobs based on the roles they performed in the military. However, that does not mean we as employers cannot help in other ways.
A completely free online program, the “Veterans at work Certificate Program”, has been made available to the public at large by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Foundation with sponsorship by Comcast NBCUniversal. This program is designed primarily for front-line supervisors, hiring managers, and HR professionals that are interested in learning more about how recruit, hire, retain, and engage military veterans and military spouses.
Find out more here:
https://www.shrm.org/foundation/about/Pages/Veterans-at-Work-Certificate-Program.aspx
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