J.P. Farley News and Blog

The winter season can truly be the most wonderful time of the year if you take precautions to avoid injury. Accident prevention is not something that a health plan can guarantee, but it does not hurt to remind your employees of things they can do to stay healthy and safe in cold weather, especially if their work involves being outside for long periods of time or they regularly engage in sports during the winter.

BusinessInsurance.com reports that a survey from Mercer L.L.C found that the costs for group health plans rose at a lower rate this year than they did last year (6.1% in 2011 as compare to 6.9% in 2010). The same survey found that about a third of large employers (which are defined as employers with 500 employees or more) allow their employees the option of a consumer-driven health care plan that is connected to an HSA (health savings account) or some other reimbursement arrangement. The percentage of large employers offering a consumer-driven health plan spiked nearly 10% since last year.

In the next 15 months, six of the top 10 drugs used by Americans will face generic competition. Nearly 15 million consumers take Lipitor for cholesterol, the anti-clotting drug Plavix and Actos for diabetes. Others include Nexium, Advair, Diskus, Seroquel and Cymbalta, which will go to generic form in July of 2014.

Even people who enjoy staying active can sometimes slow down a bit as the weather gets colder. Remind your employees that cooler temperatures may be a reason to alter your fitness efforts but not an excuse to stop exercising altogether. Part of your workplace wellness program can include tips on how to keep fit during the winter because encouraging your employees to stay fit can keep health care costs down.

Thank you to everyone who joined J.P. Farley and our guest speaker, Vince O'Brien of Interactive Health Solutions for our benefits webinar! We hope you discovered how to implement wellness best practices for better health and satisfaction for less.

Although some people were not happy to find that certain over-the-counter medications were restricted under changed FSA guidelines, the results of a recent survey indicate that many people are still not taking full advantage of their Flexible Spending Accounts.

Employers are realizing the importance of wellness and prevention in their workplace.  They understand now, more than ever, that a healthier workforce will have a tremendous impact on productivity, costs, and overall job satisfaction. According to a 2010 Hewitt study:

Plan Sponsors are constantly told how having healthier employees is the key to lowering health plan costs, but how can this be accomplished?

Join J.P. Farley Corporation along with their guest presenter Vince O'Brien of Interactive Health Solutions as we demonstrate how your company can better contain your health care costs and enhance your company's benefit plan without adding to your company's workload. Our healthcare webinar discussion will explore a multifaceted approach to lowering plan costs that puts plan sponsors in better control of their group employee benefit plan.

At J.P. Farley, we continue to assist our clients in complying with all of the requirements of health care reform legislation, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act’s imposed fees on health plans for the funding of comparative clinical effectiveness research. The review of the preliminary guidance regarding the recently issued IRS Notice 2011-35 still leaves many questions and concerns in the minds of many industry experts.

The Department of Labor is accepting comments until tomorrow on the proposed Summary of Benefits and Coverage and the Uniform Glossary. As a third-party administer of self-funded employer sponsored health benefit plans J.P. Farley has joined other self-funded groups in submitting a request for additional consideration by the DOL.