A new report from the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) says that offering benefits and services to caregivers has big payoffs for both workers and employers. According to the report, caregiver benefits have the potential to increase productivity by lessening burdens on care providers, decrease caregivers’ healthcare costs through subsidies and attract and retain talent who are, or might soon become, caregivers.
Over the next few decades, the elderly population is expected to double, meaning more adults will be serving as caretakers to elderly relatives. A new report from the Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH) outlines how employees serving as caregivers often don’t perform as well at work, and how companies can provide more benefits to these employes to try and curb negative outcomes.
The Republicans' Affordable Care Act replacement includes plenty for employers to like. The so-called Cadillac tax on generous employer-sponsored coverage would be delayed to 2025, and the mandate that companies with 50 or more employees must offer affordable coverage would be eliminated, which will be cheered by employers in that range who don't want to offer insurance. "That will likely be a relief for those companies," said Laurel Pickering, president and chief executive of the Northeast Business Group on Health. But Kathryn Wylde, president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, another business organization, cautioned that the conversion of Medicaid to a per-capita financing system could strain New York state's budget so much that employers might feel the pain. "There's some private sector relief, but a major public sector impact," she said. "In New York that usually means we raise taxes. Seldom does the state scale back benefits that they've already promised people." In other words, while New York business owners might benefit from the repeal of ACA-created taxes on health insurance and people earning more than $250,000 a year, those gains could be erased if state and local governments raise taxes to support Medicaid expansion.
When an employee or family member is diagnosed with cancer, they face anxieties and fears about the financial, emotional and practical implications of this life-changing finding. A new report from the Northeast Business Group on Health offers employers guidance on how to help patients get higher value clinical care for the dollars spent on treatment.
Cancer is a notoriously complex illness to deal with, but employers can ease some of the burden on workers with the disease by clearly communicating what benefits and resources are available and helping them understand all their options, according to a recent report from the Northeast Business Group on Health. Guidance from human resources departments is particularly helpful when employees with cancer are navigating how health benefits apply to sites of medical care, such as how specific medical practices handle palliative care or second opinions, Jeremy Nobel, physician and executive director of the NEBGH’s Solutions Center, told Bloomberg BNA Nov. 7. Additionally, employers must make sure workers have access to high quality care as easily as possible so that they can make choices in the best interests of themselves and their families, he said.
Employers can be proactive about providing higher quality cancer care for employees and their families, reports the Northeast Business Group on Health. The agency’s report, High Value Cancer Care: Guidance for Employers, tells employers to send workers to websites promoting quality cancer care, advise them to get second opinions and educate them about the benefits of getting early treatment for serious illnesses.
Laurel Pickering, president and chief executive of the Northeast Business Group on Health, which represents employers, attributed the more rapid growth in employers' costs to higher costs of care in New York and rising drug costs.
To combat escalating health care costs, local employers are shifting expenses to employees through high-deductible plans, and investing more in health management programs that aim to keep workers' chronic illnesses in check, Pickering said.
Laurel Pickering, president and chief executive of the Northeast Business Group on Health, which represents employers, attributed the more rapid growth in employers' costs to higher costs of care in New York and rising drug costs. To combat escalating health care costs, local employers are shifting more costs to employees through high-deductible health plans, and they're investing more in health management programs that aim to keep workers' chronic illnesses in check, she said.
Meanwhile, the Northeast Business Group on Health, an employer-led coalition, will deploy its $225,000 grant for its Safe birth NY program to help women in New York City and on Long Island make more informed decisions in choosing where to give birth by creating an online scorecard that utilizes maternal-quality data. For example, a woman's risk for a C-section varies widely, depending on where she delivers her baby, according to the grant application.
Given the absolute flurry of coverage plans that is stressing employees out when it comes to health care options, it's alarming to think that the need to provide helpful, targeted treatment for employees struggling with cancer might not be getting enough attention. What NEBGH and other voices in the space seem to agree upon is that addressing cancer in the workplace effectively starts with a focus on treatment outcomes. Employers should certainly familiarize themselves with the differences between treatment centers (including centers of excellence), the efficacy of various treatment options and variations in chemotherapy cost. As usual, HR should keep ADA and other workplace requirements in mind and approach these situations with empathy.