#1 Discussion- Health and Wellness Initiatives  

Read the article “Be Healthy and Get Rewarded–Incentives Driving Engagement in Health and Wellness (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..”  Taking into consideration some of the significant changes to health  insurance policies, please review the article and address the following  two questions. Explain your answers in at least 200 words. 

• As described in the article, what options do patients with  preexisting health conditions have in regards to wellness initiative  compliance?
• Are the new health plans truly helping consumers to live a better  and healthier lifestyle or are they actually hindering consumers ability  to freely pursue getting proper treatment, if needed, due to the fear  of high deductible costs?

Respond to at least two of your classmates’ posts.

-Reply to Donald!

 When  reading “Be Healthy and Get Rewarded–Incentives Engagement in Health  and Wellness”, some of the significant changes to health insurance  policies can lead to more people being healthy if rewarded to be so,  forbes.com states that,” if rewarded, 96 % of consumers would be  healthier , 75 % of consumers would have their blood pressure checked ,  73 % of consumers would lose weight and 68 % would have blood sugar or  cholesterol checks. In a recent survey by Accenture, 65 % of consumers  said the most important thing that a pharmaceutical company can provide  to consumers is rewards”. I believe that new health plans that  organizations are offering are truly helping consumers to live better  and healthier because in order to retain quality employees organizations  need to offer something that not only benefits them but also the people  they employ.

Martocchio, J.J. (2017) states that,” discretionary benefits  represent a significant fiscal cost to companies, in 2009 companies  spent on average $14,000 per employee annually to provide discretionary  benefits”. When organizations offer weight loss programs and gym  discounts it shows that they are investing in the people that work for  them. Organizations are competing on every level for quality employees,  so when everyone is competing the employees win overall.

Martocchio, J.J. (2017). Strategic compensation: A human resource  management approach (9th Edition). Hoboken, New Jersey: Pearson  Education, Inc. ISBN 978-0-13-432054-0

www.forbes.com/sites/johnnosta/2014/04/09/be-healthy-and-get-rewarded-incentives

–REPLY TO RHONDA!

 According to the article, wellness programs that offer rewards and  incentives improve health and cuts costs for consumers (Nosta, 2010).  Offering incentives encourages people to participate in programs that  implement behaviors which allows them to improve their health while  saving money. However, employers are not required to offer wellness  programs and if they do it is up to the employee to participate. The  Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 prohibits health  insurance companies from denying coverage or charging individuals more  because of preexisting conditions. PPACA also requires employers to  offer health insurance to employees and for the people that are not  employed, they are required to buy their own insurance (Martocchio,  2017). This law made insurance available to everyone, even those  individuals with preexisting conditions. If individuals with preexisting  conditions choose to participate in wellness programs it could improve  their health.

The new healthcare plans can actually help consumers create a  healthier lifestyle if they take advantage of it. They can also hinder  consumers due to fear of high deductible costs. It is important and  beneficial for employers to implement wellness programs. Wellness  programs can help improve productivity in the workplace. They assist  employees with getting ahead of behaviors that lead to an unhealthy  lifestyle. Implementing wellness programs cuts down on costs associated  with seeking medical treatment and high deductible costs.

References:

Martocchio, J.J. (2017). Strategic compensation: A human resource  management approach (9th Edition). Hoboken, New Jersey: Pearson  Education, Inc. ISBN 978-0-13-432054-0

Nosta, J. (2014). Be Healthy and Get Rewarded–Incentives Driving Engagement in Health and Wellness. Links to an external site.Links to an external site.Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnnosta/2014/04/09/be-healthy-and-get-rewarded-incentives-driving-engagement-in-health-and-wellness (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.

#2 Discussion   Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 

 Discuss the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 and the Patient  Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. What are the most prominent  elements to understanding these two acts? How do they impact the  employee and the organization? 

REPLY TO DONALD- 

In  1993 the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) was passed to give  employees the opportunity to take leave from their job for family or  medical reasons without losing their job. This provides the employee to  be able to take 12 work weeks in a 12 month period for multiple reasons  such as; the birth of a child and can take care of it up to a year,  adoption of a child the employee can take up to 12 work weeks in a year  to take care of the child, if a family member has a serious health  condition the employee may take the time off to take care of that  individual, if an employee has a serious health condition and if an  emergency that is the result from the military ( military caregiver  leave) they receive 26 work weeks in a 12 month period to take care of  the family member who is in the military.

Enacted in march 2010 the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act  protects employees from losing their job if they get a tax credit after  buying a health care plan in the marketplace. The most prominent  elements to the understanding of the two acts is that there are a high  number of eligible employees that fall under these acts the  disappointing part is that if you dont know or understand these laws,  the company might not tell you therefore get you to work when it is your  right to have this time off. As an employee you need to understand what  a company can do legally if an emergency arises and if you as an  employee are covered under such acts. These acts impacts the employees  and organizations in different ways because for the employees it is a  buffer for an emergency in case you are unlawfully fired and for an  organization it can show as a benefit even though it is an employees  right to get this time because of the certain situation.

Healthcare.gov(2011)

www.dol.gov(1993)Family and Medical Leave Act/Wage 

REPLY TO KATHRYN-

In  2014, legally required benefits cost employers an average of $5200 per  employee, and made up around 7.9 percent of all payroll costs  (Martocchio, 2017). The PPACA of 2010  will cause these numbers to increase because healthcare insurance is  now a legally required benefit (the employer mandate). Total compensation costs are expected to exceed 15.6 percent due to the PPACA (Martocchio, 2017). As  a result, the PPACA could have negative impacts on employers such as  adversely affecting their ability to set pay levels due to limits in  compensation budgets. The unemployed  are required to purchase health insurance through government approved  programs (also known as the individual mandate). Failure to participate on either the employer’s or employee’s part will result in fines. 

The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993, provides employee’s job protected leave during medical or family emergencies. FMLA also assures that employees can return to work in either the same position, or the equivalent of the same position. FMLA  was developed due to the increasingly elderly population and the  recognition for adults to take of their aging parents and children, who  may both become sick and need care, putting a burden on employees who  fear losing their jobs.  Purcell  (2010), discusses the increased aging population and the effects that it  is having on retirement and the rest of the population. Purcell notes that as life expectancy increases, the number of eligible workers is decreasing after age 55 (2010). Additionally, retirement plan options are decreasing (Purcell, 2010). 

FMLA  has certain minimum criteria which includes an employee of at least 12  months of service with their employer, employed by private/ civilian  employer or a federal government employer, and provided at least 1250  hours of work/ service over the 12 months of employment. Some  exclusions apply to employers such as an employer with less than 50  employees and live within 75 miles of the employee’s homes. 

Employees  may have to use their PTO, vacation, sick, or personal time as part of  the initial FMLA period, if they have time available. This helps to compensate the employer because the employee is using their saved paid time.  If the employee does not have 12 weeks of PTO saved, then the employer approves the rest of the FMLA but it is unpaid. Employees  benefit from FMLA because they retain their seniority and pay level,  currently enrolled benefits, but cannot add or change any benefits. 

Major  revisions of the FMLA which are important to both the employer and  employee include the January 2009 revision which allowed leave  opportunities for military personnel, and the revision in 2015 which  offered same-sex marriage couples the same FMLA benefits as other  couples. Finally, a revision in 2004 allowed employees to receive up to 55 percent of the wages during FMLA time. 

References

Martocchio, J. (2017). Strategic Compensation: A Human Resource Management Approach (9th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Pearson.

Purcell, P. (2010, April).  Pension sponsorship and participation: Summary of recent trends. Journal of Pension Planning and Compliance, 36(1), 30-48.  Retrieved from the ProQuest database.