health

August 15, 2024

The Advantages of Voluntary Benefits

Voluntary benefits, such as vision, dental and life insurance, are additional benefit options offered by an employer. Unlike traditional benefits like health coverage, employees are responsible for paying for most or all of these voluntary options. Advantages of these benefits include: Contact us if you have questions about available voluntary benefits. Article Published By: Zywave,...

August 1, 2024

Communicating HSA Rules to Employees

As part of the open enrollment process, employers that offer HSA-compatible HDHPs should help their employees understand the benefits of opening an HSA and making tax-free contributions. Employees may be confused about the rules surrounding HSAs and may not realize all the advantages associated with these accounts. CMR Risk & Insurance Services, Inc. can provide...

July 11, 2024

Helping Employees Navigate Rising Health Care Costs

Employers continue to struggle with rising health care costs and providing employees with affordable and quality care options. Unfortunately, employers expect health care costs to increase significantly in 2024. Several industry reports revealed that employers anticipate health care costs to grow between 6.5% and 8.5% in 2024, the largest increase in more than a decade....

July 8, 2024

OSHA Proposes Heat Injury and Illness Prevention Standard

On July 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an unofficial version of the proposed standard to protect workers from heat injury and illness. If finalized, the new standard would apply to all employers conducting indoor and outdoor work in all general industry, construction, maritime and agricultural...

June 10, 2024

Over 80% of Employers Will Add or Improve Benefits in the Next Year

A new report by health care benefits company Lively found that 81% of organizations plan to add or improve employee benefits in the next year to better recruit and retain employees. Furthermore, the report showed that employee experience, feedback and ease of use matter the most when benefits leaders decide to select or renew with...

April 6, 2024

Prescribing Care: How Risk Management Can Support Health Care Workers

Stressed out, overworked, understaffed, burnt out: It almost reads like a prescription side-effects list. But for a good portion of health care workers, these labels are more than that. They’re the lived experience of physicians, nurses and staff who hold lives in their hands every day. Health care workers’ wellbeing cannot be ignored. “We are...

March 19, 2024

5 Ways to Make Sure Your Wellness Benefits Are Hitting the Mark

Employers build benefits packages with the best of intentions, but too many options or the wrong ones altogether can frustrate employees and drain company resources. Nearly half of employees said they are confused by parts of their benefits plans in a recent survey by MetLife, while other studies place the number as high as 85%. An overwhelming amount of...

February 8, 2024

Health Care Industry Trends to Watch in 2024

In recent years, the health care industry has been navigating a landscape fraught with volatility. Shifting market demands, supply chain struggles and medical inflation issues have driven many key challenges. In 2024, several additional trends could impact the health care sector. These include labor shortages propelled by demographic shifts and changing skills requirements; technological advancements...

February 6, 2024

OSHA Proposes to Issue a New Emergency Response Standard

On Feb. 5, 2024, OSHA published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to issue a new safety and health standard, titled Emergency Response, to replace the existing Fire Brigades standard. The new standard would address a broader scope of emergency responders and include programmatic elements to protect emergency responders from various occupational hazards. OSHA requests...

January 31, 2024

Celebrate American Heart Month With These Healthy Lifestyle Tips

In 1963, the United States designated February as “American Heart Month.” Since then, the medical community has banded together during this annual campaign to raise awareness about heart disease and cardiovascular conditions and provide advice to help Americans reduce their risk of these health issues. How to Keep a Healthy Heart Heart attacks and strokes...